Kid's Creek

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile journeys exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

I am continuing to explore the hiking trails in and around Traverse City. Grand Traverse Conservation District works to preserve wild areas tucked amongst developed land. I've hiked several of these preserves, and this week I made it to Kids Creek Park. 


It's just a little loop, but the paved TART Trail connects to it. I ended up hiking onto the TART Trail and emerging behind Panera Bread before looping back to Kids Creek. There is signage along the trail pointing out the importance of healthy creeks and streams. 

It was a snowy day, brisk and pretty. 

The snow revealed the travels of small animals.

A small creek runs through the preserve. The ducks were enjoying the open water.

The trail is well marked. It is situated between the Great Wolf Lodge and Kohl's. 

There used to be a water mill here. It generated power for the farm that used to be here. The ruins of the mill are still on the property.

Ruins of the Old Franke Mill (the structure in foreground)

Restoring Our Rivers

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

There are so many rivers that feed our magnificent Great Lakes. The health of these rivers and wetlands determine the health of our lakes.

 The Grand Traverse Conservation District has been restoring the Boardman River by removing three dams. This allows the river to return to flowing within the banks where it once flowed.

I helped plant trees along one section of restored river earlier this year, 

https://laketrek.blogspot.com/2019/04/arbor-dayearth-day.html

and today I hiked a section of the river flowing through the Brown Bridge Quiet area.

Enjoy these images from the hike:

Whaleback Natural Area

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

I moved to Traverse City three years ago to be near "my lake" (Lake Michigan) and, especially, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

While there are over a 100 miles of hiking trails within the National Lakeshore, there are many more miles of hiking in lands conserved by the Leelanau Conservancy and Grand Traverse Conservation District.

I am exploring all of these trails, trying to tick off new ones like in this previous post...(which is difficult, sometimes, because I am constantly drawn back to my favorites).

This month I vowed to hike Whaleback Natural Area just south of Leland. 
From out on the lake, this rise in the shoreline resembles a surfacing whale.

This trail is about 1.5 miles out-and-back with views of Lake Michigan along the way.

Lake Michigan with Pyramid Point in the distance

This trail passes through private land and runs adjacent to a vineyard before getting up into the wooded preserve.

There are wildflowers and patches of thimbleberry plants (surprise!). These plants are common in areas far north of here, but a patch persists this preserve.

Blazes mark the trail

Thimbleberry plants

Vineyard at beginning of trail

I continue to look for opportunities to contribute by doing trail clean-up and trail-blazing with the organizations overseeing conservation areas in the region.

Arbor Day/Earth Day

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

With Earth Day and Arbor Day both happening this week in April, there were many volunteer projects around town.

I pitched in to help clean up a section of the 

TART trail last weekend.

Then, on Monday I joined a group at Miller Creek Nature Reserve

(part of the Grand Traverse Conservation District land) to help out...

And today (Friday) I helped plant trees along a stretch of the Boardman River.

This is part of the river where a dam was recently removed.  The Grand Traverse Conservation District will plant tens of thousands of trees this year on their land! 

Check out opportunities to volunteer in your community!