NATURE AREAS
BERRIEN COUNTY
Berrien County Parks
Love Creek Nature Area outside Berrien Springs is open year round offering six miles of hiking trails, a 4.5 mile mountain bike trail, and
outstanding cross-country skiing opportunities with groomed and lighted trails and ski rentals available. Interpretive center and naturalist services
are also provided. Madeline Bertrand Park in Niles also offers hiking and biking trails, and lighted and groomed cross-country ski trails. You can
also try the challenging 18-hole frisbee golf course. Enjoy the park's covered shelters, indoor lodge, scenic picnic areas and children's playground.
Sarett Nature Center Benton Harbor
The primary goal at Sarett Nature Center is to provide quality environmental education for the community. Take part in weekend programs for
the entire family and special summer programs for kids, hike along five miles of trails meandering through its 800 acres, including boardwalks
and observation platforms, or visit their newly renovated and expanded visitor center. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing available in winter.
Fernwood Botanical Garden Niles
Fernwood is a special place where people, plants, and nature come together. Beautiful gardens surrounded by forest are tucked into a landscape
of 105 acres of cultivated and natural areas along the scenic St. Joseph River valley. Miles of trails await, and indoors, visitors may enjoy an art
gallery, fern conservatory, nature center, cafe, and gift shop.
KALAMAZOO COUNTY
Kalamazoo County Parks
The Kalamazoo County Park system is comprised of 5 parks and the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail. Ranging from 110 to 330 acres, each park
offers a variety of recreations activities such as hiking, biking, swimming, picnicking, disc golfing, fishing and more. The River Valley Trail
offers 14 miles (of a planned 35 miles) of 12 ft wide, paved trails and the River Oaks park has 20 soccer fields.
City of Portage Parks
The park system is made up of 16 parks that offer a variety of fun activities like hiking, bicycling, fishing and more. Highlights include the
Portage Creek Bicentennial Park, the Celery Flats Interpretive and Historical Area, West Lake Nature Preserve and Bishop's Bog.
Kalamazoo Nature Center
The Kalamazoo Nature Center is a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire people to care for the environment by providing
experiences that lead them to understand their connection to the natural world. Recognized as one of the top nature centers in the country, KNC
has expanded to include 1,100 acres of wooded, rolling countryside and offers camps, special family programs and the Nature's Way Preschool.
ALLEGAN COUNTY
Allegan County Parks
The Allegan County Parks and Recreation Commission is responsible for nine parks and the 55-mile Allegan County Equestrian Trail System.
These facilities range in size from 4 acres to 320 acres and offer a variety of boating, swimming, fishing, camping, horseback riding, playground
and other recreation opportunities on some of the most scenic land found in Western Michigan.
Saugatuck Dunes State Park
A day-use park along a secluded strip of Lake Michigan shoreline, Saugatuck Dunes State Park offers 1,000 acres of land with 2.5 miles of shore
line. Enjoy picnicking, hiking on trails ranging from rolling hills to steep slopes, or swimming in Lake Michigan.
Allegan State Gaming Area
Wonderful wildlife viewing opportunities abound in this 50,000-acre state game area. Featuring oak-pine savanna, lowland hardwood and oak-
pine forests, wetlands, ponds and open fields. Enjoy trials for hiking, biking and cross country skiing, fishing, hunting and boating.
OTTAWA COUNTY
Ottawa County Parks
Ottawa County is home to more than a dozen parks and nature areas that offer a variety of family activities including hiking, biking, boating,
fishing, swimming, picnicking and cross-country skiing. Additional open spaces and unimproved parks are available for hiking, hunting and
exploration.
DeGraaf Nature Center Holland
You will enjoy exploring the woodland, shrub, marsh and pond trails of this 18 acre preserve located within the city limits of Holland. The
Brower Interpretive Center is brimming with information and hands-on displays including an indoor pond and stream displays with live animals.
The Nature Center offers wildlife programs, educational classes, nature tours, events, and a Mini Theatre featuring SkyWatch images of space.
Windmill Island Holland
A beautiful oasis within the city of Holland, Windmill Island features a 240 year old working Dutch windmill towering over 36 acres of manicured
gardens, dikes, canals and picnic areas. Over 150,000 tulips bloom in the spring. In the summer, annual plants and flowers decorate the grounds
while visitors delight in the old-time klompen dance performed by boys and girls dressed in folk costumes and wooden shoes.
Outdoor Discovery Center and Macatawa Greenway Holland
The purpose of the ODCMG is to create opportunities to discover the wonder of the natural world through outdoor education and recreation
experiences and by protecting and connecting natural habitats and greenways for the benefit of wildlife, people, and the environment.
KENT COUNTY
Frederik Meijer Gardens Grand Rapids
Comprised of 132 acres of natural wetlands, woodlands, meadows and botanical gardens, Frederik Meijer Gardens is a year round experience
with indoor gardens, world class sculpture gallery, outdoor acreage featuring a world-class sculpture park, children's garden, historic Michigan
farm garden, an outdoor amphitheater for summer concert events, nature trails and boardwalks.
Blandford Nature Center Grand Rapids
Using 143 acres of land and wildlife as the backdrop, Blandford Nature Center provides education and community programs for children and
adults. Featuring heritage buildings, and interpretive center, a wildlife education center, 4.5 miles of trails and a 50-acre farm, the mission of
Blandford Nature Center is to change lives through fun and engaging learning experiences in the natural world.
OTHER AREAS
Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery Mattawan
Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery was established in 1927 and produces a wide range of fish species for both inland and Great Lakes waters using
both indoor and outdoor rearing facilities. The Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery Visitor Center features exhibits on the importance of lakes and
wetlands to the Great Lakes, fisheries history, commercial fishing, lake sturgeon rehabilitation and offers tours of the hatchery.
Leila Arboretum Battle Creek
With a mission to nurture an appreciation of nature and the interaction of people and plants, the Leila Arboretum offers Growing in the Garden
classes each spring and fall, a Master Gardener Volunteer Program, and The Children’s Garden, a secure, one-acre site, offering educational field
trips and family learning experiences from spring through October.
Fenner Nature Center Lansing
Fenner Nature Center has an interpretive center and over 4 miles of hiking trails that can be used to explore special places like the "Sugar Bush,"
the butterfly garden, the native plant garden, and the herb garden, as well as our glacial esker and observation decks overlooking our three ponds.
Huron-Clinton Metroparks Detroit Metro Area
A special regional park district encompassing five counties in southeast Michigan and consisting of 13 parks totaling almost 24,000 acres, the
Metroparks provide an ever-growing variety of outdoor recreational and educational activities the year round in safe, clean environments. Enjoy
picnicking, fishing, swimming, boating, hiking, nature study, biking, golf, winter sports and a host of special outdoor programs and events.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Empire
Recently named the most beautiful place in America by Good Morning America, Sleeping Bear Dunes offers 100 miles of hiking trails, bicycling
throughout the park, hunting and fishing, geology tours, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, swimming, canoeing and more.
St. Joseph County Parks Northern Indiana
Eight separate nature preserves in the South Bend area offer a variety of summer and winter activities including hiking, biking, birdwatching,
hunting, canoeing, sledding and tubing, cross-country skiing and more.
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