Benzie & Sleeping Bear · Small town
Glen Arbor
Your base for northern Sleeping Bear Dunes: a small town between Lake Michigan and Glen Lake, about 4 miles from the Dune Climb by trail.
About 2 miles away (straight line)
Lake · Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Glen Lake
A clear two-basin lake at Glen Arbor: ski and cruise deep Big Glen from the marina, swim and paddle sandy Little Glen, ice fish for perch in winter.
Glen Lake is two lakes in one, and each suits a different day. Big Glen is the deep, clear basin, 130 feet at its deepest, for skiing, tubing, cruising and trout fishing. The lake is all-sports apart from a no-wake zone at the Narrows, and Glen Craft Marina on Big Glen has slips, moorings, fuel and ski boats for rent. Little Glen is shallow and sandy, the easy water for swimming and paddling. In winter, anglers fish the ice for perch. Both sit just south of Glen Arbor in Leelanau County, inside the curve of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Start at Little Glen if you have kids or a kayak. The national lakeshore’s Little Glen Picnic Area, across from the Dune Climb, is a good place to swim or launch a canoe, and you can moor a boat there too. Little Glen covers about 1,415 acres and is no more than about 13 feet deep, with a sandy bottom.
Then cross the Narrows. A narrow channel, crossed by the Narrows Bridge, joins the two basins. Big Glen, to the east, covers about 4,871 acres and reaches 130 feet deep. The public boat launch is on Little Glen at Day Forest Road. For a view of it all from above, take the Alligator Hill trail in the park to its overlook across the lake. The map pin marks Big Glen.
Most of the shoreline is private, so plan around those public spots. The Glen Lake Association works to keep the lake largely free of invasive species, and it runs a free boat wash at the Day Forest Road launch. Use it.
Glen Lake drains through Fisher Lake into the Crystal River, which runs to Lake Michigan just north of Glen Arbor. A dam on the river below Fisher Lake holds the lake level. Association volunteers operate it under court-set limits.
On the water
Motorboats and rules
Slow, no-wake speed for 200 feet east and west of the M-22 bridge in the channel between Big Glen and Little Glen. No other local limits are listed.
Swimming
Little Glen is the easy swim: shallow, with a sandy bottom. The national lakeshore's Little Glen Picnic Area, across from the Dune Climb, has restrooms, parking and picnic tables. You need a park pass, and most of the rest of the shoreline is private.
Public access
The public boat launch is on the northeast shore of Little Glen Lake at 7075 W. Day Forest Road, where the Glen Lake Association runs a free boat wash. For paddling and swimming, use Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore's Little Glen Picnic Area across from the Dune Climb. It has restrooms, parking, picnic tables and easy canoe and kayak access over a sandy bottom. A park pass is required there.
Boating
Travel counter-clockwise around the lake, as the Glen Lake Association asks, and slow to no-wake for 200 feet on either side of the Narrows Bridge. You can moor at three public spots: below Inspiration Point on the south shore of Big Glen, at Old Settlers' Park on the east shore, and at the Little Glen Picnic Area. All other docks and shoreline are private.
Paddling
Put in a canoe or kayak from shore at the Little Glen Picnic Area. A park pass is required for all inland lake use in the national lakeshore.
Fishing
The two basins fish differently. On the Michigan DNR's list of better fishing waters, Big Glen is good for lake trout, lake whitefish, rainbow trout, rock bass, smallmouth bass and yellow perch, and Little Glen for northern pike, rock bass, smallmouth bass and yellow perch. The lake and rainbow trout fisheries depend largely on stocking. Check current Michigan DNR rules before fishing.
Fish species
Species include lake trout, lake whitefish, rainbow trout, rock bass, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, and northern pike.
Water clarity
Big Glen is very clear, with a long-term average Secchi depth of about 19.3 feet (Leelanau Conservancy data through 2014). Shallow Little Glen averaged 8.1 feet. Both basins rate as oligotrophic, low in nutrients, though Little Glen is close to the next, richer category.
Connected waters
Glen Lake drains through Fisher Lake into the 6.2-mile Crystal River, which reaches Lake Michigan north of Glen Arbor. A dam at the outlet of Fisher Lake regulates the flow.
Good to know
Swimmer's itch turns up in summer. Risk is highest in the morning, in warm shallow water near shore and when the wind blows onshore, so swim later in the day and towel off right away. Eurasian watermilfoil is in the lake: use the free boat wash on Day Forest Road for boats, kayaks and paddleboards that have been in other water.
In winter
Perch are the winter catch, and the DNR has reported anglers fishing through the ice for perch on Little Glen. Glen Lake's Winterfest over Presidents Day weekend has long included a perch contest, but ice is not a given: open water on both basins canceled it in 2023, the first time in more than 20 years. Check conditions before you go out.
Public boat launches
Glen Lake DNR boating access site (Day Forest Road)
The public launch, on Little Glen at 7075 W. Day Forest Road: two lanes, a pier, gravel parking for 20 trailers, vault toilets and a free boat wash. It takes boats up to about 20 to 25 feet. A Recreation Passport is required.
Little Glen Picnic Area (Sleeping Bear Dunes)
Carry-in launch for canoes and kayaks across from the Dune Climb, with parking and restrooms. A park pass is required.
Marinas
- Glen Craft Marina
On Big Glen at Glen Arbor, with 36 slips and 7 moorings. It lists seasonal and weekly slips and moorings, dockside fuel and oil, a service department, indoor and outdoor storage and a pro shop with ski and wakeboard gear, plus more mooring at its sister location, On The Narrows Marina.
Boat, kayak and paddleboard rentals
- Glen Craft Marina
Pontoons, tri-toons and ski boats you board at the marina dock in Glen Arbor, so you skip the public ramp. Boats stay on Glen Lake. Renters must be 21.
Listed because their own sites say they rent on this water. Not an endorsement, and we have no ties to them. Check with them for what is available.
Fishing, launching at a state site or parking at a state park? See licenses and passes for what you need before you go.
Anything not listed here is unverified. Do not assume public access across private shoreline. Check the Michigan DNR boating access listings and the current fishing regulations.
Through the seasons
Location
Map of Glen Lake
2 places on an OpenStreetMap map
Places to stay near Glen Lake
Lakefront cottages and homes are listed by the local rental managers and booking sites below.
Hotels and inns
Upscale
The HomesteadListed by the Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitors Bureau · Listed by the Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce
Search all hotels in Glen Arbor: Booking.com · Expedia · Hotels.com · Google Hotels
We don’t take bookings or earn anything from these links. Rates, availability and any booking problems are handled by the booking site.
More places to stay in Glen Arbor
- The Sylvan Inn · An 1885 inn in the village of Glen Arbor with 14 guest rooms, a short walk from shops and on the route of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail.
- Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce places to stay · The local chamber's listings of lodges, resorts, B&Bs, private homes, campgrounds and rental companies around Glen Arbor and Glen Lake.
Vacation rentals
- Left Coast Vacation Rentals · leftcoastvacationrentals.com
A Leelanau County rental and property management company with homes on and near Big and Little Glen Lake and elsewhere on the peninsula.
- Northland Vacation Rentals · northlandvacationrentals.com
A Traverse City rental company tied to Century 21 Northland, with cottages and homes in places such as Frankfort and Glen Arbor.
- Visit Up North Vacation Rentals · visitupnorth.com
A Traverse City rental company with homes, cottages and condos across Leelanau, Glen Arbor, the Benzie area and nearby Arcadia and Bear Lake.
Nearby towns
Nearby attractions
Straight-line distances from the map point.
National park
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Dunes, high bluffs, beaches, inland lakes and two islands along 65 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline in Benzie and Leelanau counties.
About 6 miles away (straight line)
Attraction
The Dune Climb
A steep, open sand dune on M-109 in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, with a picnic area at its base and a hard trail over the dunes to Lake Michigan.
About 4 miles away (straight line)
More lakes and rivers nearby
River · Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Crystal River
A gentle, clear, shallow float for families and first-time paddlers, winding from Glen Lake to Lake Michigan at Glen Arbor.
- Public launch
- Rentals
River · Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Platte River
An easy, clear, shallow river for tubing and paddling through Sleeping Bear Dunes to Platte Bay, with fall salmon and steelhead in fall and spring.
- Swim beach
- Public launch
- Rentals
Lake · Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Platte Lake
An all-sports lake of about 2,500 acres near Honor: ski, tube and sail, then fish for walleye and smallmouth. The no-wake Platte River runs on to Lake Michigan.
- All-sports
- Public launch