Harbor Country Park Guide

Parks – City · County · State · National

The best thing you can spend on your children is time.

Harbor Country’s
Park Guide

Berrien County, Michigan

Berrien County Office of Parks & Recreation
Bear Cave Resort
Brown Sanctuary Center (173 Acres)
Dayton Prairie (20 Acres)
Dewey Cannon Park
Dodd Arthur Memorial Park
Eaton Park
Fernwood Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve (105 Acres)
Galien River, The (from Marley’s perspective)
Grand Mere Nature Area (371 Acres)
Grand Mere State Park (1000 Acres)
Grove, The
Love Creek Nature Center, Berrien Center (100 Acres)
Madelin Bertrand County Park
McCoy Creek Recreation Area
Mud Lake Bog
New Buffalo Lakefront Park and Beach
Nipissing Dune Trail
PLYM Park
Robinson Preserve (80 Acres)
Sarett Nature Center (380 Acres)
Spafford Woods E.B. Lark Woods (12 Acres)
St. Joseph River Front Park
Trillium Ravine Preserve (15 Acres)
Warren Dunes State Park (1,950 Acres)
Warren Woods Nature Center (480 Acres)
Watkins Memorial park (20 Acres)

Cass County, Michigan

Arthur Dodd Memorial Park
Crane Pond State Game Area, The (3,925 Acres)
Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary (235 Acres)
Hamilton Township Coastal Plain Marsh Nature Sanctuary (79 Acres)
Dr. T.K. Lawless County Park (640 Acres)
Fred Russ Forest Park (10 Acres)
Rudolphi Woods
Wilding Plant Preserve (3 Acres)

Van Buren County, Michigan

Algird Barvicks Dunes Nature Sanctuary (40 Acres)
Keeler State Game Area, The (400 Acres)
Ross Nature Preserve, The (1,210 Acres)
Kal-Haven Trail Sesquicentennial Park
Van Buren State Park

LaPorte, Porter, & St. Joseph Counties, Indiana

Bendix Woods County Park
Bluhm Property (80 Acres)
Creek Ridge County Park (77 Acres)
Deep River County Park
Deep River Water Park
Kankakee River Property (140 Acres)
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Indiana Dunes State Park (2,182 Acres)
LaPorte County Nature Center
LaPorte County Park Administration Office
Luhr County Park
Potato Creek State Park
Washington Park and Zoo

State & Federal Park Links

Berrien County, Michigan

Berrien County Office of Parks & Recreation

Bear Cave Resort
- Bear Cave is the only cavern in the Great Lakes area. Formed in rare “sufa rock,” this particular bed is estimated by geologists to be at least 25,000 years old and rests on a glacial drift deposited during the lst ice age 50,000 years ago. Beautiful stalactites, flowstone, petrified leaves and strange shapes, all delicately colored by the metal oxides of native ores, are present throughout the cave. In 1875, bank robbers hid their loot in the cave. The event inspirted the movie, “The Great Train Robbery” and the cave was featured in the film. Outside, the area is surrounded by wooded hills, wildfloweres and deep ravines.

Brown Sanctuary Center (173 Acres)

269.927.4832
- The 173-acre sanctuary on the Paw Paw River is less than one mile downstream from the nature center’s headquarters. The sanctuary contains a large wetland complex of ponds, marshes and swamp forest. It is a nesting area for ducks, geese, rails, coots, gallinules and green-backed herons. The rare black tern and American bittern have also nested here.
  Migrating waterfowl use the marsh – the largest open-water marsh in southwest Michigan – in large numbers. Great blue herons feed here in the spring, and it’s an excellent habitat for muskrats, snakes, turtles and frogs. Pike and other fish find the extensive marshland ideal for spawning. The naturalists use the sanctuary as part of their extensive environmental education program that serves more than 25,000 school children annually. Sarett’s entrance is located at Wood St and Crystal Ave in Benton Township. Guided tours are available to groups. Call for information on birding classes, photography seminars, snowshoe making and woodcarving at 269.927.4832. A variety of children’s summer classes are also available. Favorite topics include aquatic and insect study, nature photography, canoeing and camping. Sarett is open every day except Monday.

Dayton Prairie (20 Acres)
(located off Dayton Rd, southwest of Buchanan near the Indiana border)
- A unique wet prairie, owned by the Michigan Nature Conservancy. The natural area is open to the public. Hunting, camping and fires are banned.

Dewey Cannon Park
- Open dawn to dusk.

Dodd Arthur Memorial Park

Eaton Park

Fernwood Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve (105 Acres)
- Open 10am–6pm Tuesday thru Sunday; 10am–7:30pm on Saturday. Cafe open for light lunch from noon–2pm, desserts and beverages only from 2pm–3pm Children under 5 are free.
- A sanctuary on the banks of the St. Joseph River. It offers groomed trails, a tall grass prairie, more than 100 varieties of ferns, a fern conservatory, streams and ponds, arboretum, bird feeding observation area, landscape demonstration gardens, artist gallery shows and exhibits. Workshops, classes and lectures, special harvest, art and Christmas shows are scheduled during the year.

Grand Mere Nature Area (371 Acres)
- Adjacent Lincoln Township Park and Nature Center are part of the 1,000-acres of Grand Mere State Park. Magnificent sand dunes and deep blow outs characterize the area, along with three inland lakes that lie behind the dune.

Grand Mere State Park (1000 Acres)
- The beach is about 10 minutes from the parking lot on a self-guided trail. Restrooms available at the parking lot. Obtain an entrance permit at Warren Dunes State Park.

Grove, The
- The park offers a large pavilion, shelter houses, a picnic area with grills, restrooms, playground equipment and scenic trails overlooking Lake Chapin.

Love Creek Nature Center, Berrien Center (100 Acres)
- Open 11am–5pm Tuesday thru Friday; 11am–6pm Saturday & Sunday. Trails open dawn to dusk. Park entry is free.
- A plant and wildlife sanctuary owned by Berrien County where you can enjoy a variety of natural history programs, workshops and hikes. The center’s interpretive building features displays, exhibits and a popular wildlife observation window. Outdoors, take in the meadows, forests, marshes and creeks. Love Creek has stunning views of some of the 144 wildflowers growing in the county (The center has a schedule of wildflowers in bloom from April thru October). Six miles of groomed and track-set ski trails with challenging wooded slopes and turns. In addition to tracks for traditional skiing, many trails feature lanes for ski skating. Naturalists plan many race events including Sat. night skiing on lighted trails through March (weather-permitting – call first). The center also has ski and snowshoe rentals, lessons, a warming house and nature programs and tours. Regular park entry fees apply, along with trail fees and rental rates.
  For a list of events, hours, lesson sessions and fees, call or write.

Madelin Bertrand County Park
- Open year-round, this park includes everything ... even an 18-hole Disc (Frisbee) Golf Course.
- A public area of natural beauty along the St. Joseph River, south of Niles. The wooded hiking trails, naturalist programs, picnic area, observation tower and shelter are popular here.

McCoy Creek Recreation Area
- The park offers four tennis courts, softball and baseball diamonds and a football field. For those who aren’t sportsminded, there is also a picnic area with grills, tables and playground equipment.

Mud Lake Bog
- Features a 550 foot boardwalk so that you can easily tour the bog’s mass of vegetation floating on water, unique to this part of the country. The bog includes carnivorous plants, wetland animals and uncommon plants. Arrange tours through:
  Sarett: 269.927.4832
  Fernwood: 269.695.6491
  Love Creek: 269.471.2671

New Buffalo Lakefront Park and Beach
- Harbor Country’s main public beach is within walking distance of downtown New Buffalo and right at the busy outlet of the Galien River near the harbor. The swimming area here is more protected from the boating traffic than it at first seems, and the public beach is longer and more natural than first impressions suggest. There are restrooms, a refreshment stand, a small play area for children, a dune stairway and longish overlook and boardwalk atop the dunes.

Nipissing Dune Trail
- Trails are open when the center is open, 10am-5pm Tue. thru Sun. The center is closed Dec. 15 thru Jan 15.
- The Nipissing Trails highlight the Grand Marais Embayment. The set of three trails are not long, but they lead to some of the most beautiful scenery in Southwest Michigan, including a wetland area and isolated, peaceful view of Lake Michigan. The “low-tech, low-impact” trail is next to the Cook Energy Information Center, which is also open for public tours. The information center offers a terraced garden, picnic facilities, along with restrooms. Free theater shows and computer games about energy, plus a variety of shows & exhibits on most weekends.

PLYM Park
- For the sports enthusiast, the park offers soccer, softball and football fields. There is also a picnic area with restrooms and a playground.

Robinson Preserve (80 Acres)
- Owned by the nature conservancy, features a beech-maple forest and oak upland. Located on 80-acres, it’s open to the public for hiking and cross country skiing, but you must break your own trails. Hunting, camping and fires are banned.

Sarett Nature Center (380 Acres)
- Open 9am–5pm Monday thru Friday; 10am–5pm Saturdays; 1pm–5pm on Sunday. Trails open dawn to dusk.
- A wildlife sanctuary and educational center of the Michigan Audubon Society, located on the flood plain of the Paw Paw River, the 380-acre site is home to Great Horned Owls and includes Michigan’s largest red oak tree. Sarett has woods, fields, marshes, ponds, boardwalks, observation platforms, five miles of trails and an interpretive building. The center plans to set up observation blinds and develop tours through the marsh that is located about ½ mile downstream from Sarett. Guided tours at Mud Lake Bog and Brown Sanctuary Center are available to groups. Call for information about spring birding classes, photography seminars, snowshoe making and woodcarving. A variety of children’s summer classes is also available, favorite topic include aquatic and insect study, nature photography, canoeing and camping.

Spafford Woods E.B. Lark Woods (12 Acres)
- Owned by the City of Buchanan and has 12-acres along the McCoy Creek.

St. Joseph River Front Park
- The park features walking trails and a lighted river trail, picnicking, shelter benches, a playground an a scenic French Paper Mill dam.

Trillium Ravine Preserve (15 Acres)
- Trillium Ravine presents a different kind of blossom show you shouldn’t miss. Wildflowers, with their delicate beauty, are most apparent in early spring before the leaves emerge on trees. The woods contain large beech and maple trees. Designed as a nature study area, the preserve has several types of trillium, a protected species of plant. There are no facilities. If you go, wear boots in case the land is marshy, and beware of poison ivy. The parcel is beautiful, though, despite the marshy areas.

Warren Dunes State Park (1,950 Acres)
- Registration Office opens at 8:00am; Visitors – Must leave by 10:00pm; Day use area open 8:00am–10:00pm daily
- Sanitary station, group camping area, 205 sites, scenic wooded dunes; sandy Lake Michigan beach.
- Warren Dunes State Park has spectacular sand dunes that rise 240 feet above the lake. Scenic beauty dominates the parks rugged dune formations, a winding stream and an entrance is off Red Arrow Highway between Bridgman and Sawyer.
  Six miles of ski trails and snow-covered dunes can highlight a winter visit. Tobbagganing is also allowed at the park.

Warren Woods Nature Center (480 Acres)
- Warren Woods Nature Center is a 480-acre tract of virgin forest, beech and maple with cable bridge and more than 100 species of plants. Administered by Warren Dunes State Park. The center includes picnic sites. Entrance is off Warren Woods Road on Elm Valley Road near Union Pier.

Watkins Memorial park (20 Acres)
- Open dawn to dusk.
- 1½ mile physical education trail with 21 workout stations, sand volleyball courts, basketball and picnic tables.

Cass County, Michigan

Arthur Dodd Memorial Park
- This park has been developed for recreation and includes facilities for picnicking and access to Dowagiac Creek. Play fields and equipment, shelters and restrooms are also available.

Crane Pond State Game Area, The (3,925 Acres)
- Open 8am to 4:30pm Mon. thru Fri.
- The Crane Pond State Game Area has a 3,925-acre array of flowers every spring and is a fine place to hunt mushrooms and pick berries. Be cautious though, since spring is also turkey hunting season.
  In the fall, the area is open to observe migrating flocks of waterfowl, ducks and shorebirds. The DNR manages the lands for wildlife, not people, though hunting, fishing, hiking on work roads and picnicking is allowed. Camping is allowed seasonally with a permit. There are no restrooms or picnicking facilities.
  Self-help maps and information available at 269.244.8611.

Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary (235 Acres)
517.655.5655
- A 235-acre year-round preserve owned by the Michigan Nature Association (MNA), has a natural marsh, 150 wooded acres and more wild-flowers than you are likely to find anywhere else in Southwest Michigan. Nine plant and animal species in danger of becoming extinct in Michigan find a haven here. And, with 49 kinds of nesting birds and 45 types of trees, the sanctuary is a living example of early forests that Michigan’s first settlers saw. Dowagiac Woods has the largest virgin soil woodland left in Michigan today. Food is limited to sack lunches only, and you need to carry your own water. No restroom facilities are provided. Hunting, trapping, pets and alcoholic beverages are not allowed in the park. For group tour information, call 517.655.5655.

Rudolphi Woods
- Rudolphi Woods, combined with acreage owned by southwestern Michigan College, provides for outdoor recreation needs in the Dowagiac area and protects valuable habitat at the same time. The area is popular with runners, hikers, and cross-country skiers, and has plenty of wildlife and native flora for hobbyists to enjoy.

Dr. T.K. Lawless County Park (640 Acres)
- This year-round, beautiful 640-acre park is for nature lovers. Its wide trails and outstanding plant and animal life make it a natural outdoor learning center. Picnic, pavilion, group camping, winter sports, including cross country skiing and limited snowmobiling. Rustic restrooms.

Fred Russ Forest Park (10 Acres)
- This year-round 10-acre park includes a picturesque Class A trout stream. Picnic facilities and hiking trails are located throughout the park. The east trail leads to a fallen giant, the largest tulip poplar tree in Michigan. Facilities include picnic pavilion, play equipment, scenic bridges, shelters, Volinia Creek access and barrier-free restrooms.

Hamilton Township Coastal Plain Marsh Nature Sanctuary (79 Acres)
- While the coastal plain plants look like weeds, they’re actually some of the most unusual plants in Michigan. That’s because they’ve been separated from their usual habitat, the coastal plain along the Atlantic Ocean. Protected in the Michigan Nature Association (MNA) program, the 79-acre marsh also consists of bald-rush, tooth-cup, false impernel and warty picnic grass, a plant that was thought to be extinct in Michigan. There are no trails in this sanctuary. Park in the Hamilton Township Hall parking lot on the southwest corner of 52nd St and 84th Ave about 900 feet from the area.

Wilding Plant Preserve (3 Acres)
- A three-acre wayside stop in Cass County, is a place where you can pull off M-51, walk less than 150-feet to a sturdy deck and walkway and observe wildlife and listen to singing birds. A path leads to the crossing of old Dowagiac Creek and a flood plain at the back of the property.

Cass County, Michigan

Algird Barvicks Dunes Nature Sanctuary (40 Acres)
- A guide is required to take you through the area.
- The open sand dunes habitat of the sanctuary has been hailed by the Michigan Nature Association (MNA) as a “superlative” sanctuary. Few MNA natural areas can boast the combination of the Barvicks Dunes, two dissimilar habitates, the Atlantic Coast Plains marsh and hardwood conifer swamp.
  Still uncrowded and unspoiled, the 40-acre dune/forest complex is a refuge for 12 plant species found nowhere else on MNA lands. Four of the 12 species are of threatened status. The dune is still active and is covered by luxuriant ferns, islands of oak, jack pine and pin and sand cherries.

Keeler State Game Area, The (400 Acres)
269.244.5928
- Game area is open 24 hours a day
- The Keeler State Game Area is more than a game area, it’s a wildlife area. In the spring not many people use the game area, making it an ideal place for a quiet hike, especially if you like wild, rustic terrain.
  The 400-acre mini-game area is open to the public for hunting and fishing, picnicking and hiking on work roads. Camping is allowed seasonally with a permit. There are no restrooms or facilities for picnicking.
  The game area is open 24 hours a day, and the office, located at the Crane Pond State Game Area, is open 8am to 4:30pm Mon. thru Fri.
  Self-help maps and information available at 269.244.5928.

Ross Nature Preserve, The (1,210 Acres)
- The preserve contains century-old white pines and streams once filled with sturgeon. The dunes are considered to be among the best freshwater dunes in the state. Thirteen endangered plant species are found here.

Kal-Haven Trail Sesquicentennial Park
- A linear park made from an old railroad right-of-way between South Haven and Kalamazoo. A ski area starts near the Black River in South Haven and travels 38 miles east.

Van Buren State Park
- This park has a lovely beach picnic area and a beach that’s nearly three quarters of a mile long. There’s parking for 550 cars, restrooms, changing areas, concession stand, hiking trails and an undeveloped 70-acre dune area. Entrance permit is required.

LaPorte, Porter, & St. Joseph Counties, Indiana

Bendix Woods County Park

Bluhm Property (80 Acres)
- Multiple use trails; including horse, mountain bikes, hiking, and cross country skiing. Spring wildflowers, forest and wetlands. Still under development.

Creek Ridge County Park (77 Acres)
- Variety of nature trails offered including hardened surface trails for people with disabilities. Accessible boardwalk to Trail Creek complete with fishing nodes for disabled persons. Fishing access on Trail Creek for trout and salmon. Picnic shelter picnic tables and grills.

Deep River County Park (940 Acres)
(located near US-30 and I-65)
- Visitor Center – 9410 Old Lincoln Hwy, Hobart Indiana
  219.947.1958 or 800.ALL.LAKE
- A 940-acre park featuring walking trails, cross country ski trails, picnic areas and great fishing. Visitors can relax in the shadow of one of the area�s two working grist mills. Deep River County Park is host to numerous seasonal festivals and special events.

Deep River Water Park
(located 4 miles east of I-65 on US-30)
- Water Park – 9001 E US-30, Merriville Indiana
  219.947.7850 or 800.928.7275
- Opens late May, features body slide, wavepool, Kids’ area.

Kankakee River Property (140 Acres)
- Adjacent to Kankakee River, presently undeveloped

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Indiana Dunes State Park (2,182 Acres)
(located at end of SR-49, on 1600 North Rd & 25 East Rd)
- Open all year, amazingly unique Hoosier landscape offers miles of sandy beaches with swimming, hiking, camping, picnic shelters and a Nature Center with year-round programs for all ages.

LaPorte County Nature Center:
219.324.5855 (TTY/TDD/VOICE)

LaPorte County Park Administration Office:
219.326.6806 ext. 223 or 219.873.7014 ext. 223

Luhr County Park (78 Acres)
- Nature Center and Gift Shop. Three ecosystems of upland forest, wetland and pond (open to fishing). Variety of nature trails offered including paved trails for people with disabilities. Picnic shelter, picnic tables and grills.

Potato Creek State Park

Washington Park and Zoo

State & Federal Park Links

ShortCuts
Activities
Dining
Lodging
Festivals
Recreation
Shopping
Tourist
Info
Transportation
Weather

Suggestions:

Return to the Harbor Country Welcome Page

Soft Touch Creations
Questions? Comments! E-mail info@harborcountry.com

May 6, 2007