Get outside, Michigan: Celebrate a forest, winter’s remnants, lumberjacks
- The 19th wooded area in Michigan was inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network
- Spring has sprung but they’re still enjoying winter in the Upper Peninsula
- The Lower Peninsula’s largest state park has a mindfulness hike coming up
Come watch as a forest in Newaygo County receives a special honor.
The Richmond Woods Nature Preserve is being inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network, a national network of protected, native and publicly-accessible mature forests.
To receive the designation, woodlands not only need to be open to the public and protected from commercial logging, they also must be among the oldest in their county.
The Richmond Woods Nature Preserve is protected by the Land Conservancy of West Michigan. According to the conservancy, the forest was last commercially logged in the late 1800s. With the induction, the area will join 18 other Michigan forests with Old-Growth Forest Network designations.
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The ceremony will start at 1 pm Friday at the Richmond Woods Nature Preserve in Bitely. Afterward, there will be a 1.4-mile interpretive hike showcasing the preserve’s oak and pine forests, savannas, bogs and wetlands. Find more info and register here.
Other great ways to get your outdoor fix:
Friday
- Lumberjack Days kicks off in and around the Outdoor Adventure Center in Detroit. The three-day “festival of fun and flannel” includes a Plaid Tie Dinner, a saw demonstration, plastic axe throwing and more. Participation in the Lumberjack Pancake Run and Pancake Breakfast on Sunday is sold out but it’s not too late to be a spectator. Start times and prices vary. Find more info and register here.
Saturday
- By Saturday, winter may technically be over but try and tell that to the Upper Peninsula. Copper Harbor Trails Club and the Mariner North are teaming up to host the Winter Wander in Copper Harbor. Participants can cross-country ski, snowshoe or fat-tire bike 1.5 miles along the End of the Road trails to enjoy some chili around a fire. Afterward, there will be an après celebration with live music back at the Mariner North. Starts at 1 p.m. Free. More info here.
Sunday
- Learn how to observe nature and conjure up calmness at a Mindfulness Hike in the Lower Peninsula’s largest state park. The event happens from 2 to 3 p.m. every second and fourth Sunday at Waterloo Recreation Area in Chelsea, weather permitting. Free with a Michigan Recreation Passport for vehicles. More info here.
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