First responders are warning visitors to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan to not attempt walking down a 450-foot-tall dune to Lake Michigan. In recent years, it has become one of the most notorious rescue spots in the National Park system. Glen Lake Fire Chief Bryan Ferguson says visitors to the park’s Number 9 Overlook often underestimate the challenge of traversing the dune.
“It will take you maybe 10 minutes to get down, maybe less, and then about two hours to get back up if you take your time,” says Ferguson, adding people need to make sure they’re hydrated before making the attempt and take water with them. He adds that bit of preparation is often overlooked.
“Almost everybody we go to rescue doesn’t have anything to drink with them, and it takes them way longer than they thought it was going to,” Ferguson says.
Because of the high water level of Lake Michigan, firefighters have only one rescue option: pulling the person up the dune. That takes about 10 crew members and comes with a cost of more than $2,200.
