Summer is well underway. With some pandemic restrictions still in place and local cases climbing, cabin fever remains a reality for many. For St. Joseph County residents seeking activities that follow the rules and precautions, outdoor recreational opportunities provide a wide range of viable and safe options.
Watershed Voice has compiled a basic list of places for outdoor activities both locally and in other Michigan locales within an hour and a half of Three Rivers. In these places, it is possible to walk, run, hike, bike, canoe, kayak, swim, picnic, ride horses, camp, enjoy sports, fish, play, take pictures, learn about history and nature, and take in views.
In most of these places, statewide social distancing rules will be in effect, but their openness makes such rules easy to follow. This list is not exhaustive, but there is enough in it to keep a family busy every weekend for the rest of the summer. It provides a range of alternatives with a variety of activities, including hyperlinks to websites with additional information.
Lakes, Creeks, and Rivers
With its abundant waterways, regional promoters often call the area around St. Joseph County “River Country.” Many local creeks, rivers, and lakes are navigable for paddling and floating, and the county offers information on accessing and navigating local waterways and lakes at its St. Joe H2O website.
Many rivers and creeks are not swimmable due to currents and other safety issues, so check before you head out. Public beaches are available at many of the parks listed further along in this article.
For larger and powered boats, some of the county’s lakes have public boat access points. Fisher Lake’s public boat launch is located at the junction of Seekle Road and Lakeshore Drive. Corey Lake and Harwood Lake are separated by a causeway on County Line Road, 0.3 miles north of Corey Lake Road. The public boat launches for each are located on opposite sides of the causeway.
Sand Lake’s Public Boat Launch is within Sand Lake County Park, for which further details are available below. Lake Templene’s boat launch is nearby along Nottawa Road. Portage Lake has a boat launch north of Mendon. The St. Joseph River has one at Covered Bridge Park, which is also detailed further below. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has a boat launch on Klinger Lake.
City Park Facilities
Most of the county’s cities and villages maintain parks and other outdoor recreational facilities. In Three Rivers, a system of interconnected downtown parks where the Portage, Rocky, and St. Joseph Rivers come together provide opportunities for simple, low-key activities.
Scidmore Park on West Michigan Avenue and Spring Street has been a staple for decades. It is free, has ample parking, and includes acres of shaded ground and paved paths to walk around. For young children, there are ducks and geese to watch, as well as occasional trains crossing the river nearby. Parking lots are accessible from both West Michigan Avenue and Spring Street. There is a playground and jungle gym at the Spring Street parking entrance. A popcorn stand and small zoo have periodic hours.
Across Michigan Avenue from Scidmore Park is Memory Isle Park, which surrounds the Rocky River and includes additional strolling paths, as well as additional playground equipment and a skate park. There is ample parking for Memory Isle Park on Railroad Drive.
On the opposite side of Main Street, behind the stores, the Portage Riverwalk follows Water Street north-northeast from Joshua Drive to Hoffman Street. It is about a three-quarter-mile walk from one end to the other, and parking is available on Joshua Drive near the south end of Water Street.
Accessible from South Main Street, across the St. Joseph River from Scidmore Park, is Conservation Park,which includes a boat launch area and the headquarters for Liquid Therapy canoe livery.
There are also additional municipal parks in Three Rivers with amenities like playgrounds, sports facilities, and boat launches, and there are similar amenities at city parks in Constantine and other cities and villages around the county.
St. Joseph County Parks
St. Joseph County Parks and Recreation maintains nine primary sites around the county, with outdoor, social-distance-friendly amenities ranging from public swimming beaches and historical sites to bike trails and campgrounds. Closest to Three Rivers is Meyer-Broadway Park. At 160 acres, it includes hiking, walking, and multi-use trails, a seven-mile mountain bike trail, a playground, picnicking, a sand volleyball court, a five-acre dog park, and a popular 36-hole disc golf course.
The county system includes two lakeside parks with swimming opportunities. Cade Lake County Park and Campground near Sturgis and Sand Lake County Park in Nottawa both offer camping, picnicking, swimming, fishing, boat launches, boat rental, and children’s’ play areas. Cade Lake also offers hiking and walking trails and a disc golf course.
Also near Sturgis, Plumb Lake County Park offers hiking and walking trails, fishing, a kayak launch, an overlook, picnicking, and a nature-inspired playground. The nearby Timm Preserve offers three miles of hiking trails among 95 acres of wetlands and woods. Near Centreville, the Hoshel Canoe Park provides kayak and canoe access to the Prairie River, along with picnicking and a play area.
The county also offers historical parks. In White Pigeon, the Wahbememe Memorial Park commemorates a Potawatomi Chief who played a role in the town’s early history. Rawson’s King Mill Park in Leonidas preserves a 19th century gristmill, dam, and millpond, and offers gardens, walking paths, picnicking, and a kayak launch on Nottawa Creek. It is popular with photographers. The Covered Bridge Farm lines the banks of the St. Joseph River, offering views of the historic Langley Covered Bridge, an 1870 barn that is now available as an event venue, a non-motorized bike launch, a river walk, picnicking, and access to the river for fishing.
Surrounding Counties’ Parks
One of the better-visited parks in River Country is Cass County’s T.K. Lawless Park, 15 miles west of Three Rivers between Jones, Vandalia, and Williamsville. With similar amenities to Meyer Broadway Park near Three Rivers, it includes athletic facilities, a disc golf course, playground, fishing, and trails, and is especially well known for its bicycling opportunities. Most notably, it is one of only two places in Michigan designated as an International Dark Sky Park, which means it has met stringent ambient light requirements for night sky viewing.
In Kalamazoo, the parks department maintains the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail, a 22-mile, asphalt paved biking, walking, and running trail that will eventually expand to 35 miles. It crosses most of the city and connects to the state’s Kal-Haven Trail (discussed below). It runs through a variety of landscapes, including woods, meadows, and streets. There are also links to other Kalamazoo County parts from its website.
Texas Township, near Kalamazoo, maintains several parks and recreational facilities. The Al Sabo Land Preserve is a working water well field that helps protect and maintain the Atwater Mill Pond, and includes a network of biking and hiking trails as well as an observation deck.
Private Land Preserves
The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC) maintains a collection of 179 nature preserves and other properties in nine counties. Some have public access, some have limited access, and some have no access. There are four public access preserves in the immediate Three Rivers area. Each has its own small network of walking and hiking trails.
The Hidden Marsh Sanctuary is the closest to downtown Three Rivers, located on Buckhorn Road just north of Hoffman Street. It offers a 2/3-mile trail system along the banks of Hoffman Pond and the Portage River. The 113-acre Spirit Springs Sanctuary is located on Dutch Settlement Road west of Day Road in Cass County. Its 2.25 miles of shaded trails encircle a small pond, cattail marsh, and sedge meadow. Both Hoffman and Spirit Springs are popular places for wildlife viewing.
Coon Hollow Road features two SWMLC preserves. At West Clear Lake Road, by the northern tip of Corey Lake, is the Corey Lake Preserve, which features a short loop trail through an oak woods and meadow. It offers views of Corey Lake and opportunities to see summer wildflowers. Closer to Three Rivers at the intersection of Coon Hollow Road and Ferguson Road is the Coon Hollow Preserve, just west of Meyer-Broadway Park. Nestled among an oak woodland, it features a short, 300-foot walk along a spring-fed wetland to a boardwalk and overlook.
SWMLC also has a range of public-access preserves in Kalamazoo, Berrien, Van Buren, Allegan, and Barry Counties. It maintains a list of its preserves on its website, with information about features and access for each one.
Other organizations also have preserves with recreational facilities. In northwest Kalamazoo County, Michigan State University maintains the W.K. Kellogg experimental forest, a 700-acre section of land planted and maintained to study reforestation of farmland. It includes opportunities for hiking, picnics, and fishing, and a 2.5-mile driving loop includes opportunities to learn about different tree species. The western half of the preserve permits mountain biking on numerous two-tracks and mowed lanes.
State Parks
Michigan Department of Natural Resources maintains at least nine state parks, public land areas, and trails with facilities less than 1.5 hours from Three Rivers. They offer opportunities for hiking over forest and dune trails, biking, swimming, camping, and other summer outdoor activities.
Inland parks include Fort Custer State Park and Recreation Area near Battle Creek, a former U.S. Army training facility, and Coldwater Lake State Park near its namesake town. The Allegan State Game Area, west of Allegan, offers camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, and a network of mountain bike and equestrian trails. To its east, roughly between Wayland and Hastings, is the Yankee Springs Recreation Area on the shores of Gun Lake and several other lakes. It offers swimming, modern and rustic camping, and mountain biking trails.
State Parks at or near the Lake Michigan shore include, from south to north, Warren Dunes and Warren Woods State Parks in Sawyer (between St. Joseph and New Buffalo), Van Buren State Park in South Haven, Saugatuck Dunes State Park in Saugatuck, and Holland State Park in Holland. The Kal-Haven Trail State Parkis a rail-trail connecting Kalamazoo with South Haven.
Public Beaches on Lake Michigan
In addition to the State Parks, some municipalities offer on-resident access to their local beaches, in some cases for a small fee. The two that are most accessible are Silver Beach County Park in St. Joseph, operated by Berrien County Parks, and the South and North Beaches in South Haven.
All three beaches include concession stands and restrooms, and downtown areas are within walking distance. At Silver Beach, a fairly large parking area is available next to the beach, which charges a small fee. At the two South Haven beaches, small paid parking lots are available, but they fill quickly. Additional paid parking is available on city streets. Visitors should watch for signs to know what is and isn’t legal parking, at what time. From South Beach, it is possible to walk out along the river outlet pier to the historic South Haven Light.
Elsewhere and Beyond
There are many more opportunities for recreation. A 1.5-hour radius circle around Three Rivers includes some or all of the area of sixteen counties in Michigan alone, plus hundreds of cities and towns, each with its own parks, public forests, lakes, rivers, streams, trails, and beaches. Including Indiana locales expands the range of options considerably.
As summer turns into fall and fall into winter, many locations on and off the above list allow for popular outdoor activities associated with those activities, like hunting, cross-country and downhill skiing, and snowboarding, snowshoeing. Many of the websites listed here provide details on those activities as well.
Planning a Trip
No matter the season, whether summer or beyond, most agencies remind visitors the pandemic is still underway. As with many places where they are being enforced, visitors should come prepared to follow pandemic rules as well as regular, everyday safety precautions. Consult site websites for any additional precautionary advice.
Watershed Voice has made special effort to ensure the places listed are mostly or fully open to the public, even amidst the pandemic. In most cases, the websites provided feature up-to-date information, and most also show numbers to call for additional, current information. However, with rules and conditions subject to change, it is a good idea to check with each location’s website when planning a visit.
Dave Vago is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.
