Hiking Silver Lake State Park

The Dunes Across Silver Lake

Our hike began at Silver Lake with a view of the expansive dunes between us and Lake Michigan.  The dunes make a beautiful backdrop to Silver Lake, and Lake Michigan is just about a mile over the dunes.

We climbed up the first living dune and found plenty of dead trees - buried by the shifting sands as they move inland driven by winds.  We were amazed at the size of this place, nothing but rolling sand dune for miles left and right, and at least a mile in front of us.  Dotting the dunes were small interdunal ponds and areas of conifer forest, just waiting for exploration.

Distant Snow Showers

One could barely see Lake Michigan on the horizon from out vantage point, but it appeared every so often as we climbed the taller dunes. We spent hours exploring the small ponds and forested areas on our way to the lake.

Almost Half Way

Here, we were almost half way to Lake Michigan. Just after exploring a frozen pond, we looked back to see how far we walked.  Silver Lake was beyond the farthest dune, and most features we encountered were now tiny dots on the landscape.

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