Michigan Trail Tuesday: Seven Ponds Nature Center, Lapeer County

Michigan Trail Tuesday is our attempt to showcase a different trail or trail segment each week. The Mitten State is home to thousands of miles of trails, including the new Iron Belle Trail that runs from Detroit in the southeast to Ironwood in the western Upper Peninsula and more miles of the North Country Trail than any other state.

We’ve been out on some truly amazing hikes this year, as my quest to do a “new to us” hike in each of Michigan’s 83 counties continues. A recent trip to the Thumb region found us making some stops along the way, including a visit to the amazing Seven Ponds Nature Center. The nature center draws its name from the fact that there are seven ponds on the property, offering some great opportunities for birdwatching and seeing some amphibians and reptiles. We could hear and see birds as soon as we got out of the car, so we knew despite a rainy forecast we should be in for a good visit.

Our first stop was the visitor center, where we paid the small fee for visiting, checked out the gift shop, and received a map and some helpful guidance from the weekend receptionist. We made a quick pass through the gift shop, which was full of books, shirts, and many other items, then went in to check out a room that is sure to be a favorite with any kids that visit.

This room is full of books, hands-on displays, taxidermied animals, and even a few live animals. A large window gives a glimpse of local birds and squirrels as they visit several feeders. Several turtles and other animals are here for educational programs.

We headed out to the trails, following the one that begins behind the visitor center and splits at the bottom of the hill. To start out we headed to the right and went out to check out the dock and a view of the Treetop Pond, as well as a distant view of the A frame bridge that we would soon cross.

The trail continues onto another split, where we went left heading towards the bridge. This neat little bridge provides great views of two of the ponds and connects to the Paul’s Woods loop and is one of the nature center’s signature features.

This loop trail is .6 miles long and is part boardwalk and part dirt path. We loved walking the boardwalk section with the tall cattails and plants lining both sides. A pair of sandhill cranes joined us on the dirt trail shortly before we reached the boardwalk to the observation platform overlooking the big pond.

We took a short walk on the Rainbarrel Marsh loop, then passed by the visitor center again before heading out to do the Earl’s Prairie Loop. A bit of light rain hit as we entered the prairie, limiting our time checking out the flowers. An observation tower here provides a look at most of this .6 mile loop from above.

Some other things that we checked out during our visit were the Woodland Wildflower Area, the NatureScape playground, the Herb Garden, and the Butterfly Garden. We didn’t see any butterflies in the garden, but we were visited by a hummingbird.

There are even more trails on the north side of Crawford Rd., and another portion of preserved land with several miles of trails on Jonathan Rd. a few miles to the southwest.

Seven Ponds Nature Center is a truly amazing place that the whole family will enjoy. Be sure to check out their website and Facebook page for upcoming special events, membership information, and volunteer opportunities!