I love Chicago, but sometimes the urban congestion and traffic are overwhelming, especially in the fall when nature’s colorful foliage beckons. So one late autumn weekend during the height of the pandemic (2020) we opted to meet my son and daughter-in-law from Chicago outside the city for a weekend of hiking in southwestern Michigan. Leaving Detroit on a cool, overcast morning, we weren’t sure whether we’d be hiking in rain or sleet, so we threw extra gear in the car and headed west. The kids were delayed in traffic getting out of the city, so we had an hour to kill before meeting them for lunch at a local brewery in Sawyer. Looking for somewhere to explore nearby, we were fortunate to discover the Galien River County Park, a local jewel of a nature preserve with a unique mix of upland and wetland habitats along the Galien River.
From the small parking lot, we followed a leaf covered trail beneath the golden canopy of elms, beeches and oaks to a staircase, with steps that led up and steps that led down. Choices, choices! Opting for up first, we ascended into the canopies of the surrounding trees, emerging on a long wooden boardwalk atop the trees. Aptly named the Canopy Walkway, this structure is an engineering feat completed in 2014 that meanders through the treetops, giving hikers a unique birds eye view of the foliage.
The Canopy Walkway ends at the Marsh Overlook, a 60 foot high elevated platform over the New Buffalo Marsh that extends from the mouth of nearby Lake Michigan. From high above the marsh, we could see the green algae covered water and the 600 foot long boardwalk that allows hikers to walk over the marsh below. The overlook was impressive; it was windy and the platform swayed gently as the wind gusted; the view of the surrounding area – the reds, yellows and brown of the upland juxtaposed against the vibrant greens and browns of the wetlands, was breathtaking. Who would have thought a swamp could be so beautiful!
We retraced our steps to the stairway and descended down to the marsh’s edge and the long boardwalk that traversed the wetlands. This gave us an up close and personal view of the wetland – its murky algae covered depths teamed with insects and the occasional fish and bird; we saw what liked like a beaver dam carefully constructed from the multitude of branches and logs littering the marsh.
Leaving the marsh, we hiked a loop trail through the forest before heading back to the car to meet the kids at Greenbush Brewery in Sawyer. The wait was shorter to eat outdoors so we opted to sit on the patio. Fortunately, we were shielded from the wind, but by the end of lunch we were ready to get moving. Our next destination – Warren Dunes State Park got the heart pounding and soon enough were were sweating and removing layers. Hiking on sand is challenging but being surrounded by dunes and colorful foliage was worth the effort.
The beginning of the Warren Dunes trail was forested and easygoing but within fifteen minutes we reached the dunes. The inclines were not steep but because of the sand we felt like for every two steps forward, we slid one step back.
After a continuous uphill stretch, we crested a dune to catch our breath and beheld before us the immense blueness of a surprisingly calm Lake Michigan. The heavy overcast of the sky fused with surface of the big lake creating a pallet of blues and greys. We slid down the dune, crossing another expanse of sand partially vegetated with scrub trees and dune grass, to the lake’s edge.
The beach sand was pristine with nary a skipping stone to be found. The trail, if that’s how to refer to the beach, followed the Lake Michigan coast for several miles. Gentle waves lapped the shore; calculating the odds to be small of getting doused by a rogue wave, we opted to walk on the firmer, wet sand to conserve energy. It felt strange to be hiking on sand in boots instead of bare feet.
Eventually, we spotted a trail marker guiding us to follow a well worn path over the dunes. For a brief moment, the sun broke through the overcast, illuminating the sand, changing it to yellow gold.
The ascent from the lake was gradual so not until we reached the edge of the forest did we realize how far up we’d climbed. Below us was a steep dune that led down to the forest trail that would take us back to our car – using momentum and taking giant steps, we slid to the bottom in seconds passing several families climbing up, kids out in front, their parents slowly laboring up the steep incline. But for dumb luck of turning right on the loop trail vs left, that could have been us huffing and puffing up the dune!
Sandy and tired, but satisfied by the day’s hike, we drove to Silver Beach, checked into our hotel and then wandered around downtown St. Joseph’s looking for a restaurant. We were hungry and ready to eat but had totally miscalculated what it entailed to get food. We’d assumed that dining would not be a problem in a small town, off-season but small town meant limited dining options and fewer wait staff, and with COVID protocols layered on top, this translated into being told that we couldn’t be served for the entire evening. Fortunately on our third try, we were able to put our name on wait list at RyeBelle’s downtown and after a 20 minute wait on the roof top deck trying to shield ourselves from the wind and then, the rain, we got a table near the fireplace and had a nice dinner. The rain was gone by the time we finished dinner so we explored downtown St. Joseph’s, stopping at an old fashioned confectionary for some ice cream and chocolate to replenish the calories we’d burned.
Tomorrow, we plan to visit Silver Beach light house and do one last hike before heading home.