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Recommended Reviews - Awakon Sculpture Park

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Merit Chandler, the founder of Onaway
Tennille K.

This is a nice park made by Tom Moran of Moran Iron Works. It has a nice gravel trail (but make sure the soles of your shoes aren't too thin or else ouch!) and contains some of Tom's cool iron sculptures. It also contains the historic ruins of the Lobdell Emery Steering Wheel Factory that burned to the ground in the early 1900's and set the unfortunate future of Onaway into stone forever. Everything around the ruins has been cleaned up and marked with nice historical signs explaining everything. It's pretty and peaceful in there with lots of tall trees for shade. More likely than not, you'll have the whole park to yourself with lots of peace and quiet. There are benches to rest on. There's a bridge that connects Awakon Park to Chandler Park where there are port-a-Jons and a drinking fountain. Sadly, the future of this park is in jeopardy due to the disrespectful adult citizens of Onaway constantly spray painting bad things on the sculptures. To combat this Tom has started selling off the sculptures to get them somewhere safe, so come see it before the sculptures are all gone. Some already are.

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8 months ago

It's a very unique and beautiful historical site intertwined with nature. Just be careful of some of the standing water around.

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10 months ago

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

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5 years ago

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P.H. Hoeft State Park

P.H. Hoeft State Park

4.2(6 reviews)
18.3 mi

We visited Hoeft State Park for the first time last weekend. It wasn't our favorite state park we…read morehave visited but it was still very nice. The sites are very small and they are not very level. We were on site 72 and we had to move our tent three different times to get it staked into the ground. The site was very unlevel and rocky. There are a handful of nice sites throughout the park but it felt very crowded because the sites are so small and everyone is so close together. They do have a bathhouse with showers and toilets. They do not have an updated shower house but it did the job. The staff were very friendly. It was a quiet park because it is so secluded. It is right along the shore of Lake Huron. There is beach access. The water was warm in mid July. The cell service is spotty if you have AT&T. I don't think we would camp here again but we were glad to visit and check it off our list!

Once we visited this park, we had officially visited all 5 Great Lakes…read more.. ...And this park immediately made Huron one of our favorites. The water is so pretty and clean! I grew up on Lake Erie and lived on Lake Ontario for a little while, so I'm not used to seeing such bright blue-green water at a Great Lake. (Erie & Ontario are very brown) Aside from a perfect Lake Huron experience, this is just a nice park in general. Plenty of places for kids to play (including playgrounds), hiking trails, and other activities. All the facilities are in acceptable conditions and there weren't very many people there when we were, which made it feel like we had the park to ourselves (on a Sunday!)... There is a fee to get in. The ranger told us we could pay $9 and have access to ALL Michigan state parks, which of course we did.

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P.H. Hoeft State Park
P.H. Hoeft State Park
P.H. Hoeft State Park

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Thorne Swift Nature Preserve

Thorne Swift Nature Preserve

4.7(15 reviews)
40.9 mi

I'm not much of a nature walking person, but it's been a very long time since I've been up to this…read morepart of Michigan. We discovered this place while on our way to the tunnel of trees, and I said "hey, let's stop here and check it out!" So we did. Pulling in, the parking and area isn't all that huge, but it's cute none the less. It's kind of an off shoot of the Tunnel of Trees, and we also wanted to catch a glimpse of the water if possible. There was a nice gentleman who greeted us and told us about the paths. He said to stay on the trails, check out the water and it's about a mile and a quarter of a walk. So, off we went. There's a nature center at the front with bathrooms and some educational stuff, but we skipped it and went right to the trails. They have a little map area at the front, but basically this place is one big circle and a designated path so you can't really get lost here. While it is cool to look at, it's also a lot of dead and down trees. They have signage throughout about what you're looking at, and tells you a little bit about it. Things like flowers, trees, bugs and birds. It was pretty busy even for a cooler September day, which was impressive. The coolest part of the walk was getting to see Lake Michigan. It was really super cool and you walk right onto the beach. It's not a huge area at all, literally enough to have one person at a time. There's some great photo opportunities along with a view of the lake and boats, which was fabulous to see. Overall, the place is a good stop to get some exercise at if you've been cooped up in the car and start getting antsy like me. LOL. There is a bathroom along the trail, but it's not a flushing toilet one of those holes in the ground with very little privacy. No doors just walls. Kind of weird because I was afraid someone was going to walk in. Anyway, go check it out, you can do this in less then an hours time!

Our family never tires of visiting Thorne Swift. The pathways are easy to walk, some are wood and…read moresome mulch. There are steps down to the beach area and an overlook of the dunes. The pond is lovely. If you are fortunate, you may catch a glimpse of some wildlife, today there were a number of cedar waxwings at the pond. All the paths are mostly shaded. Caretakers are on hand to answer questions and give information. The nature house features some interesting animal facts and specimens. Monarch butterfly releases are scheduled and an aquarium with the caterpillars is just inside the door. A variety of classes and talks are offered. Informative signs are scattered along the trails, some with photos. Many of the trees and plants are labeled with signage. There is a donation box in front of the nature house, and ample parking.

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Thorne Swift Nature Preserve
Thorne Swift Nature Preserve
Thorne Swift Nature Preserve

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Awakon Sculpture Park - landmarks - Updated May 2026

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