Pictures on this website provide a tempting peek at this 35-mile-long wonder of forests and immense pyramids of sand spiked up along Lake Michigan. Glaciers and a millennium of wind and water sculpted the landscape, now preserved as a 71,000-acre national park that includes the beach and dunes and the Manitou islands a few miles offshore.

You'll find plenty of useful trip-planning information such as maps and activity and events listings. The site explains the Chippewa myth that gave the park its name, and community links take much of the work out of finding accommodations in this bustling resort area near the northwestern edge of Michigan's "mitt."

Follow the site's map of the seven-mile Pierce Stocking Drive to locate overlooks and self-guided walks that teach you about the dunes' fragile and unique ecosystems. Kids especially love the Dune Climb, where they can scramble up and down a great barren hill of sand. Hike the trails in the section of the park south of Empire for a view of the tallest dunes - at 450 feet, believed to be the largest outside the Sahara Desert.

Reach the Manitou islands by ferry (there's a link to Manitou Island Transit). South Manitou features a 100-foot-high lighthouse and old settlements to explore by foot or on guided jeep tours. North Manitou is maintained as wilderness, and you must obtain a pass to visit the island.

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