Get More from your Ride
Discover the Historic Side
Make Sleeping Bear’s historic sites part of your vacation! Combine your love of being active outdoors with learning. Discover the charm, local lore, and history of Port Oneida, by immersing yourself in nature and culture. Get an up-close guided tour in a small group of the rural landscape’s farming, logging and maritime heritage, imagining life in the early 19th century. Listening devices allow learning while cycling. You’ll also have the unique opportunity to step inside some of the historic buildings on the Port Oneida Tours. Connect with each other and your heritage!
Bring your own bike, or rent through our partners The Cyclery in Glen Arbor at a discount. Book the bike tour first to get the discount promo code. Bike rentals will need to be picked up and returned to The Cyclery. Advanced reservations are required to ensure a spot or the minimum required. Group discount for six or more!
This program raises funds for historic preservation and interpretation in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
TOUR #1 Biking a By-Gone Era
Time: 9:30 am – 12:00 Miles: Approx. 5.5 miles
Cost: $25 per adult/$15 per child ages 10-17
Explore the beautiful historic landscape of Sleeping Bear and its 19th century heritage as we ride the Heritage Trail and scenic, rural roads in the heart of Port Oneida past farms and pastures. Enjoy 5 stops of interest, unique views of Lake Michigan, and get inside some of the farm buildings. On this leisurely paced ride, hear about folk lore, harrowing stories of shipwrecks and pirates, and how the land was used through time. A good balance of stops and narration along the way. The tour starts and ends at the Port Oneida Heritage Center. Group discount available.
Bike Type: Road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid, fat tire and e-bikes. SKINNY tires are NOT suitable.
NOTE: E-bikes allowed in the national park must be Class Type 1 pedal-assist only, with no throttle.
Difficulty: Moderate. Combination of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, scenic rustic back road, and paved back road (Port Oneida road). No hills, but gravel road can be bumpy.
Ages: Not suitable for children under age 10.
Location: The tour starts and ends off of M-22 at the Port Oneida Heritage Center. The Heritage Center is located at the Charles Olsen Farm, between the Bay View Trailhead and Port Oneida Trailhead on the Heritage Trail Map.
Note: Please make sure your bike is in working order for the ride. Bike helmets are required To safeguard against invasive species, being brought into National Lakeshore’s trails the park recommends you spray, scrape, or brush soils, seeds, plant parts, and invertebrates from exterior surfaces to the extent practical. . Photo credit above: Glen Arbor Sun Newspaper
ADD A WHEELS & WATER PACKAGE!
Wheels & Water Package
CLICK TO ADD!
Add a kayak or canoe rental to this tour through Crystal River Outfitters, creating a day-excursion at a discount! Enjoy your active bike tour ending at noon, eat lunch (have your packed picnic at the Port Oneida Heritage Center or grab a bite in Glen Arbor), then at 1:30 cool off paddling the Crystal River! Enter code PHSB to receive 10% off as a thank you for taking part in the bike tours! (Make sure to book the bike tour first.)
TOUR #2 Peddling Port Oneida’s Past
Time: 9:30 am – 11:30 Miles: Approx. 4.5 miles
Cost: $25 per adult/$15 per child ages 8-17;(no cost for children in child trailers)
An engaging guided tour discovering the hidden gems of Sleeping Bear, it’s pioneer heritage! Perfect for family and friends.You’ll pass scenic pastures and farmsteads in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District, the largest agricultural district in the nation. Step inside some of the historic buildings of this now ghost community. Learn about spirit holes, tragedies of the times, the people who lived here and how they forged a life from the wilderness. Includes seven stops of interest. Incorporates a hunt for history for any children on the tour, and at the Olsen Farm afterward.
Bike Type: Road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid, fat tire and e-bikes. SKINNY tires are NOT suitable. NOTE: E-bikes allowed in the national park must be Class Type 1 pedal-assist only, with no throttle.
Difficulty: Easy. Combination of the crushed stone Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, and paved back road (Port Oneida road). Level terrain.
Ages: Not suitable for children under age 7. (Children 4-7 in totes/trailer fine but please be aware the trail is crushed stone) Ages 7 and older can be on their own bike – but please gauge the ability of your child.
Location: The tour starts and ends off of M-22 at the Port Oneida Heritage Center. The Heritage Center is located at the Charles Olsen Farm, between the Bay View Trailhead and Port Oneida Trailhead on the Heritage Trail Map.
Note: Please make sure your bike is in working order for the ride. Bike helmets are required. To safeguard against invasive species, being brought into National Lakeshore’s trails the park recommends you spray, scrape, or brush soils, seeds, plant parts, and invertebrates from exterior surfaces to the extent practical.
ADD A WHEELS & WATER PACKAGE!
Wheels & Water Package
CLICK TO ADD!
Add a kayak or canoe rental to this tour through Crystal River Outfitters, creating a day-excursion at a discount! Enjoy your active bike tour ending at noon, eat lunch (have your packed picnic at the Port Oneida Heritage Center or grab a bite in Glen Arbor), then at 1:30 cool off paddling the Crystal River! Enter code PHSB to receive 10% off as a thank you for taking part in the bike tours! (Make sure to book the bike tour first.)
TOUR #3 Secrets of D.H. Day’s kingdom and Beyond
Time: 9:30 – 12:00
Miles: 8
Cost: $25 per adult/ $15 per child ages 8-17;(no cost for children in child trailers)
There’s more history than you can imagine tucked in and around the dunes and Glen Haven! Join us by bike to get the behind-the-scenes look at secrets and unfamiliar facts about the baron of Glen Haven – D.H. Day – and the surrounding dunes area: the railroad, the “ovens”, alligator hill, riparian rights, a sawmill, the historic Great Lakes Picnic area, dune formations, lumberjacks, and Pierce Stocking and D.H. Day’s grand vision for the area. From a spectacular bird’s eye view imagine the interpreted activities of the town and water that hummed with 1800s tourists, a fruit cannery, and maritime activities. Good balance of stops along the way with narration while riding. and fabulous photo opportunities.
Location: Start and end in Glen Arbor at the Heritage Trail Alligator Hill Trailhead on Forest Haven road. Look for our guides in reflective light green vests. Trailhead map
Bike Type: Best for road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid, e-bikes and fat tire. Not suitable for bikes with very skinny tires.
NOTE: E-bikes allowed in the national park must be Class Type 1 pedal-assist only, with no throttle.
Difficulty: This is all level with the exception of one hill that many of us will walk together while still interpreting. One 300 ft. section of dirt road.
Ages: Not suitable for children under 4. Ages 4-7 must be in a trailer/carrier. Ages 8 yrs. old can be on their own bike.
Note: Please make sure your bike is in working order for the ride. Bike helmets are required.If renting a bike from Crystal River Outfitters, please allow 15 minutes to bike from there to the start point.
To safeguard against invasive species, being brought into National Lakeshore’s trails the park recommends you spray, scrape, or brush soils, seeds, plant parts, and invertebrates from exterior surfaces to the extent practical.
ADD A WHEELS & WATER PACKAGE!
Wheels & Water Package
CLICK TO ADD!
Add a kayak or canoe rental to this tour through Crystal River Outfitters, creating a day-excursion at a discount! Enjoy your active bike tour ending at noon, eat lunch (have your packed picnic at the Port Oneida Heritage Center or grab a bite in Glen Arbor), then at 1:30 cool off paddling the Crystal River! Enter code PHSB to receive 10% off as a thank you for taking part in the bike tours! (Make sure to book the bike tour first.)
YOUR GUIDES
It goes without saying, our Guides love the area, the history, the beauty, and sharing it with you!
Bob Barnes
Bob is an avid cyclist who joins us for his second season on our team. He lives in Glen Arbor in the summer, and Royal Oak the rest of the year where he is Executive Director for the Detroit chapter of an national nonprofit that gives free bikes to kids! His first career was as an engineer in the corporate world for 20 years before becoming a teacher of physics. As a teacher, he biked the 7 mile commute to school almost every day.
Alice Beyers
This is Alice’s 3rd season as a guide for our heritage tours, and helped develop the program. Her love for Port Oneida was nurtured when working at what used to be Camp Innisfree near Pyramid Point. Alice bikes about 16 miles per week and takes at least one week-long bike trip each year. She worked for children’s camps over the years. As a retired Leland School librarian, Alice loves to convey this historical knowledge to others.
John and Sandy Zubik
Biking brought John and Sandy together years ago when they met on a bike tour for singles. They bike frequently on annual trips to places like Italy, Germany and Vermont. The husband and wife team moved from Chicago to Glen Arbor in 2020. John was formally a Global Engineering Manager, and Sandy practiced labor law for 31 years. This will be their 4th season with us and make a great team!
PERSONAL TOURS
Please contact us at 231-334-6103 if you are interested in a personal tour. We will try to accommodate your schedule and tour preference. depending on how booked we are.
Cost: $50 per adult; $40 ages 10-17
Bike Type: Road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid, fat tire and e-bikes. SKINNY tires are NOT suitable. NOTE: E-bikes allowed in the national park must be Class Type 1 pedal-assist only, with no throttle.
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