The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive brings hundreds of thousands of visitors during the warmer months, but is silent during the winter ones. Though it may be closed to road traffic when the snow flies, it stays open to foot traffic, whether those feet are on skis, snowshoes or in your plain old boots.
When pulling into the drive, the main gate is closed, but to the right is a parking area where the trailhead for your Sleeping Bear winter adventure begins.
You have options, but for me, the only goal was to reach the Lake Michigan lookout. And that required going up. A lot. On my visit, I had the entire park to myself. Though I dressed warmly, you don’t need to go overboard. That uphill hiking is really going to work up a sweat and warm up your body. The whole road was mine, and I followed the snowshoers who had visited before me and broken a path. Thank you for making my trip easier.
After a difficult climb (this was my first snowshoe trip of the year), I reached the scenic overlook. I had visited this spot with friends in the summer when the dunes were swarming with visitors and parking spots were hard to find. No such problems this time. I had the incredible views all to myself.
I enjoyed the scenery, but not as long as I would have liked. The winds from the lake were brutal, and that body warmth I generated on the way up was quickly sapped away.
I climbed just a bit higher and turned inland to get a look at Big Glen Lake and Little Glen Lake.
Snowshoeing the Pierce Stocking drive is well-worth the effort. Amazing views and excellent workout in a beautiful part of the state make this a trip well-worth your time.
It is exciting to see the trail getting closer to completion – spring 2022 is the target time frame, and you can follow along at the 
