EMPIRE, MICH. -- A recently released mobile app seeks to help visitors at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore enjoy even more adventures in the park.

The free app, simply named “NPS Sleeping Bear Dunes," aims to be an intuitive visitors’ guide offering information previously found only on printed brochures or on the park’s website: maps, points of interest, history, locations of beaches and trailheads, service details on wheelchair access and restrooms, campground information, an events calendar, and more.

The app also offers several self-guided audio tours, which include narrated highlights for Port Oneida Rural Historic District, historic Glen Haven Village, and the geology of Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive.

After three years of production, the app became available on iOS devices in December and Android devices in late January.

“Our intent was to get people into lesser-known parts of the park and to provide them with some interesting content when they get to those places,” said Merrith Bauman, the park’s chief of interpretation. “We hope it gets people seeing new things in their park.”

A screenshot of the Sleeping Bear Dunes app in action.

One of the app’s features is that its content can be downloaded so users may access the information even when they’re in areas of the park without cell phone service.

Bauman said the app will help the park service cut down on printed products and eventually increase accessibility for people who are blind or visually impaired, by way of offering more audio guides -- an addition Bauman anticipates will be included in a future update of the app.

The app will also allow the park service to become more responsive to visitor suggestions -- as more people use the app and offer feedback, she said, the app will continue to evolve.

The app’s release is one of a number of developments marking Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s 50th anniversary year. The 71,000-acre park in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula was authorized by Congress on October 21, 1970.

Information on the new mobile app can be found for iOS devices here and for Android devices here.

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