ENCORE FIVE FAVES
Five Faves
Conservancy staffers share favorite spots to enjoy nature by
SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN LAND CONSERVANCY STAFF
Did you know that the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy has 18 preserves that are open to everyone from dawn to dusk with no admission fee? With so many to choose from, most of them with trails, it was hard to pick just five that the conservancy
staff could all agree on. So, instead, five staff members share their personal recommendations for local getaways where you can find the relaxation that only nature can provide.
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Bow in the Clouds Preserve 3401 Nazareth Road, Kalamazoo Teeming with life, Bow in the Clouds is like two preserves in one, packed with something for every nature lover to enjoy. Your greeting committee? A giant log playground that begs you — or your very energetic kids — to climb all over it. Just beyond it are breathtaking, expansive views overlooking the marsh — the perfect place to unwind and take in all the nature that the wetlands have to offer. Trails circle the preserve like natural tunnels, and on them you’ll cross a bridge over the quintessential “babbling brook” that writers like Thoreau mused about and find a boardwalk that sometimes “talks back” as it squishes underneath your feet. Stay on your toes because there’s always something new popping up at Bow in the Clouds. — Bruce Howe, Land Protection Specialist
A short drive west of Kalamazoo, Wolf Tree has become one of my “go to” places to run trails. There I trade in the smell of automobile exhaust and pounding the pavement for the smell of sassafras and the feel of firmly packed dirt under my feet. With a tight little 1.5-mile trail system — consisting of three trails that overlap one another — it’s a perfect place to run the exact distance I want at the degree of difficulty I want (if you run it three times around, it’s a little over 5k). On days when I have to drag myself out there, I keep it simple and run a nice lazy loop or two around the blue trail. On days when I feel a little more pep in my step, I take on the quad-busting hills, combine the green and blue trails, do three loops, and call it a day with a 5k! — Mitch Lettow, Stewardship Specialist
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Wolf Tree Nature Trails 8829 West KL Ave., Kalamazoo
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