With more than 1,000 feet of pristine Lake Michigan shoreline and environmentally fragile barrier dunes, the Barrier Dunes Sanctuary is a great place for walking the beach, picnics, and wildlife viewing.
Located near Lowell, the B.D. White Nature Preserve is a natural landscape legacy. With rolling terrain, a cold water stream, and a meandering trail, the preserve provides habitat for a multitude of wildlife and serves as a natural area for people to enjoy and learn.
Overlooking Brower Lake near Rockford, this preserve protects rare bog and oak barrens ecosystems. The land provides quality habitat for a multitude of wildlife and provides people with a quiet natural landscape for hiking and nature study.
This natural area in Cascade Township features a beautiful hardwood forest and a small stream and wetlands that feed the Grand River.
Castle Park Reserve protects nearly 400 feet of undeveloped Lake Michigan shoreline in a designated Critical Dune area. Together with Dune Pines Nature Preserve and an adjacent privately-held conservation easement, Castle Park Reserve is part of a natural area that protects more than 50 acres
Nestled just south of Grand Haven, DePersia South Highlands Nature Preserve offers a small pocket of natural beauty along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Forested dunes like the ones found at DePersia provide critical habitat for wildflowers, reptiles, and migratory birds.
Located just south of Holland, Dune Pines Nature Preserve protects a forested dune ecosystem. A loop trail leads hikers through rolling backdunes that feature mature trees and good opportunities for viewing birds and other wildlife.
Located in northern Muskegon County, Flower Creek Dunes Nature Preserve protects unspoiled dune habitat along the lakeshore. A boardwalk leading to an overlook provides panoramic views of Lake Michigan and the surrounding dunes.
This little-known park features a hardwood-pine forest with mature tulip trees. There are also pockets of wetlands and in the northwest there is an open “blow-sand” area that is a good reminder of how the land was left after the logging era.
Located just north of Holland, Kuker-Van Til Nature Preserve protects natural land in a highly developed area. A loop trail leads hikers through a variety of habitats: young oak forests, mature hardwood swamps, and open sandy dunes.