A super gem of a park located behind the Oshtemo Township building & library. I was looking for…read morethe Lillian Anderson Arboretum and missed their drive and ended up following the sign for the Oshtemo Township Park. Boy, did we make the right turn! The park has 70 acres that includes tennis courts, playground, disc golf, pavilions, and walking trails. Even though the trails were snow covered, they were easy to follow. There are a lot of signs to make sure you know where you are. The forested area of the park is beautiful with rolling hills and as an added bonus you can connect to the Lillian Anderson Arboretum trails. I'm so glad we spent a few hours on a chilly Sunday exploring this beautiful area just west of Kalamazoo.

This is really great place！！We had picnic,hiked and disk golf！！…read moreunfortunately, we couldn't across the bridge for yestea's raining.

I'm still on my quest to hike all the SW Michigan Land Conservancy public trails. This past…read moreSunday we found the Jeptha Lake Fen located in Grand Junction. My first thought was boy, this was a hard place to find. We drove down the gravel driveway as stated in the directions but ended up in front of someone's home. Backed out and noticed a yellow gate. There is nothing at the gate stating this was the preserve. A neighborly guy came out from the house nearby and said you found it and that everybody gets confused when they try to find the preserve. We walked around the gate and followed a two track for a short distance and finally come upon the sign from SWMLC. My second thought was what is a Fen? From the US Forest: "Fens are an important and unique wetland type. Fens are peat-forming wetlands that rely on groundwater input and require thousands of years to develop and cannot easily be restored once destroyed. Fens are also hotspots of biodiversity. They often are home to rare plants, insects, and small mammals. Larger animals like deer and livestock graze in this type of wetland. Fens are valuable to humans as well. They are important as sites of groundwater discharge and are good indicators of shallow aquifers. Vegetation in all wetlands plays an important role in recycling nutrients, trapping eroding soil, and filtering out polluting chemicals such as nitrates. In addition, fens figure prominently in nearly all scenarios of CO2-induced global change because they are a major sink for atmospheric carbon." It's a rather rough preserve, but according to SWMLC, 148 species of wildflowers, 97 species of birds, 26 species of butterflies, eight species of frogs, and all sorts of other wildlife and plants have been found at Jeptha Lake Fen. . The two track was very rutted and filled with tall grass. Unfortunately, we saw no wildlife and very few birds. I would estimate the loop to be approximately one mile. The area sees very little traffic from what I could tell. There is a path that leads to a boardwalk which spans a marsh and ends at a platform to provide a chance to take a break and enjoy the lake view. The boardwalk provides an opportunity to get a close up look of plants and flowers that you normally wouldn't be able to see without disturbing the marsh and becoming a mess in the process. The walk was quick but enjoyable. It's very peaceful and I'm glad we found this little hidden gem in Van Buren County.

I have taken my dog for grooming and daycare. Jessica the groomer and her staff are AWESOME!…read more Brian and his staff are also AWESOME! My dog is a little sensitive and has some separation anxiety and they were just wonderful with her. I would highly recommend them taking care of your pet if you have to run an errand or have an appt elsewhere. I have scheduled regular daycare sessions with them to socialize her. Do it now!

We biked directly from our camp site at Fort Custer State Recreation Area to the Battle Creek…read moreLinear Park (aka trail). The trail largely runs along the Kalamazoo River which provides some nice scenery. The trail passes through the Leila Arboretum. My favorite spot was the Verona Dam, which has a nice deck with picnic tables and a great view of the water. The dam is like a man made waterfall. The trail runs through the campus of the Kellog Community College and through downtown Battle Creek right past the gorgeous old train station. There's a significant monument to the Underground Railroad near downtown. The sights along the trail are all pretty great! The trail itself is unfortunately poorly maintained. It's the roughest trail surface I've ever ridden in several spots. Not being from the area we found the trail poorly marked and we missed a number of turns and had to stop to search for where does the trail go in several areas. Navigation challenges for us included Bedford Rd Bridge, 20th St, and Washington Ave near Washington School. The trail makes several unconventional street crossings in mid-block such as along Capitol Ave near Bailey Park. Capitol is a busy 4 lane road so we chose to cross at the stop light rather than the marked crossing mid-block.

I ride the Battle Creek Linear Park Trail quite regularly. Usually several times a week. There are…read moreseveral different legs of the trail, but my favorite is the stretch along the river from Bailey Park to River Road. The scenery along this stretch is very nice and I usually see a variety of wildlife. My reason for only a 3 star rating is the condition of the trail. Many areas are very bumpy from tree root damage and the amount of glass on the trail is the most I've seen on any linear trail or rail trail. They have a clean up every year where locals volunteer to pick up various trash along the trail and river, but unfortunately, this does not include a thorough sweeping of the glass. If the city would just repair a few of the worst rough areas and run a lawn tractor with a sweeper down the trail just once a month, this trail could be a 5 star trail. It could also use a few more bathroom areas and watering areas along the route. There is a port a potty at Bailey Park and another at the boat launch near Helmer Road. But areas to get a drink or refill a water bottle are scarce. There is a water fountain near Claras downtown, but for some reason the last couple of years, the city has not turned the water back on in the spring, so it's useless. The city is always wanting to add more parks and facilities around the city, but they really need to maintain what they already have now. Kalamazoo River Valey Trail has 90% less glass and less chance of a flat, for cyclists.

I stopped here for a bit to destress in the green. This is a very pretty park that has been set…read moreaside though it isn't completely isolated from the noises of the buses and trucks that pass by. Still, pretty, green, refreshing. Great walking and jogging and biking trails, picnic benches, covered areas, grills, fishing areas, permanent structures with restrooms. This park has everything. Over 200 acress and connected by a 3.5 mile trail. [Review 11230 overall, 1006 of 2019.]

Nothing beats a nice stroll in the park. No matter the season! The beautiful green now has a slap…read moreshot of other colors bringing the fall features to life! But as lovers of spring and summer. Green was our calling card for sure. Very beautiful park!

What the village has done with the Rec center is amazing! It's a huge disc golf course now and it's…read moreone of my favorites in the area! Make sure you bring your bug spray though. With so many of the holes being near water the bugs can get heavy.

This park is the launching point for a lovely, wooded path for walking/running/cycling. We used it…read morea ton when we were in early days of our marathon training because it was nicely shaded and not too busy. Sunset Lake also abuts the area and is a beautiful little pond with lots of lily pads and bird life. There's very little in the way of homes on the lakeshore so it's a pretty spot. Great for sunset photography, too.

I have watched this trail around 60 times in the past few months, and have no intention of…read morestopping. It's a small walk, but such a gem to discover. If you enjoy animals, especially birds, you see and hear more than in any other park.

Really well kept up trails! I saw a lot of wildlife. There is not parking near the entrance of the…read morepreserve, but I parked in Oakwood Plaza and walked over, it was under a half mile. There were benches sporadically for resting or birdwatching. If you stick to the main trail (it's a loop), it's just over a mile.

Great way to get in a quick workout on your own time schedule! Love this place.read more

The program is great. This location is unreliable. You cannot get anyone to answer the phone or…read morecall you back. Because of their unreliability, their customer service is terrible. They are usually "nice", but they make excuses for their lack of reliability and they have difficulty answering questions regarding membership fees and cancellations of their program. They are never looking to do the right thing even if it simply means doing what they can to refund your $10 for the month that they can't explain a charge for. I finally asked them to remove my credit card information and they terminated my account. So if you do not live locally, do not join. Cancelling is a nightmare.