Old-Growth Forest Network Induction

Join us for a guided 1/2-mile spring hike to celebrate the induction of Misty Acres: The Borwell Preserve into the national Old-Growth Forest Network (OGFN).

The Basics

Discover the quiet beauty of Misty Acres: the Borwell Preserve, where a meandering trail winds through the preserve’s more than 360 acres of forest, high above a deep ravine cut by the rushing waters of a tributary to the Betsie River.

The secondary old-growth forest of sugar maples, black cherry, beech, and hemlock–along with stately white pines–is home to many bird species, including the charismatic Pileated Woodpecker and songsters like the Winter Wren. The woodland flora is subtly beautiful in the spring, with ferns just popping up, trees budding, and migratory bird species returning. Later in the season, as ferns leaf out, the understory is a lush tapestry of green. Wildflowers you may see along the trail include Common Trillium, Large-flowered Bellwort, Small Solomon-seal, White Baneberry, and Jack-in-the-Pulpit.

Misty Acres: The Borwell Preserve will join more than 320 forests nationwide recognized in the Old-Growth Forest Network. A brief induction ceremony, including remarks by the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy staff and Leona Addie of the Old-Growth Forest Network, will take place at the Misty Acres Preserve Trailhead before the hike.