Averill Preserve Main Loop

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · River/Creek · Swimming · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Parking available off of Saginaw Road and a porta-john is available in the warm months.

A few muddy slippery spots, one section has an old two track from forestry work, bushes can grow into the trail at times.

Two miles of trail through a 72-acre Nature Preserve along the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail celebrates Michigan’s natural history. Once the site of the world’s largest timber banking ground, it is now maintained as a natural area. The first 800 feet of trail is paved to provide access to nature for all with a newly renovated overlook providing a panoramic view of the Tittabawassee River!

The paved path ends in a loop with a Nature Play area for kids to explore nature in a safe space. The fun continues down a winding path (some uneven terrain and steep slopes here) around a wetland area over a bridge and onto our 1-mile loop of rustic trails! The 1-mile loop is mostly flat with a few muddy spots.

Lots of bird species, deer, coyote, big bluestem, switchgrass, golden alexanders, blue vervain, black-eyed susans, black cherry trees, hawthorne, white pine, cottonwood, maples, aspens, asparagus, ninebark, and much more!