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You’ll find Porter Legacy Dunes just south of South Haven. It’s next to Pilgrim Haven Natural Area and not far from Van Buren State Park. The place covers 48 acres and backs up to Dyckman Creek.
From the right spot, you can catch some pretty killer views of Lake Michigan.
Right now, the land isn’t open to the public, but that’s changing soon.
The new trail and boardwalk project breaks ground on June 20, 2025.
A new half-mile loop trail is in the works, winding through the woods with a boardwalk to keep your shoes dry and the habitat safe.
The trail leads to a dune-top overlook with wide-open views of Lake Michigan.
Once it’s finished, it’ll link up with the trail network at Pilgrim Haven, where you’ll find restrooms and signs that dig into the land’s ecology and Indigenous history.
If all goes as planned, you’ll be able to hit the trail by fall 2025.
This is solid backdune forest. Trees like sugar maple, basswood, and northern red oak are doing their thing.
You’ve got hemlocks too, which feel kind of rare this far south.
Springtime brings in a wave of wildflowers, including trillium and Dutchman’s breeches poking up through last fall’s leaves.
It’s also part of the Great Lakes Flyway, so if you’re into birds, keep your eyes peeled for migrating hawks and songbirds passing through.
48 acres of woods, creek, and wildflowers
Rare native plants and trees
Key spot for migrating birds
New boardwalk and overlook deck in the works
Old chimney and wind turbine still standing from the Porter homestead
Quiet trails that don’t feel crowded
The Porter family held onto this special land, caring for it, for close to 140 years.
After Catherine Porter passed, they handed the land off for conservation to keep the legacy of protection going.
In 2020, SHARA and SWMLC stepped in with help from donors and a big grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund to make the protection permanent.
The preserve will remain closed to the public during construction, which is expected to be completed in
October 2025.
More details about the grand opening will be shared as the project moves forward.
INFJ. Mom of 3. Idea chaser-People believer-Inspiration seeker. Together we make GR amazing – Let’s go!
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