Hickory Creek Preserve

St. Joseph Charter Township • Berrien County • 32 acres

Hickory Creek Preserve’s protected habitats and linear trail are hidden gems tucked away in the middle of town.

32 acres
St. Joseph Charter Township
Berrien County

Hickory Creek Preserve’s protected habitats and linear trail are hidden gems tucked away in the middle of town.

Quick facts

Click to quickly jump to . . .

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

Parking

Park in adjacent hardware store lot. Parking is also available at Knauf Park (which is located nearly 2 miles down Hickory Creek Preserve’s linear trail).

Trails

Length: 0.67 mile. May be combined with Knauf Park’s 1.2 mile trail.

This linear trail passes wetlands and savanna habitats, with interesting side-trails that explore the adjacent woods and Hickory Creek. The preserve trail continues on to join another trail (shown on Google Maps as ‘June Trce’) that ends at St. Joseph Township’s Knauf Park.

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, 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 Hickory Creek Preserve 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:
2300 block of Niles Rd., St Joseph, MI 49085

From I-94, take Exit #27 (Niles Ave./M-63). Turn right (north) onto Niles Avenue and travel about 1 mile. Turn left into the Ace Hardware parking lot (across from Eagle Pointe Harbor).

PLEASE NOTE: This preserve does not have its own parking area but visitors may park in the Ace Hardware lot (2360 Niles Rd., St Joseph) right next to the preserve entrance. From there, walk back out to Niles Rd. and follow the footpath on the left to find the entrance to the preserve.

Natural features

The easy walking and biking trails along the edge of the preserve offer an opportunity to view a variety of habitats, including woodland, savanna, streams, marshes, and ponds.

Hickory Creek’s wide variety of habitats make for great wildlife viewing opportunities. Foxes, deer, butterflies, and many different types of birds (especially during spring migration) are regularly seen along the trails.

Wildflowers bloom through the growing season, beginning with marsh marigolds and jack-in-the-pulpits in spring to wild lupine and butterfly milkweed in the summer, finishing with great fall displays of asters and goldenrods.

Most of the property is made up of a variety of wetlands in the floodplain of Hickory Creek, shortly before it flows into the St. Joseph River. Floodplain forest, shrub carr, cattail marsh, and disturbed wet meadow are found on the preserve.

The floodplain forest is the most intact of the habitats with a rich understory of ferns, skunk cabbage, marsh marigolds, spicebush, and other wetland flora.

The upland portion of the property is an oak hickory forest that slopes up to an old railroad bed. The understory includes some unusual spring wildflowers including State Threatened prairie trillium.

The power line openings near the railroad bed contain prairie and savanna species such as wild lupine, rough blazing star, little bluestem, big bluestem, and State Threatened white false indigo. State Threatened wild sweet potato grows along the border of the preserve as well.

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

Hickory Creek Preserve was acquired when George Hanus sold it to SWMLC at a discount in 2001.

What was once a railroad bed and now power line corridor is a developing “greenway” trail that links other public open spaces to run from Lake Michigan along the St. Joseph River to Hickory Creek and beyond. Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy’s Hickory Creek Preserve protects both sides of Hickory Creek shortly before it flows into the St. Joseph River.