The bitter cold has helped to finally cause ice dunes to form along Presque Isle's lakeside beaches.

Waves brought large chunks of ice toward the beaches, building up a frozen barrier.

That wall of ice will protect the beaches that have been hard hit by storms the past few months, causing extensive wind and wave erosion.

But the ice dunes can also be dangerous.

Park rangers warn visitors to stay away because the dunes can be hollow. And anyone walked on them can fall through into the lake.

Meantime, a few ice fishermen today took their shanties out onto Presque Isle Bay.

Much of the shallower western end of the bay froze the past few days as the temperature plunged.