Michigan Trail Tuesday: Susan Creek Nature Preserve
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.
Located next to a busy and scenic stretch of U.S. 31 between Petoskey and Charlevoix, the Susan Creek Nature Preserve offers visitors several miles of beautiful trails for hiking and cross country skiing. This Little Traverse Conservancy property offers excellent wildlife viewing as trails pass wet meadows, ponds, stands of hardwoods, cedar swamp, and Susan Creek. We recently had a chance to visit this amazing preserve and hike most of the trails, with the added bonus of some stunning fall color.
There is a large parking lot and the trailhead can be found near the middle. In a short distance you come to a fork with a large sign highlighting some of the wildlife and plants the preserve is home to as well as a trail map. This is #2 on the map and we chose to head to the left and follow a loop of #2-3-4-5-6-7-10-11-2.
A short distance in, we passed a bench that overlooks a few small ponds. It looked like the water levels here were lower than normal but this would be a great spot for quietly watching for birds and other wildlife in the spring and summer months. The larger pond had great reflection of the colorful trees and a few smaller birds darting in and out of the trees nearby.
The trail covers a half mile between marker posts 3 and 4 and also passes through the Taimi Hoag Natural Area. A plaque by a bridge here reads; “Taimi Lynn Hoag was a devoted mother of three and her passion for life was obvious to anyone who had the pleasure of meeting her. As a citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians and the Director of Environmental Services, her persistent attitude and strong work ethic gave her the ability to accomplish duties seen as unreachable. Taimi’s active involvement in Tribal issues, and her will to teach and educate motivates us to continue to do the same. Let her hard work and dedication to all environmental issues and the well being of our “Mother Earth” be an example to all.” There are boardwalks and bridges covering the wetter spots on the trail, and it wasn’t long before we reached markers 4 and 5.
The quarter mile of trail between marker 5 and 7 was one of our favorite parts of the whole preserve. The trail parallels Susan Creek here, offering some great views of this slow creek as it makes its way to Lake Michigan. There are multiple great spots to stop and enjoy some quiet reflection. A wooden bridge crosses the creek in this section as well.
The trail from marker 7 to 10 follows and old railroad bed and is the longest straight stretch in the preserve. After all of the twists and turns and boardwalks this part of the trail almost felt a little boring. The trees were popping with fall color and the ground was mostly covered with crunchy leaves.
It is another quarter mile from marker 10 to 11 and then just a short walk back to marker 2 and then the parking lot after that. We appreciated all of the trail signs posted at each intersection and had no trouble finding our way while visiting the Susan Creek Nature Preserve. This hike was great with all the fall color, but we’re excited to come back in the spring and look for wildflowers, mushrooms, birds, and more!
The Little Traverse Conservancy does an amazing job managing dozens of properties in Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, Chippewa, and Mackinac counties. We’ve enjoyed visiting many of them and also had the chance to check out the Thorne Swift Nature Preserve and Seven Springs Nature Preserve on the same day we visited Susan Creek. Some other preserves we recommend visiting are Duncan Bay in Cheboygan, Agnes S. Andrae/Boyd B. Banwell near Indian River, De Tour Peninsula Nature Preserve, Naas, Mauger, Raunecker and Leslie Nature Preserve in Harbor Springs, and Vermilion Point near Paradise in the Upper Peninsula.