Now that the weather’s cooled off it’s the perfect time to go for a walk in the woods. Here are five places with easy trails for the entire family.
Brooks Nature Area
You can find this nature area to the north of Stuart Lake, off of Stuart Lake Road in Marshall. Fields, wetlands and stands of hardwood trees are all part of the park’s ecosystem. Some of the huge hardwood trees located along the edge of Stuart Lake are estimated to be more than 300 years old.
Whitehouse Nature Trail
Albion College created this nature area to serve double duty as an outdoor classroom and a place to enjoy being outdoors. These trails average about one mile and go past water, prairies, a wildflower garden and forest.
Historic Bridge Park
Old truss bridges have been relocated and restored to this outdoor museum on the banks of the Kalamazoo River. It starts a trail that connects three different parks – it’s two miles to the next park. There’s also a bathroom, playground, picnic grills and kayak launch.
Marshall Riverwalk
There are some lovely overlooks along the 1.6-mile boardwalk. It runs alongside a paved biking path following both Rice Creek and the Kalamazoo River. Keep an eye out for the South Marshall Dam waterfall and a Chinese pagoda. At Stuart’s Landing there is a fishing dock and boat launch onto the Kalamazoo River, as well as bathrooms.
Ott Biological Preserve
Park at Edgewood Avenue for the most popular trailhead. If you go to the right, the trails are broader and more cultivated with a boardwalk through the wetlands (you might spot a beaver dam!). Trails on the left are a little more wild, with tree roots, a muddy lake and a sharp incline. To see a map of the trails, go here.
