THE DUNE THEN In the 1700’s the Native Americans that lived in the area would use Mount Baldhead to hold their annual “White Dog” sacrifice. During World War II the U.S government built a Radar Tower on top of Mount Baldhead to detect Russian Planes flying over the Great lakes. This is the only Radar tower still standing in the U.S. Before this Radar tower was built in 1964, people used Mount Baldhead as they would today. They would climb this giant dune to get some exercise, see an amazing view of Saugatuck or just for fun. But soon they found Mount Baldhead was slowly eroding away, to preserve their dune they built walls about half way up the dune. They soon found that the walls weren’t going to work as they had planned.So instead of building walls, the decided to plant trees and bushes on the dune, and it workd mount bald head is still here today!
THE DUNE NOW From the parking lot at Mt. Baldhead you can embark on a trek up the 302 steps to the top of the dune to the overlook with an amazing view of Saugatuck. There are platforms with benches spaced out throughout the stairway for resting and just enjoying nature.Each year, in September, runners participate in the Mt. Baldhead Challenge which is a 15k race that ends with climbing the steps to the top of Mt. Baldhead.Along with visiting downtown, you can also check out Oval Beach Park which is located at the base of Mt. Baldhead on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Saugatuck Dunes State Park is north of the Kalamazoo River along Lake Michigan and offers over 1000 acres of beautiful state park as well as miles of trails.
poems
Sunday at the Dune
As we climb up the stairs We ascend in pairs
During our climb We hear the church bells chime
Once we reach the top we can finally stop
Resting at the rails We see sailboats sail
Running to the lake our legs start to ache
The water is crystal clear We take off towards the peer
After we take a dip We throw a seagull a chip
We stat hiking toward the dune Hoping to make it back by noon
We are back where we started Sad to be departed
The day at the dune seemed to end to soon
In My Eyes The sun is rising It is warming my cool sand birds chirp as they wake Morning gets warmer people start hiking my stairs running down my dune
The midday arrives the sun is burning my sand people in the lake
As evening rolls in the town sits at the bottom it’s getting crowded
In the dead of night animals run through my trees thankful for the night
Bald Eagle Dune As the seasons changed And the game moved We moved too We moved down to Kalamazoo Using the Bald Eagle Dune as our guide We would set up at the bottom of the dune We used the dune as a burial site And for our annual White Dog sacrifice Everything was fine Until the white settlers came And pushed us off our land Loud and noisy they came They tore down trees Put up strange buildings And we never saw Bald Eagle Dune again