Sleeping Bear Inn Groundbreaking Open House

Sleeping Bear Inn & Garage Groundbreaking: An open house will take place on Friday, April 8, where visitors will be able to see the buildings before they undergo renovation. It will take place at 1pm. BEAR will also host an open house April 9 from 10-2, though there will be no SLBE rangers or staff available that day.

The National Park will be leasing the building to BEAR, the non-profit “Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation” to preserve the two buildings while providing a wonderful visitor experience in the historic Glen Haven village. Maggie Kato and her husband Jeff retired from their longtime jobs with Habitat for Humanity of Genesee County to move north and oversee the renovation before transitioning into innkeepers. This coming year, the Inn will undergo the renovations for it to open for the 2023 season, with plans to feature 8 bed and breakfast rooms and bathrooms. The couple hopes to eventually open the dining room to the public as a restaurant. The Inn plans to be open and operate year-round.

“Originally built between 1865 and 1867, the inn served as a frontier hotel for business travelers and local workers. It continued in operation throughout the next century evolving into a tourist hotel before closing in the early 1970s. Today the 13-acre Glen Haven Village Historic District is all a part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.”

Read the full article about the project in the Leelanau Ticker and visit the Sleeping Bear Inn website and follow them on Facebook.