The Silver Lake sand dunes

On the Lake Michigan shore in Golden Township, Silver Lake State Park holds 2,000 acres of wind-sculpted sand dunes between the big lake and inland Silver Lake. The first number to keep straight is 2,000 acres of dunes. That does not mean all 2,000 acres are open to motor vehicles.

Motorized riding is confined to the 450-acre Silver Lake ORV Area. On its current visitor-use study page, the Michigan DNR calls this the only place east of the Mississippi River where you can drive motorized vehicles directly on sand dunes. You can bring a properly permitted vehicle, rent one from an approved local operator, or take the guided Mac Wood’s Dune Rides tour. The ORV season runs April 1 through October 31, and every motor vehicle needs the DNR’s permit stack and required safety equipment. The Silver Lake rulebook has the practical details.

There’s more here than engines. The DNR says roughly two-thirds of the dunes are for pedestrians only, though there are no designated hiking trails and walking deep sand is hard work. The park also has nearly three miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, a modern campground, and Little Sable Point Lighthouse. The brick tower was built in 1874 and still holds its original third-order Fresnel lens. Paid climbs generally run from mid-May into October. A little rule-checking up front leaves room for engines, a hard dune walk, and a lighthouse climb in the same day.