Birch Shores Cottages :
The Birch Shores Cottages sit cradled by the forests of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and the sandy shores of Little Glen Lake. The shore and two docks face the Sleeping Bear Dunes - the Chippewa legend of Great Mother Bear and her two Cubs.
All Cottages have Picnic tables, BBQs, complete kitchens, fireplaces, hammocks & room for 8 guests. New pillows & blankets; Linens and towels are not furnished. A boat mooring, fishing boat and canoe are available for our guests. PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN LIFE VESTS for boat users.
Stainless beverage fridges in North Star, Aspen and Hemlock.
In North Star, families and friends gather around the granite island bar, in the great room and around the fireplace. Wi-Fi Broadband wireless reception and high-speed Cable Internet for properly equipped laptops May 1 to Oct 1.
Autumn colors and scenic routes :
BIKERS - enjoy the same Autumn colors and scenic routes taken by the 'Le Tour de Leelanau' professional bicyclists starting right here at Birch Shores!! Discounts are available for Cycle Club members renting one or two cottages in the Spring and Fall (March 1 - June 1 and September 1 - October 31.
Interlocken concerts all summer - The Dunes Blue Grass Festival in nearby Empire (6 miles) - great fun & good music, lots of handicrafts & ethnic foods. Take a sunset cruise in a Tall Ship. Hike Alligator Hill for a calming view of Sleeping Bear Bay. Watch the Bald Eagles. Enjoy scenic drives and the views from Pyramid Point, the Empire Bluffs and Pierce Stocking Drive. Great Dunes sunsets from the swing with your Honey and a glass of local wine -TOUR some of the 18 wineries that dot the area.
Honeymooners :
Many Honeymooners have spent their first nights here. The Fletcher's have returned to the same cottage for 27 years. Hammock in dappled sunlight under an emerald canopy of leaves. Summer beach novels on the docks while tots find treasures in the clear sandy shallows. Blue jays, bald eagles, geese, loons, woodpeckers, swans, goldfinches, hummingbirds and more. Deer, raccoons, porcupines and turkey are found in the woods of the Park. Guests ski, bike, nature walk, fish, swim and climb the massive Dune to view Lake Michigan. Take the Leeland Ferry and visit the Chippewa's mysterious Manitou Islands, part of the Park. Glen Lake is known as ..The Jewel of the Leelanau - an apt description of the Lake with the Sapphire Blues, Sandy Shallows, Emerald Greens and Deep Water Cobalt seen from Inspiration Point high above the Lake. Once a part of Lake Michigan 12,000 years ago, the last mile-thick glacier deposited the sands of the mighty Dune, cutting off the waters from the Great Lake.
Ski:
Crystal Mountain Skiing is 30 minuets away. Take an easy Crystal River canoe trip of about 6 miles to Lake Michigan. Fishing varies by the season - Lake trout and king salmon, large & smallmouth bass, perch, the sporty bluegills, sunfish and brown trout, with occasional northern pike. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is across Day Forest Road from the cottages. Miles of hiking trails and scenic lookouts can be accessed from trail heads on Day Forest Road near the cottages. Look for 6 X 6 Trail Head markers set in the ground. The Dunes National Park was established by an Act of Congress in 1970 to preserve a unique landscape of rolling Drumlins, hills of glacial moraine left by the Ice Sheet, towering sand dunes, 33 crystalline lakes, 57 miles of streams, sheer sand slopes, virgin stands of giant trees and much varied wildlife. The Dunes Park has 70,000 + acres, including the Manitou Islands and Glen Haven's historical Coast Guard Station.
Golf:
Over 27 nearby golf courses: 'The Dunes' is 5 miles away and 'Le Bear' a Jack Nickolas Pro Course in Traverse City. As deep as 165 feet in places, Glen Lake is about 4 miles in diameter and fed from artesian flows under the lake, filtered through the depths of sand laid down by the great ice sheath eons ago. The clarity and purity of the water and the colors shown by the layered depths sparkle on a sunny day and shine in the light of the full moon. Little Glen Lake is contiguous with the larger Big Glen Lake. It is much shallower at 15 feet deep, about 7 to 10 degrees warmer than Big Glen and about 3 miles long by 1 mile wide. Both lakes share the same sandy bottom, pure filtered Artesian springs, clear water and feed the Crystal River.
Guest Book:
Many Honeymooners have spent their first nights here. The Fletcher's have returned to the same cottage for 27 years. Leelanau County is the Little Finger of the mitten which used by Michiganders to describe the beautiful and unique landscapes. Shaped by mile-thick Ice Age glaciers 12,000 years ago, the land has 33 lakes, 57 miles of streams and 93 miles of Lake Michigan shore line. The interplay of light, water, forests, hills and massive sand dunes creates memorable vistas in every season. In the late 1800's, Empire was a major supplier of timber for rebuilding Chicago after the great fire. Virgin forests of the Manitou Islands fired steamship boilers on the Great Lakes. An agricultural rural culture still enriches The County. Thousands of acres are preserved forever in Centennial homesteads and the over 70,000 acres of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. In October, the off-season population dwindles to 16,000 residents. Clear roads, clean air, flaming colors, low off-season rates.
Other Activities:
Guided Nature walks in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park; Kayak & Canoeing the Crystal River.
Learn more about this vacation rental at the owner's website: