Richmond Woods Nature Preserve

County: Newaygo Established: 2013 114 Acres

View Map 8000 N Centerline Rd, Brohman, MI

Features

Hunting
Scenic Vista
Sensitive Habitat
Water Feature

Amenities

Leashed Pets Allowed
Parking

At a Glance

Approximate Street Address: 8000 N. Centerline Road, Brohman, MI
Located near Brohman in central Newaygo County, Richmond Woods Nature Preserve spans two watersheds, protects multiple wetland types.
Trail length: 1.4 miles (Download Trail Map).
Before you visit, check out our preserve guidelines. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

Visitor Information

NOTICE: Richmond Woods Nature Preserve is open for archery-only deer hunting through the Michigan DNR’s Hunting Access Program. Rules and regulations apply. The archery hunting seasons this year are October 1-November 14 and December 1-January 1. Please practice safety in the woods during these times.

The preserve can be accessed via a gravel parking area on the east side of Centerline Road, about a quarter-mile north of Lincoln Street. Look for the large preserve sign.

Richmond Woods Nature Preserve is a Category 2 LCWM Nature Preserve. Category 2 preserves may have limited parking or shorter trail systems. Trails are narrower and may feature areas with steeper grades or staircases. Most trails can be hiked in 30 minutes or less.

Trail Information

The trails at Richmond Woods Nature Preserve are marked with blue blazes. The preserve extends across N. Centerline Road. The eastern loop takes hikers through a scenic forest. The western loop offers more forested scenery and views of a bog. The 1.4-mile trail system is mostly flat, 1.5-wide, and has a natural surface.

Average grade: <1%
Max grade: 1%
Average cross slope: <2%

Conservation Value

Straddling both the Pere Marquette and White River watersheds, Richmond Woods Nature Preserve protects a pristine sphagnum bog and a high-quality sedge meadow wetland. Those wetlands protect water quality and are also home to the American Bittern, a bird in the heron family that is classified as special concern in Michigan. Red-headed woodpecker and red-shouldered hawk, two other special concern birds, inhabit the preserve’s forests. Adjacent to U.S. Forest Service land, Richmond Woods Nature Preserve helps protect a large expanse of Michigan’s iconic forest and wetland habitats.

The Land Conservancy of West Michigan is using prescribed fire and planting to restore oak savanna and open oak forest conditions on the preserve.

History

According to General Land Office surveys conducted circa 1800, Richmond Woods Nature Preserve historically consisted of white pine-white oak forest, mixed conifer swamp, and shrub swamp/emergent marsh. Native Americans likely contributed to the ecological makeup of the landscape around the preserve by hunting, farming, burning, and the establishment of villages and trails. European settlers later logged the land. Based on dendrochronological analysis of large hemlock trees on the preserve, the property that is now the preserve was logged and burned around 1885.

James Richmond, raised in New Jersey with dreams of settling in the country, purchased the property in 1910. Mr. Richmond allowed some of the property to naturally return to forest and kept other areas open for cattle grazing.

Over the years, the property remained in the Richmond family and was eventually passed down to James’ great-grandchildren, Kathleen Fleming and John Gottschalk. Wanting to honor their great-grandfather and see the land protected, Kathleen and John approached the Land Conservancy with the idea of turning the land into a nature preserve.

Impressed by the high-quality natural features and wilderness character of the property, the Land Conservancy worked with a number of partners—including Ducks Unlimited and the North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant program—to make Kathleen and John’s vision a reality. Richmond Woods was the Land Conservancy’s first nature preserve in Newaygo County.