If you bike on the stretch of the TART Trail from the library on Woodmere to Acme, do you know that you pass the 83-acre Reffitt Nature Preserve along the south side of the trail? Why not park your bike at the entry on Three Mile and Parsons Road and then take a refreshing 1.5-mile trail hike?
Step off the bike trail into a part of the Mitchell Creek Watershed, walk through a dry mesic forest which houses Black Oak, Red Maple, and Jack Pines. You’ll also walk on a boardwalk through a speckled alder swamp which provides housing and habitat for mammals, birds, deer, grouse and muskrat. And be sure and check out the stream as you enter and leave to see if you can spot a nice brook or brown trout. You may find you enjoy the hike so much that hiking the trail becomes part of your outdoor biking routine.
Sixty-six varieties of birds, thirteen species of mammals, nineteen species of fish, and numerous plant species have been encountered in this preserve. You may find blueberries or highbush cranberry in season.
The Reffitt Nature Preserve, established between 1992 and 2000, is owned by the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. If you, or a group, is interested in a guided tour or more information, please call Natalie Bryne, Reffitt Friends Coordinator, at 231. 938-6236 or visit the GTRLC website at www.gtrlc.org