Thorne Swift Nature Preserve — Attraction in West Traverse Township

Beautiful trails that are well kept. But ... They will ask you to leave if you cross a beach boundary, even if by accident.

I missed a sign and crossed into another beach area, then immediately came back when my kids alerted me to the sign. I was over for maybe one minute.

Somehow my walking for a moment on the public easement across this boundary was egregious enough to have someone approach me and my two boy scout sons and ask us to leave. We apologized and left without any opposition or argument.

Unfortunately they do not honor the public trust easement described by the Michigan supreme court as a publicly accessible waterway easement that no private land owner can restrict access to (I found this out later after reading Michigan case law).

We were as respectful as we could be; staying on the paths, remaining quiet to avoid disrupting wildlife, reading the informational signs they offer and observing what they describe, picking up trash as we went. They kicked out two little respectful boy scouts and their dad because of an honest boundary mistake. If I were them I'd be...

GO HERE … Thorne Forest Nature Preserve was quite a find.

The staff was excellent, both and welcoming, orientating, chatting with us. The visitor center had some really need exhibits and a little play area for younger kids.

TO THE BEACH There are three routes down to the water … a northern route, a southern route, and a direct route go for the northern or southern routes. They are only a half mile and there’s lots of signage and great things to look at. Besides that they are well-maintained and most of the time you were walking on boards.

BEACH The beach itself was very clean and contained pretty fine sand. Besides that you had on interrupted views of so much of the water. We got some great pictures. Would’ve been a great place to bring a picnic lunch and spend some time playing in the water and making some Sandcastles because it was quiet and...

While I was staying at the birchwood inn hotel near harbor springs, I was up for a walk and found this place. The keepers of the preserve live on the front side of the park and gave me a warm welcome. The reserve itself has well marked paths and some interesting facts to read along the way. Definitely good to take your kids along. I was out there by myself, around 9 pm, which was a real peaceful experience. I walked in to some deer, raccoons, and lots of singing birds. They built a nice outlook and have a part of the beach along which you can walk (quite small though). Intersting fact is that he property was bought by Thorne swift, a woman who just loved nature and did not want that piece of land spoiled by all the big houses that arise along the...