Route Description
The road is a 7.4-mile (11.9 km) loop that can be driven or bicycled. Hiking the roadway is permitted, but not encouraged because of the traffic. The roadway starts at an entrance off M-109 (DH Day Highway) south of Glen Lake. There is a parking lot inside the entrance for visitors who wish to bike or hike the road. From there, the drive continues as a two-way road to the entrance gate before turning northward as a one-way road. There are 12 numbered locations along the road that are listed in the drive's interpretive brochure. The first of these is a covered bridge. After this point, the drive ascends a steep hill to an overlook of Glen Lake. The area around this location includes "heavily forested areas, sand plains and scrub growth among the rock outcrops". The next stop is the Dune Overlook and Picnic Mountain picnic area. From this vantage point, tourists can view both North and South Manitou islands, also part of the park, as well as Pyramid Point and Sleeping Bear Bay. As the drive approaches this stop and the fourth, the Cottonwood Trail, it emerges from the forest into the sandy dune area next to Lake Michigan. Several more stops are noted in the guide before Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive heads back inland through the beech and maple forest.
The roadway turns back to the shore and two overlooks next to the lake. Overlook 9 is next to the bluff on Lake Michigan, 450 feet (140 m) above the water, and overlook 10 is for views of the Sleeping Bear Dune. From overlook 9, visitors can see Platte Bay some nine miles (14.5 km) to the south on a clear day. These two locations are considered especially hazardous because of the heights involved. In 2002, the Detroit Free Press noted that a half-dozen visitors have to be rescued by paramedics at these two overlooks after falls. The community of Glen Arbor has a special off-road vehicle to effect rescues from the base of the cliffs. The penultimate stop along the drive is the North Bar Overlook and Picnic Area, which provides vistas of North Bar Lake. After this stop, the drive descends into maple and pine forests before coming back to the starting point. This area follows an old logging road under the forest canopy. The drive has been called "the best way to see Lake Michigan from top of the dune elevations", and "one of the nation's most fascinating landscapes".
A Park Pass fee is required for using the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive (except for Golden Age Passport/Senior Pass holders). A free interpretive guide for the scenic drive is available at the visitor center in Empire, Michigan, or at the entrance gate. The road is open to cars generally from the middle of April into November. During the operating season, the road is open starting at 9:00 a.m. until 30 minutes after sunset. After late December, the drive is used as a cross-country ski trail. The park service combines the unplowed roadway with the Shauger Hill Trail to form an eight-mile (13 km) system of trails of various ratings. The speed limit on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive is 20 mph (32 km/h). In 2008, there were 82,527 vehicles that circled the drive, a 4.7% increase over the previous year.
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