Accommodations

Cedar Lake Lodge, Traverse City

Golf Courses

Dunes Golf Club

Skiing & Snowboarding

Bayview Trail c/o Sleeping Bear

9922 Front Street Dunes National Lakeshore
(231) 326-5134

Seven trails totaling over 43 miles are marked and signed according to ski ability. Trail maps are available. Located in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Local History

First settled by John LaRue and his family in 1851.  Named after the schooner Empire which became icebound in its harbor in the winter of 1863.  The vessel was then used as a schoolhouse.  Empire developed into a lumber town.  Incorporated as a village in 1895. 

Informational excerpts from Michigan Place Names, by Walter Romig, L.H.D.

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