Thorne Swift Nature Preserve – June 22, 2015
While camping at Petoskey State Park we decided to spend a day driving north on M-119 through famous Tunnel of Trees. Our first stop was about 4 miles north of Harbor Springs at the Thorne Swift Nature Preserve. This nice little preserve is 30 acres of cedar swamp and low dunes. There is 950 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline and 300 feet of this is open as a public beach.
There is a $5 parking fee for non-township residents.
The property is accessed by 1.5 miles of well maintained hiking trails and boardwalks. From the Nature Center we stayed to the right and headed down the Cedar Trail.
The trails through the lowland cedars were very interesting with many different plants to looks at. We also kicked up a couple deer as we neared the lake access.
About 1/2 way through the loop there is a short set of stairs leading down to the beach. There are also outhouses right near the access for those who wish to spend more time on the beach…or had too much morning coffee.
After climbing back up from the beach we continued south on the Balsam Trail along the top of the dune. After about 500 feet there is a spur trail heading back toward the water and the Dune Observation Platform.
They must have problems with people not following rules…
Looping back to the Nature Center on the Balsam Trail.
After the short 1 mile hike we stopped in to see the Elizabeth Kennedy Nature Center.
The nature center is small, but the they pack a lot of nice exhibits inside. A restroom is also available.
The Thorne Swift Preserve was a nice 1 hour stop as we headed north. It is small, but everything is very well maintained. I would say that it is worth checking out at least once when touring the Tunnel of Trees.
The Thorne Swift Preserve on the Little Traverse Conservancy website.
Directions to the Thorne Swift Preserve.
We found this hike and many of our favorite short hikes in: Best Hikes with Children in Michigan
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Backpacking in Michigan has always been one of my favorite Michigan guidebooks. It highlights 50 trails that range from an easy overnight at the hike-in sites at Ludington State Park to a week long adventure on Isle Royale. I have read it cover to cover at least a couple times and have found that it is also a good resource for planning shorter day hikes on portions of the the trails.
Like all of the books written by Mr. DuFresne, there are well written trail descriptions and nice maps of each outing. This book also includes 65 photos.
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