Riverview Park — Attraction in Saint Joseph Charter Township

I’ve been going to Riverview Park in Saint Joseph since I was a younger child attending family reunions there. If you haven’t been recently the landscape has changed considerably with all of the water overflow from the river. Places that used to be green grass are now filled with cat tails and have become a bit of a wetland. As part of the Chikaming open lands #chikamingopenlands #10trail Challenge I revisited these nature trails for the first time in probably 10 to 12 years. I was excited to see some new stuff, but saddened that some of the old trails and boardwalks/bridges are no longer accessible and have not been maintained. If you park at the bathrooms right at the entrance to the park , You would be remiss to believe that you should just do the nature trail and you’re good to go. If you walk the entire perimeter of the park you’ll get about 2 miles in and get some beautiful views. Wildlife here is amazingly abundant as you can see in the pictures, there were many other ducks, Heron/Crane type birds That I was not fast enough to get pictures of. Scared up a pair of baby deer while in the trail nature trail and then got a glimpse of the one running across the field near the pond at the entrance. I did get one picture of some kind of heron/crane From a distance in the pond area if you’re so inclined to try and find it feel free to say found it on that picture it’s a little hard to locate. Most of the trails are packed dirt, mowed grass Or gravel roads. The trail itself is not handicap accessible there are a couple places where there are smaller trees down that you have to hop over. Bring bug spray yes this is a very buggy place due to the amount of water that overflows...

Riverview Park is a great place to enjoy the river, fish, have a cookout, launch a boat, or watch others play water sports from the shoreline. There are plenty of picnic tables and charcoal grill stations along the river and inlet. There are facilities that can be rented for special events like reunions, graduation parties, or birthday parties. The ball fields are worn down and overrun by vegetation; they don't appear to have been used for years. Large flocks of geese, squirrels, chipmunks, moles, and turtles also call...

Normally, I love this park. It's great for fishing. And I love the peace and quit. But today I tried to go fishing there and it was closed. Evidently for a company picnic for st. Joe city employees. I respect that they are doing something to show appreciation for the employees. But to close the entire park down? My wifes job had their picnic there as well, but it was still open to the community. I don't feel it's right for them to keep us out. It's...