MEARS, Mich. — Silver Lake State Park is best known for off-road vehicles taking on the dunes, but in the fall instead of tire tracks covering the dunes, hoof marks will take their place.
The popular equestrian riding season will soon return, and event organizers say if you want to participate don’t hesitate to sign up when registration opens, as spots usually fill up fast.
Park manager Jody Johnston says, “The month of November we have a season now for equestrians to come out and ride from the parking lot out across the dunes to the Lake Michigan shoreline.”
The nearly 10 mile route takes equestrians along the lakeshore allowing visitors to appreciate the scenery in a much different way.
This is the second year the horseback season will return, and Johnston says they are working to allow more people to join in on the fun.
"We bumped the numbers up...we did limit it to 100 horses and people per day. But this year, we think we can accommodate 125 per day,” said Johnston.
And he says the horseback riding season helps support local businesses in town during one of their slower times of the year.
"It does help a little bit there. There's no obviously it's not the very large numbers like we have in the summer season for for the typical tourist season," Johnston says, “Some people want to ride their horse two days in a row to spend the weekend here and they'll border Horus at the county fairgrounds or some other businesses around the area that will accommodate a horse to go in a stable overnight and you pay a fee for that.”
Registration opens September 1st. There is a $10 dollar registration fee per horse per day.
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