Dune Climb Stairway (views!) Hoffmaster State Park from Gillette Visitor Center ⚓ Michigan travel blog

Hi there!

 

So as the name indicates, for the Dune Climb Stairway you will be climbing stairs to get to a higher point of the sand dunes.

This is unlike the most famous “dune climb” of Michigan.

 

So the Dune Climb Stairway can be a fun little hike you can do in PJ Hoffmaster State Park that will allow you to stand on top of what’s said to be among the largest sand dunes of the state park and see Lake Michigan.

Well it’s a fun little hike if you consider stair climbing to be fun! 😆

So if you’re looking for an excuse to get moving, then the Dune Climb Stairway in PJ Hoffmaster State Park is a trail to take a look at!

As a bonus, after you’ve climbed the stairs, you can then take the nearby trail all the way to Lake Michigan where you can find a swimming beach!

 

 

 

 

Now, figuring out how to hike the Dune Climb Stairway in PJ Hoffmaster State Park isn’t all that difficult.

Basically, you go to the visitor center parking area of the state park, and you’ll look for the trail that’s located right outside the visitor center building.

Then start hiking!

That said…

Here are a few quick things to know about hiking the Dune Climb Stairway in Hoffmaster State Park!

 

1. You’ll drive to the parking lot of the Gillette Visitor Center to find the Dune Climb Stairway trailhead.

 

 

2. Make a stop at the Gillette Visitor Center!

You can learn things and be filled with great Michigan pride! 😀

I mean, after all, they say… Michigan coastal sand dunes… there’s no place else like it anywhere! 😀

 

 

 

3. You’ll start off by taking a boardwalk to get to the Dune Climb Stairway from the visitor center.

 

 

4. With this “Dune Climb” you won’t be actually walking directly across any sand dunes.

If you know of the Dune Climb in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the Hoffmaster State Park dune climb isn’t that. You’ll be staying on the boardwalk or stairs.

 

5. You will be climbing many stairs.

The people of Michigan State Parks say you’ll be climbing up 193 stairs.

 

 

 

5. As you are climbing the stairs you can see Lake Michigan off in the distance.

 

 

6. As you are climbing the stairs you’ll see sand dunes down below you.

 

 

7. Once you reach the stop of the stairs, you’ll be standing above what’s said to be among the largest sand dunes in Hoffmaster State Park.

 

The people of Michigan State Parks say that by climbing these stairs, you will be “perched on top of one of the park’s largest parabolic dunes.”

What are parabolic dunes? Answer. 😜

 

 

8. There’s also a trail to Lake Michigan from the visitor center.

You’ll see this as you’re walking towards the stairs. You can make a trip to Lake Michigan after you’ve climbed the stairs!

 

 

 

9. This leads to a sandy Lake Michigan beach.

 

Lake Michigan water levels were said to be high in 2020 (pictures from July 2020), and this means less of a beach shoreline.

 

 

 

Also be sure to keep in mind…

10. You will be hiking DOWN to Lake Michigan… which means you need to hike back UP after your beach time!

 

 

11. If you want the experience of hiking up sand dunes, you can do that from this part of Lake Michigan too!

So while there are no sand dunes to be walked across on the Dune Climb Stairway trail, you can access some sand dunes in the area that you CAN climb up by taking the trail to Lake Michigan! You might have these dunes to yourself! They are practically hidden dunes.

 

 

 

Take care not to step on dune grass!

 

That thing about dune grass being fragile! It’s also said to be an important part of the coastal ecosystem, so take care not to step on the dune grass!

 

 

🌳

 

 

 

And now…

A little more of what you’ll see on the Dune Climb Stairway trail from Gillette Visitor Center!

 

So to get to the Dune Climb Stairway trailhead start location, you’ll enter Hoffmaster State Park.

And as a state park, the “cost” of hiking this trail will be the cost to enter the park. Hopefully you already have a Michigan state parks recreation passport! Otherwise, you can see current state park fees here.

Then, you’ll follow the signs to the VISITOR CENTER. This will take you to the Gillette Visitor Center parking lot.

 

 

And then whether or not you want to actually go inside the Gillette Visitor Center, you’ll walk over towards the visitor center since that’s where you’ll find the trailhead for the Dune Climb Stairway (and the trail to Lake Michigan). Once you’re near the building, you can look for the trail signs.

 

 

And then off you go to start the Dune Climb Stairway!

Of course it will depend on how fast or slow you go and if you stop along the way, but in general, it might take around 15 minutes to get to the top of the Dune Climb stairs from the Gillette Visitor Center parking lot.

 

 

And at some point you’ll come across a “shoe brush.” This is to help prevent the spread of invasive species.

 

 

And then, you will come to the STAIRS!

 

 

And then once you’ve taken in the views, you can head back down!

 

 

And then next, you can take the trail to Lake Michigan!

 

From the point that you see the split in the trail for the Dune Climb Stairway and Lake Michigan, it might be around a 10 minute walk to get to Lake Michigan. So in total from the Gillette Visitor Center parking lot to Lake Michigan, it might take around 15 minutes.

 

 

 

And that’s a bit about hiking up the Dune Climb Stairway in PJ Hoffmaster State Park!

 

Also see about hiking the walk-a-mile trail in Hoffmaster State Park!

And 30 minutes north of Hoffmaster State Park is Muskegon State Park, also along Lake Michigan!

 

HAPPY HIKING THE DUNE CLIMB STAIRWAY!