Trails

Features along the trails

The Seven Ponds are seven small glacial lakes which are connected by streams and channels. The lakes are steep-sided and several are over thirty feet deep. The nature center is named after this beautiful lake system. The lakes are reached by taking one of the trails leading downhill from the Interpretive Building.
The Teaching Platform is a large dock on the shore of Treetop Pond. It is a good place to begin a visit.
The A-Frame Bridge crosses the channel between Treetop and Little Ponds. The bridge is a great place to observe birds and other wildlife. It also provides an excellent view of the nature center's wetlands.
Big Pond Observation Platform overlooks the largest of the Seven Ponds and provides the best view of ducks and geese on this large lake.
Paul's Woods is a mature forest of sugar maple, oak, hickory, and beech. It is home to woodland wildflowers, ferns, and a variety of animals, especially birds.
Miller Pond Boardwalk winds along the shore and provides access to interesting swamp forest habitat. A small platform on the north end overlooks a beaver lodge that is frequently active.
Earl's Prairie is a reconstruction of a rare Michigan plant community and features many native wildflowers. This nine-acre area is especially showy during summer and early fall when plants are blooming.
The North-80 is an eighty acre area located across the road from the nature center's entrance. A network of trails takes hikers through fields, thickets, and forest. Map posts are located at each junction of the trail system to aid navigation. These trails are popular with cross-country skiers.
Waterfowl Pond is located in the North-80 and is an excellent place to view many forms of wildlife, including ducks, herons, muskrat, and beaver.
The Butterfly Garden is located in the driveway circle. Its plants provide nectar for butterflies and other insects, and serve as hosts for butterfly larvae.
The Herb Garden is located in the driveway circle. This garden displays plants used by our forebearers for food, medicine, potpourri, and dyes.
The Woodland Wildflower Garden contains a nice variety of spring woodland wildflowers and ferns. The garden is located below the Interpretive Building.

Jonathan Woods Nature Preserve

Jonathan Woods Nature Preserve was established in 1977 when Elizabeth Graham donated the land to The Nature Conservancy. Ownership of the land was transfered to Seven Ponds Nature Center in 2003. Jonathan Woods consists of 145 acres in southwest Dryden Township and features an unusually varied and rugged terrain. This preserve is especially diverse; habitats include oak woods, mixed hardwoods, beech-maple forest, tamarack bog, yellow birch swamp, open hillside meadow, swamp forest, aspen stands, leatherleaf bog, and a hemlock stand. Jonathan Woods is also rich in animal life, containing all the common animals one would expect in a large woodland and some unusual for the area including river otter, four-toed salamander, acadian flycatcher, cerulean warbler and scarlet tanager.

There is no parking lot, so visitors must park along the road near the entrance without blocking traffic or nearby driveways. You may also share the trails with horseback riders since the preserve trails are part of the system maintained by the Metamora Hunt. The trail system can be confusing but the map below should help.

A map and directions are available when you visit the Interpretive Building.