Fall Colors Mega Hike @ Swan Creek - Allegan SGA (11+ miles)
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Fall Colors Mega Hike @ Swan Creek - Allegan SGA (11+ miles)
October 11th, 9:00 am
This is a great hike to train for! If you can't average a 30 minute mile (2 mph) this is not a hike for you.
We will start off with the North Swan Creek Loop. It is about 5.1 miles long. The we will do the South Swan Creek Loop which is about another 5.8 miles.
We will meet at the trail head parking lot on 118th avenue just west of the bridge over Swan Creek (or just east of the Park Headquarters.)
The much more scenic route is to the south, where a 5.8-mile loop skirts Swan Creek Pond and then the creek to 116th Avenue. To the north is a 5-mile loop along the creek to the edge of Koopman Marsh. Although the area is not hilly, both trails follow the base of a river bluff at times and contain a surprising amount of up-and-down hiking. They also pass a number of marshes.
After the hike, we head to Root's Café in Fennville.
About Southern Loop:
https://www.michigantrailmaps.com/member-detail/allegan-sga-south-swan-creek-loop/
South Swan Creek Loop is best done during the off-season—either in early May when fiddleheads are popping through the forest floor and the flowering dogwood is in full bloom, or in the fall, when one can witness one of the largest migratory gatherings of waterfowl in the state.
About Nothern Loop:
https://www.michigantrailmaps.com/member-detail/allegan-sga-north-swan-creek-loop/
Lightly used North Swan Creek trails are located on the north side of the 118th Avenue Bridge dam and form a 5.1-mile loop. The east side trail stays closer to the creek and involves more climbing as it skirts the bluffs. The west side of the loop remains mostly on the edge of the bluff and is an easier hike. In places the west side trail parallels two-tracks that doubles as a ski trail in the winter and can be used as an alternative route back to 118th Avenue. Ski trails are marked with blue blazes, the hiking trail with yellow blazes.
This is a great hike. I hope you can make it.
Kevin
Fall Colors Mega Hike @ Swan Creek - Allegan SGA (11+ miles)