The story of dune succession plays out here, with dunes of all types present at this dynamic and ecologically diverse natural area. There are forested stabilized dunes as well as dunes that continue to shift and change. There are even blowout dunes—green islands in a sea of sand. Pockets of unusually old white birches are present in the dips of the dunes while pink lady slippers bloom in profusion along sandy trails. This natural area protects much of Houdek Creek, the largest tributary flowing into Lake Leelanau. A diverse array of wetland and upland ecosystems provides abundant wildlife habitat.
Houdek Dunes’ signature is its stands of bright, healthy white birches – many over a century old. Their advanced age is highly unusual for this transition species. Woodland pockets created by dips in the dunes shelter the birches from the wind and allow them to thrive.
Note that the stands of quaking aspen at the top of the stairs near the information kiosk are clones. One of several aspen groupings throughout the property, they share a root system and identical genetic makeup. The tree takes its name from the spinning movement of its leaves. In a breeze some leaves show pastel and others expose darker green tops. The stem shape causes this flip-flopping – a design that likely evolved to limit the leaves’ sun exposure.
Along the dunes’ southeast boundary flows Houdek Creek, the largest tributary flowing into North Lake Leelanau. This creek can be viewed from an observation platform, but we ask hikers not to visit its fragile, sandy shore, which would compromise the health of this pristine stream.
But these wetlands are just a part of what’s here. A quarter mile inland from Lake Michigan, the dunes form a border between Houdek Creek and upland hardwood forest. This barrier includes active and stabilized dunes, open, pitted, and perched sand dunes. There are even blowout dunes – where all the sand is blown out around a large clump of vegetation, leaving a green island in a sea of sand.
Cottonwood, red pine, white birch, red-osier dogwood, and sand-reed grass flourish in these open spaces. Among the hardwoods, you’ll find aspen and red oak, with beech and maple in the sheltered valleys. Note the striped maple’s large leaves and white striped bark (thus its nickname, the “Michigan State” tree).
Clearcutting and constant buffeting by Lake Michigan’s wind and waves never gave these barrier dunes and their forest a chance to stabilize. Most of the sand continues to shift with the elements, much as it has since the dunes’ formation during the Lake Nipissing era.
