MLive says: “Yes, Warren Dunes is another set of dunes along Lake Michigan. The southwest Michigan state park that contains these dunes is a popular vacation destination for Chicagoans looking to get away for the big city hustle and bustle. Open year-round, Warren Dunes State Park is always beautiful and ready for you to take a hike on the miles of trails contained here. It's a perfect summer camping spot for the whole family. We highly recommend sitting on a dune to watch the sunset.”
June 7-8, 2019
I’d driven through Berrien County on my way to Chicago many times, but I’d never bothered to stop there for anything before now. The campground at Warren Dunes State Park was completely booked when I arrived, with a line of cars full of angry visitors who hadn’t bothered to make a reservation ahead of time. I checked in with the park staff and found my campsite pretty easily, despite there being over 200 sites in the park. The cottonwood trees were dropping their fluffy seeds everywhere and it looked like spring snow.
I popped my tent, packed my bag, and made my way to a trailhead to hike the dunes immediately. The first dune I climbed was massive, and varied in slope from 50-75% (there was an alternate route, but I decided I had to hike up the steepest dune face in the park instead). From there on out, the slopes were gentle, the sand was warm, and the sky had no trace of a cloud. I spent about five hours making my way through the dunes to the lakeshore and back, even though the distance was probably only 1.5-2 miles each way. I stopped to take photos, eat dried mangoes, and admire wildflowers.
The beachfront was a little disappointing: when I crested the final dune before the lake, there were two sprawling parking lots. Not really the glorious lakefront scene I was hoping to see. There was also construction going on, so part of the beach was fenced off. There was litter around the parking lots and on the beach which was a bit discouraging. Alas, I walked to the water and got in up to my knees before deciding Lake Michigan was still too frigidly cold for humans (even with being sweaty from my hike out).
I didn’t stay at the beach too long; just enough time to eat some hummus and crackers, read a chapter of a book, and take a few photos. My hike back to the campsite was really lovely, as the sun was starting to set behind me. I took photos every time I crested a new dune to capture the various stages of sunset in the park. When I arrived at the end of the trail, there was a very large and crude group of unsupervised middle school students who were yelling all sorts of obscenities, which kind of ruined the peaceful dunes vibes I was bringing back to camp with me.
I made a small fire at my campsite, roasted a few Trader Joe’s vegan marshmallows, and made myself some s’mores with Justin’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I was in my tent before dark with a book, listening to a mix tape I hadn’t pulled out since I was in Panamá. I was sleepy, but hardly sleeping because our entirely booked campground was buzzing until well after midnight.
My morning was easy: banana muffins, breaking down camp, and a quick walk around the campground to stretch out my back; and I was on my way out.
NOTES FROM THE DUNES:
There are ants crawling over the surface of the dunes - they look like mobilized grains of sand.
Sand just fell out of my ear when I tilted my head to look at the sky.
Walking through sand is like walking through snow: the lack of resistance makes progress harder.
I made a sand angel on the side of a dune - the particles against my skin, despite being angular granules of quartz, were softer than Liz Claiborne liquid cotton sheets; softer than my sherpa blanket in December.
Something about a dune makes you thirsty…and not just in the physical way.
Aspen trees buried up to their branches, but still quaking in the wind.
Who would dare walk a dune with shoes on?
The sky is impossibly blue, the sand impossibly warm, my heart most possibly full.
Dune grass must be buried in its lifetime to continue to grow.
It is 8:45 pm and the sun seems too stubborn to set, still high in the sky - this is why summer days are called endless.
A young doe poised between two aspen trees, on the dune that faces me. We catch each other’s eyes at the same time. She pauses, still, flicks her tail; I smile. She walks and disappears in a white pine. Perfect timing.
You can seek cool sand beneath the surface of a dune during the day, and warm sand beneath the surface at night. The way the surface of the dune stays warm for only a few minutes after sunset is unbelievable, after it burning the bottoms of your feet for countless hours.