The US Coast Guard in Traverse City shared a photo of Lake Michigan and the shoreline of Sleeping Bear Dunes near Empire in winter and the stunning grandeur it shows has been shared across Michigan.

After sharing the photo, the USCS received questions about if the photo was a recent one? The photo indeed was taken in early February 2016 and shows Lake Michigan free of ice. In fact, the lake is clear, the USCG says, all the way to the straits of Mackinac. The body of water that is ice and snow covered on the left-hand side of the photo is North Bar Lake.

Good morning Empire MI, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and Empire Bluffs Overlook!

Posted by U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City on Sunday, February 14, 2016

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