One of our stops on the Lake Michigan Circle Tour was visiting Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. I had no plans for our visit other than spending time at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center, completing the Junior Ranger book through learning and exploration, and camping at Platte River Campground.
All of which we did; only my children didn’t participate as much as I envisioned them to. Instead, I took it upon myself, completed the activities, and earned my Junior Ranger patch and badge as a 40-something-year-old adult at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
So, if you are interested in exploring a national park, shoreline, or landmark and completing the Junior Ranger program as an adult, don’t feel embarrassed. Just do it!
All Ages Welcomed
If it makes you feel any better, the inside of the Sleeping Bear Dunes Junior Ranger book says that the activities are for those up to 110. Meaning, that we as grown-ass adults can complete the activities, earn our goodies, and not be ashamed.
After I reflected on the entire experience, I felt that this was a splendid way to heal my inner child and I no longer feel ashamed in completing the programs while visiting various national parks, whether my children fully participate or not.
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Not So Junior Ranger Program
In fact, I was inspired by a blog post from a fellow blogger who introduced me to the Not So Junior Ranger program; a very similar program to the Junior Ranger program, only it is for ages 13-130.
She documented each book that she completed and the goodies that she received from completing the activities. I adore and appreciate how the goodies make for awesome souvenirs, but most importantly they are a symbol of accomplishment.
Regardless of your age or the program that you choose, you are welcome to participate in these fun, interactive, and educational programs while exploring in person or in some cases virtually.
You Must Ask for a Junior Ranger Book
In order to participate, you must ask for a Junior Ranger book. They are not just out and lying around. Once you receive your book, I would encourage you to stamp it at the Passport Station (for fun and documentation) and then flip through the book to gauge places within the park that you should explore to complete the book.
From my experience working through the Junior Ranger books at Indiana Dunes National Park and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, I would encourage you to begin at the Visitor Center.
Explore the Visitor Center First
While at the Visitor Center, you can talk to a park ranger and have them sign your book, watch a ranger-led demonstration, and explore exhibits that are housed within the center. This will complete the majority of your activities. For the remainder of the activities, you will need to get out into the park and explore.
On this particular visit, we took a handful of photos at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore entrance sign, then headed over to the ranger-led demonstration outside and learned about sea lampreys (also known as vampire fish) and the best things to do while at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Shoreline.
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Stamp Your Passport and Junior Ranger Book
After wrapping up activities outside, we headed inside the Visitor Center. We picked up our Junior Ranger books, stamped my Letterfolk National Park Passport Journal and the Junior Ranger books, explored the exhibit room while completing some of the activities in the Junior Ranger book, and bought a few postcards and stickers.
Later on that evening at the campground, my son and I worked on the Junior Ranger books. As I worked throughout the book, I got serious about getting my 11 activities done so that I could say the pledge the next morning and earn my badge – as a grown adult. Ha!
Service Projects Earn the Patch!
As I worked through my activities, I noticed that I could do the Service Project and earn my patch and that’s exactly what I did. I picked up trash around our campground on the way to the restroom to earn my patch.
Although it was the easiest of the service projects, it was the most difficult because the campground was vastly clean. I had to work hard to find small pieces of paper to pick up.
The next morning before checking out, I went to the Ranger Station to turn in my booklet, say my pledge, and earn my goodies because my children didn’t want to. Ha!
During this visit, I learned that a person could complete the pledge and receive their goodies at a campground Ranger Station and not have to head back to the Visitor Center. Now, I don’t know if this is true for all associated campgrounds, but it was true and convenient at Platte River Campground where we stayed overnight during our visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Final Thoughts
So, here I am, a 40-something-year-old woman, earning her first Junior Ranger badge and patch at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Overall, I can’t recommend the Junior Ranger programs enough for families of all ages!
Would you do this as an adult or not?
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