SAWYER, Mich — For nearly 100 years, people have made the almost other-worldly landscape of Warren Dunes State Park a go-to destination in Michigan. For some, it's a place to relax and enjoy Lake Michigan. For others, it's a place to connect while hiking, but for others, Warren Dunes is a place to conquer!
Look up... way up...240 feet up, and you'll see people like 18-year-old Cameron Ives trying to conquer the park's tallest point, Tower Hill.
More than 1 million people visit the park each year, but few have the courage to engage in the sport of sandboarding. It's a full-body, pain-filled activity, climbing the steep, sandy hill and then hanging on for dear life with your feet as the board propels you down the hill.
PHOTOS: Sandboarding
For athletes like Ives, this sport takes real patience, and getting up the hill is the hardest part. There are no ski lifts, so boarders climb the vertical incline with board in hand, scaling hot sand.
"You can sort of use the board as, like, a hitch in the sand to climb up. That's what a lot of snowboarders do on the mountains and stuff, but it's really tiring getting up those things," Ives said. "You just got to be prepared, and maybe start with some of the smaller hills before you work your way up to the big one."
The sandboard resembles a snowboard much more than a surfboard. It follows the same principle as snowboarding but with a big difference. Sand is much heavier, and unlike snow, it gets hot — especially in the summer. Ives said summer days are not the best time to try this sport, and the earlier you hit the hill, the better.
"Especially in the early morning, I think when the sand's not burning hot," Ives said. "But luckily, we do have shoes now, so you can go in the midday and not have any problems with the sand."
For Ives and sandboarders like him, the thrill of this sport is getting down the hill with a clean and fall-free attempt. The hard part is getting up to the top of a dune. It takes strength, patience and a plan.
Ives works at the state park assisting surfers and sandboarders. He loves being near the water, but encouraging people who want to try conquering one of the park’s main dunes, and getting newbies on the water or the sand.
"I love working out here. I mean, most jobs in the summer are inside, where you don't really get to enjoy the heat outside and get a farmer's tan like I have," Ives said. "So yeah, it's definitely an enjoyable job. Good summer job."
In nearby St. Joseph, Erin Gerard and her husband operate the Third Coast Surf Shop, and they see that once people try sandboarding, they like it!
"It's kind of like riding the dune is like riding a wave or, you know, riding down a mountain and that way. But a big difference is that you do have to walk back up the dune, so for people who've done, you know, snowboarding or surfing or skateboarding, it's a great kind of thing like that. Or if you've never done any of those — like most people that rent sandboards — it works out great for them, too," Gerard said. "It's a fun way to experience the dunes. We get all kinds of people, from kids to people of all ages and families, anybody really can do it. It's very beginner-friendly. The sand sleds, they give you the option of just like sitting and going. That's pretty easy for anybody, you know, even someone who says, 'Hey, I've got terrible balance, I don't think I can do this.' We say, 'Just give it a try.'"
I did try the sand sled, a device like a snowboard but with a seat for you to go down in a seated position. My trip down the hill was slow because I neglected to put beeswax on the bottom of the board to give it a smooth ride.
Sandboarding isn't for everyone. It's hard and tiring, and the trip to the top can leave you exhausted, but the trip downhill seems to be worth the effort. If you get too sweaty, there is always a reward at the end — a soak in the cool water of Lake Michigan at the base of the dune.
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