Warren Dunes Beach Trail is a 3.6 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Sawyer, Michigan that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from March until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Forested dunes give way to open sandy beaches and miles of coastline to explore. Warren Dunes State Park covers a large expanse of forested sand dunes, as well as several miles of Lake Michigan coastline. It's an interesting ecosystem, with small ponds held back within the dune fields, and constantly shifting open sand on the beach. South side beach is on private property. Thought the dunes are held in place by the roots of trees and beach grasses, the wind is constantly seeking a purchase to move sand onshore. In places, this leads to "blowouts" where the dunes are breached and the sand blown inland.
In the early spring, watch out for hidden pockets of snow buried in the dunes. Winter snowdrifts can easily be swallowed up by shifting sand as the beach begins to dry out in the spring. The sand acts to insulate the snow, allowing these buried pockets to last weeks after the area appears snow-free. It's a unique experience to hike in warm spring weather, only to have your foot punch through and sink to the knee in unexpected snow!
Views were absolutely gorgeous! Trail was not marked & gps took us all over the place.
I'm glad I had my monopod/pole, wish I'd remembered my baskets. Very peaceful, didn't see folks until I got back to the lake. Trail isn't clear on dune, dunes, it wasn't a problem. I walked thre dune in & took my shoes off for the way back.
Don’t judge my timing: as there were many things to see, do, and gather. Such a beautiful stretch of Lake Michigan.
beach portion is nice, easy and trails are apparent. south side beach is private property and no trespassing sign posted. for north end, there is no apparent trail to the dune in this map. there are other dunes that has more established and/or officials trails to choose .