Rangers at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will continue their weekly "Saturdays at the Lakeshore" hikes this fall and offer several other special events.

Every Saturday through October, visitors can meet with a ranger at the Visitor Center in Empire on M-72 at 1 p.m. Each week, a different topic and location will be featured. Programs are usually over by 3 p.m.

All programs are free, but a park entrance pass is required except for Sept. 29, which is National Public Lands Day. Passes may be purchased at the Visitor Center and at several other locations within the National Park.

Following is a list of Saturday events at the Lakeshore:

• Sept. 22: “Hike to a Beaver Lodge.” Visitors will see the native “engineers” of the park on an easy hike.

• Sept. 29: “National Public Lands Day: Beach Cleanup/Historic Preservation.” On the “fee free” day, visitors can join other volunteers to beautify a park beach or help rebuild an historic farmstead.

• Oct. 6: “A Berry Good Year.” Visitors will learn how to identify wildflowers that are now producing seeds and berries.

• Oct. 13: “The Whole Point of Sleeping Bear Dunes.” Visitors will hike a trail that best epitomizes the park.

• Oct. 20: “Historic Boats of the Manitou Passage.” The park’s museum technicians will help visitors learn about different types of boats.

• Oct. 27: “Devil’s Hole and its Haunted History.” Visitors will hike to a big hole in the dunes to hear some legends about it.

Also this fall, the National Lakeshore will offer historic beach patrols at 7:30 p.m. on two Saturdays, Oct. 13 and 20, at the Maritime Museum in Glen Haven.

Fall was traditionally known as “shipwreck season” on the Great Lakes. Rangers will lead a hike along the beach to search for wrecks with a costumed interpreter portraying a historic U.S. Life Saving Service surfman.

On two Fridays this fall, Sept. 28 and Oct. 26, at 2 p.m., the public will have an opportunity to meet two “Artists in Residence” at the Lakeshore.

Artist Lori Taylor from Goodrich, Mich., will demonstrate her works of mixed media and storytelling on Sept. 28. Artist Margaret Huddy from Alexandria, Va., will show her watercolor landscapes on Oct. 26.

For more information on National Park Service programs at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, contact the Visitor Center at 326-5134 or visit www.nps.gov/slbe online.