Saturday is National Public Lands Day, which means fees will be waived and volunteers participating in special events at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

At the Lakeshore, there will be free access to the Dune Climb, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, Glen Haven, Port Oneida, Platte Point, North and South Manitou islands, and all the trails and beaches managed by the National Park Service.

Meanwhile, volunteers are needed to conduct a beach cleanup. The event coincides with the International Coastal Cleanup, and participants will collect data from the debris they pick up. The data will be compiled and analyzed by the Ocean Conservancy and the Alliance for the Great Lakes. Volunteers should meet with park rangers at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Visitor Center in Empire.

Also Saturday, a group of local paddlers who kayak and canoe the lower Platte River will be collecting trash along the way. The paddlers start at the Platter River Picnic Area and take out at Platte Point.

Volunteers are also needed to assist a partner group, Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear, to restore a historic farm shed in Port Oneida.

All volunteers will also receive a coupon for another free entrance at a later date to the Lakeshore, or an other federally managed land.
To join in the activities, call the park headquarters at 326-5134.