Connect with Nature at a Local Preserve

This audio walking tour has two walking options each taking about an out-and-back journey that is two miles in total with a few small hills and rises. One route takes you to Little Trout Lake and the other to Big Trout Lake. Both routes are about 1 to 1.5 miles in total, mostly flat with a few small hills and rises, and will end back here in the parking lot.

The Gerstacker Preserve is rich in plant and animal life, including some quite rare species that make their homes here. Protecting the biodiversity of the preserve helps it sustainably support the tourism that’s important to the region’s economy, demonstrating one significant way conservation can strengthen a community.

The Echo Lake Preserve is about 20 minutes northwest of Marquette, Michigan, near the shore of Lake Superior. Visitors year-round can enjoy outdoor activities from snowshoeing in from the highway in the winter to hiking and carry-in canoeing in the summer.

This tour takes you on an out-and-back journey to the peninsula overlook, about a 1 hour walk round trip. Or, you can add in some steeper hiking to an overlook with stunning views of the surrounding forestland and Lake Superior. This view is particularly spectacular in the “leaf-off” periods—spring, winter and late fall. This option takes about 1 and a half hours to walk round trip.

This hike is one of the most strenuous hikes on any of TNC’s preserves in Michigan. About six-and-a-half miles round trip, it will take you to the very top of Mt. Baldy and back, so allow at least three hours for your visit. Along the way, you'll hear interesting facts and things to look out for on “Lookout Mountain.”

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Esta caminata es una de las más extenuantes en cualquiera de las reservas de TNC en Michigan. Alrededor de seis millas y media de ida y vuelta, lo llevará a la cima de Mt. Baldy y de regreso, así que permita al menos tres horas para su visita. En el camino, escuchará datos interesantes y cosas para tener en cuenta en “Lookout Mountain.” 

The Mary Macdonald Preserve at Horseshoe Harbor captures the beauty—and ruggedness—of the Keweenaw Peninsula’s northern shoreline. Here, ancient geological forces and the power of wind and water have shaped a unique coastal landscape of bedrock ridges, red rock beaches and boreal forests, that draws many migratory birds—and human visitors—to its shores.

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La Reserva Mary Macdonald en Horseshoe Harbor captura la belleza y robustez de la costa norte de la península de Keweenaw. Aquí las antiguas fuerzas geológicas y el poder del viento y el agua han dado forma a un paisaje costera único de crestas rocosas, playas de rocas rojas y bosques boreales, que atrae a muchas aves migratorias y visitantes humanos a sus costas. 

This walking tour takes you along a mile-and-a-half route. Depending on how many stops you take, it will be about one hour until you reach the River Raisin. As you make your way through floodplain forests and wetlands, you will learn about and may see birds, trees, flowers, salamanders and other wildlife.

While in the Preserve, please stay on the trail, and leave plants and animals where you see them. Also, no pets are allowed as this is a habitat for sensitive species like the Eastern Box turtle and Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake.

The Ross Preserve is outside Bangor, Michigan near Van Buren State Park south of the town of South Haven.

This tour follows a 3-and-a-half-mile route that loops through the southern two-thirds of the nearly 1,500-acre preserve. It has the option to add another 1-and-a-half-mile loop near the end. The middle part of our route has some rolling hills and is a moderately difficult walk. The rest is on a wide, flat dirt trail, and is not difficult.

Along the route you will learn some of the history that has shaped this preserve and stories about this unique landscape and its wild inhabitants.

At McMahon Lake Preserve, visitors can enjoy the sights and sounds of scenic McMahon Lake and unique wetland habitats from the trail’s two viewing platforms. The hike is a 2.7-mile loop. It begins with a flat trail to McMahon Lake. The return journey is more challenging, with a ridge that includes some steep up-and-downs.

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En la Reserva de Lago McMahon, visitantes pueden disfrutar las vistas y los sonidos del Lago McMahon y los hábitats únicos de humedales desde las dos plataformas de observación del sendero. La caminata es un circuito de 2.7 millas. Empieza con sendero plano al Lago McMahon. El viaje de regreso es más desafiante, con una cresta que incluye algunas subidas y bajadas empinadas.