Powdermill Nature Reserve — Attraction in Cook Township

Lots of stuff to see. Nice little area for the animal environments. Nice natural treatment plant for the bathrooms using a natural Marsh machine. Very kewl description of the device and how it works. There are a few trails here as well to explore.

There are several events that Powdermill hosts and is always a great experience! Thank you!

Down the street is their bird tagging operation and I got to see what they do in their open house in the spring and fall. Very well put together open house. You get to see the bird tagging in progress and the information at the open house was Amazing. Everyone who took time to explain everything was wonderful. We got to hear special details about the birds we saw and some characteristics of some of the birds and what they do for the tagging. This was a wonderful experience...

Not a huge place, but free admission. It has a nice array of taxidermy displays including baby animals. A couple live animals in aquariums, bones, feathers and pelts to touch, and a reading nook would make this a good stop for kids.

The Black Birch trail behind the building is gravel, with benches and informative signs. There are some very scenic places beside Powdermill Run. The sugar trail on the other side was very wet after some record rains, but dry higher up. That path had rocks and roots, but it wasn't extremely steep or challenging. Both trails were mostly shady.

Unless there is a program, it would be hard to spend the day here, but I enjoyed it very much for a couple shorter hikes and interesting things to look at. "What bird are you" indentification key was my...

I was driving by and noticed the nature reserve off to my left. I pulled in to check it out. It’s an interesting nature reserve and somewhat small on the inside, but it has a lot to offer as far as water filtration for the restroom, which is kind of cool. There are trails in the back of the nature reserve building where you could take a short half-mile or a mile walk.

The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. There are restrooms and free parking. I didn’t notice any vending machines for pop, but then again, I wasn’t looking. If you’re in the area, stop by and take a look. There isn’t an admission fee and the nature reserve is free...