Hiking to the Treat / Tweddle Farm in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – August 31, 2014
The hike to see the old Treat Farm can probably not be called one of the secrets of Sleeping Bear Dunes anymore, although it is still unmarked and one of the lesser visited places in the National Lakeshore. This short hike has a little of everything that makes Sleeping Bear Dunes such a great place to visit. There is a walk through a nice hardwood forest, 2 historic homesteads to explore and a dune to climb with a scenic panorama of Lake Michigan.
The trailhead is located on the northwest corner of Norconk Road about 1.75 miles south of Empire. Parking is on the side of the road and there are currently no signs or facilities here.
Across the road from the trailhead is The Tweddle Farm, shown in the photo above. According to the NPS website: “This picturesque farm was home to the Tweddle family. John Tweddle originally settled in this area around 1840 and built a log cabin at the present site of the Treat Farm about ½ mile from here. This was a one-room log house. The family built the larger house, now known as the Treat Farmhouse around 1880, and around 1895 they moved down to this site at the corner of Norconk Road.” This is currently used as a housing for seasonal park service employees.
Directions to the trailhead >>
The trail to the Treat Farm starts just past the gate off the corner of the road.
It is a slightly uphill walk on an old road for about a 0.5 mile to get to the old farm site.
When the trees start to open up the first thing you see is the barn that was restored by the Park Service in 2004. The photo above was taken from around the back of the barn.
Mr. Treat and his wife purchased this 220 acre farm from the Tweddle family in 1912. At this time all of the buildings on the property except the barn were already standing. The NPS website says that: “Treat purchased the barn in the Detroit area and had it disassembled, with each piece numbered. The barn was shipped in two railroad cars to the Empire area. From there it was moved to the site using a horse-drawn team.”
Checking out the concrete dome garage.
There are also a couple old sheds still standing on the property.
Inside we found some rusty farm equipment.
After checking out the equipment shed we followed the trail across the old field to climb the dune know as Old Baldy.
On the other side of the field there is steep trail heading up into the trees.
After a short, but fairly difficult climb you top out on the dune ridge with views of the farm on one side and Lake Michigan on the other. The peak of Old Baldy stands over 350 feet above the Lake.
The view of Platte Bay and Platte River Point. The trail continues along the ridge and then dead ends at a steep drop off.
After taking in the views for a while we headed back down the way we came.
If the climb to the top of Old Baldy is too steep for you, continue on the trail along the edge of the field for about another 0.25 mile.
The trail ends at another overlook that is easier to access, but about just as nice as the top of Old Baldy.
Looking north toward Old Baldy.
Before heading back we checked out the farmhouse that was originally built around 1880.
If you look at the wall just past the picnic table you will see that that porcupines have been busy eating the wood siding.
In the back of the house you can see the gutter system that Mr. Treat made to collect rain water. After trying for a year they were not able to find a good well on the property. All of their fresh water was either collected from rain or transported from a spring about a 1/4 mile away.
After checking out the house we headed back down the old road to our cars.
Both the kids and adults enjoyed exploring this area and it is a good way to get away from the crowds that have taken over much of Sleeping Bear Dunes in recent years.
Read more on the history of this area on the NPS website >>
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Best Hikes with Children in Michigan
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Shelly
Thank you so much for this detailed explanation. will go there tomorrow.
MyMichiganTrips
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