Corey Lake North Bay Preserve

Fabius Township • St. Joseph County • 17 acres

There’s a lot of botany (and a very pretty view) packed into this small preserve!

17 acres
Fabius Township
St. Joseph County

There’s a lot of botany (and a very pretty view) packed into this small preserve!

Quick facts

Click to quickly jump to . . .

• Maps
• Getting there
• Natural features & conservation
• Preserve history
• Photo gallery

Parking

Gravel lot
4 car capacity

Trails

Length: 0.25 mile

A short loop trail through an oak woods offers beautiful views of Corey Lake and an impressive show of summer wildflowers.

Dogs

Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a 6-foot leash at all times. Dog waste must be packed out. Click to learn more.

Restrooms

None

Recreation

Fall color, hiking, scenic views, summer wildflowers, wildlife viewing.

Maps

Track your progress in real time as you hike through the preserve with the interactive Avenza Maps App (available on iOS and Android for free)!

1. Click to add the Avenza Maps App to your phone.

2. Click to open the PDF of the Corey Lake North Bay Preserve Trail Map.

3. Copy the URL at the top of the page.

4. In the Avenza Maps app, click the ‘plus’ (+) symbol at the top of the page. Then choose ‘Tap to enter a URL of a map.’

5. Paste the copied URL and the trail map will automatically load into the app.

6. Take a hike!

Click here for interactive maps for other SWMLC preserves.

Need help? Visit the Avenza Maps Support Page.

Prefer to have a paper map?

Click on the map image for a PDF that you can print or leave open on your phone while you hike.

Getting there

For GPS purposes, the address is approximately:
41°56’46.9″N 85°44’34.9″
or the 58000 block of West Clear Lake Rd., Three Rivers, MI 49093

From Kalamazoo:
Take US-131 south from Kalamazoo, past Schoolcraft. Turn right (west) onto Coon Hollow Road (the next intersection after Hoffman Road, just north of Three Rivers). Take the winding and scenic Coon Hollow Road for about 5.5 miles (generally headed west), then turn right (north) onto West Clear Lake Road. Go about 100 yards and the preserve entrance is on the right.

Corey Lake Preserve does not currently appear on Google Maps. This map shows the general vicinity but please refer to the driving directions above for the exact location. We will update the map as soon as possible.

Natural features

Visitors can enjoy an open oak woods that rises up to look over the wetlands on the north bay of Corey Lake. The woods are a good example of an oak woodland natural community rich with sedges and summer blooming flowers. The transition from lake edge through wet meadows and shrubs up into dry forest creates a variety of habitat structures that appeal to all kinds of wildlife. Bird watching during spring migration can offer a rich variety of species.

Naturalists visiting the preserve have been impressed by the plant and bird diversity they’ve found. The sunny roadside has savanna plants like big bluestem and butterfly milkweed. In shadier areas, wild columbine and woodland sunflower fill in with scattered hummocks of sedge and woodland brome grass. Grosbeaks and orioles are common canopy singers, while thrushes forage in the understory.

The wetlands along the shore of Corey Lake grade through a variety of natural community types. Fen and sedge meadows spread from the wettest spring areas, and button bush and red osier dogwood create thickets further back from shore. In spring the blackbirds, warblers, and sparrows compete with the frogs for top volume.

Nature has our backs.

Let’s return the favor.

Our public preserves remain free and open from dawn to dusk – and your support helps keep them that way!

please donate

History

The Mittler family love Corey Lake – and the wildlife that call it home. Their gift of land on the north bay of Corey Lake permanently protects not only the wetlands along the shoreline, but some of the nearby forested uplands that provide groundwater recharge to the springs that feed the lake.