Step inside historic inn beautifully restored after 50 years of slumber

GLEN HAVEN, MI — After a 50-year slumber, Sleeping Bear Inn has reopened as a piece of living history.

Built in the 19th century and operational through the 1970s, the inn has been a permanent fixture in Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore, before it was even a park.

The historic inn is the oldest inn in a national park, predating Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone Park. As you walk through the doors you are greeted by a glorious enclosed wrap-around porch that features original windows and beautiful hardwood floors.

READ MORE: Pancake breakfasts, the Milky Way and Lake Michigan: A stay at Sleeping Bear Inn

After a meticulous two-year renovation project by non-profit, Balancing Environment And Rehabilitation, or BEAR, the $1.7 million restoration effort became a reality in June, with the inn opening up to guests for the first time in decades.

Innkeepers Maggie and Jeff Kato led the restoration efforts and have since switched their focus to creating a warm and welcoming environment for guests.

"Innkeeping is where our heart's passion is, and we really feel like we're living our best lives," Maggie Kato said.

The main level features a spacious dinning room, three brick fireplaces and a parlor. The main floor also features a commercial kitchen where Maggie spends her mornings creating locally-sourced breakfasts for guests.

"We are excited every day to get up and do breakfast, and to meet the people who are staying here and to see the guests who are part of the history of this. We couldn't be in a more beautiful place. We pinch ourselves every day," she said.

The renovation added modern amenities like private bathrooms to each of the eight guest rooms on the second level. There is also one accessible room located on the first floor. Each room features ample light and modern amenities, some of the rooms face north with views of the historic cannery building and Sleeping Bear Bay.

The inn sits steps from Lake Michigan and Glen Haven Beach. The property features multiple outdoor seating areas as well as one perched atop a hill, providing beautiful views of the bay in the daytime and epic views of the Milky Way and Northern Lights after dark.

Below are some of the photos showing the extensive renovations that were completed.

The inn has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.

The Inn's welcome sign reads "erected 1857" but historians have nailed down that was actually the year the dock was built and Glen Haven was established. Local historian Andrew White found a letter about the completion of the inn that was postmarked in 1866, according to the Glen Arbor Sun.

The inn is open daily throughout the year with the exception of a spring break from the end of March through the beginning of April.