Special 4th of July Shootout with Brick Wheels – Pierce Stocking Cookie Ride (sometimes known as the Pierce Sticking Freedom Ride*)
Saturday, July 4th
Start: 0700
Start location: Brick Wheels
Distance: 105km
Elevation: 1297m
Entry into Pierce Stocking is free on the 4th – in fact, the National Park Service waives entrance fees to all national parks for U.S. residents for the entire Independence Day weekend (July 3–5, 2026).
Cookies at Brick Wheels for all after the ride.
*when the 4th falls on a non- Saturday this ride is called the Pierce Stocking Freedom Ride (same course, minus the cookies)
INTERMEDIATES & COURSE FILE
KOMs: Kasson, Inspiration, Pierce Stocking, Lincoln
Sprints: Glen Arbor, Kasben
Pierce Stocking Cookie Ride course file
NOTABLE STRAVA SEGMENTS
coming soon
PIERCE STOCKING SCENIC DRIVE HISTORY
The road was built in the 1960s and finished in 1967 by Pierce Stocking. A lumberman with road-building experience, he wanted to share the beauty of the area with others. He operated the facility until his death in 1976; afterwards it was purchased by the National Park Service and added to the park. In the 1980s, a two-year program reconstructed the roadway and added a number of features for visiting tourists. In 2011, the morning show Good Morning America named the Sleeping Bear Dunes, and Pierce Stocking Drive, as the “Most Beautiful Place in America” after a viewer poll on its website; publicity since the award has increased traffic along the roadway.
Traverse City Shootout 
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