Hepatica usually blooms in mid-to-late May at Loda Lake National Wildflower Sanctuary in Newaygo County. Photo by Karen Motawi, Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc.-Big Rapids chapter.
By Kevin Howell
Plant identification markers peek from the forest floor along a wooded trail winding among mixed hardwoods, past a small lake, and across a boardwalk over spring-fed wetlands. Here, at Loda Lake, small blossoms and green things can be spotted as this hotbed of wildflowers begins to wake up at the end of April.
For my navigator Jean and me, walks in the woods are some of our favorite things to do, especially when the weather is a bit cool and the seasons are changing. Loda Lake was our destination on this sunny day.
Spring arrives in Michigan when it’s good and ready, and it was slow coming this year, for sure. But we headed out to explore, anyway, in Newaygo County, with hopes of catching a few early bloomers.
About 40 miles south of our home, in the Huron-Manistee National Forest, Loda Lake National Wildflower Sanctuary is the only wildflower sanctuary in the national forest system, according to www.fs.usda.gov. The name “Loda Lake” piqued our interest. Formerly known as Bass Lake, the name was changed in the early 1940s. Loda, or Lonidaw, was the wife of Potawatomi Chief Simon Pokagon.
Before making the trip there, I had contacted Karen Motawi, a member of the Big Rapids Garden Club branch of Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc. This group oversees the sanctuary in conjunction with the National Forest Service. Motawi also serves as Loda Lake’s sanctuary chair. She cautioned me it was a little early for flowers. A NFS employee also told me drought-like conditions in spring can affect the blooms.
“Since it’s been cold so far in April, you probably won’t see many blooming wildflowers until May,” Motawi said. “While this is a wildflower sanctuary, there are many species of other native plants to enjoy, such as shrubs, ferns and ground pines.”
That there are. We spotted some tiny ground pines popping up, and buds on numerous shrubs and other plants were looking healthy.
Loda Lake is a combination of nature walks and cultural trails within 72 acres of forest. A 1.2-mile wildflower trail loops through woods of oaks, white and red pines, cypress and other tree species. The trail heads up and down gentle sand hills and beside wetlands. Along the way are intersections with cultural side trails which share the history of the land.
Once home to the Potawatomi, this spot was logged and later farmed by Thomas E. Hunt, an acquaintance of a Mr. Hanson, the owner. Remnants of the original farmhouse, barn and outbuildings remain. Interpretive signs explain their history. Hanson’s daughter sold the property to the Forest Service, and the exchange caught the eye of someone else.
“The idea of the sanctuary started with a woman named Grace Votey, who was the MGC conservation chairman during the late 1930s,” Motawi told me.
“She knew about the famous New England Wildflower Conservancy and felt there should be one in Michigan. Other Garden Club members were aware of the diversity of wildflowers in the Loda Lake area, and together they began exploring the idea of a sanctuary with the Forest Service.”
While individual wildflowers are not marked, numbered posts along the trail can be matched with lists of flowers and plants in a handy trail brochure available at the sanctuary, the Forest Service headquarters or online.
We had the guide with us and spotted (we think) hepatica, ground pine, hemlock trees, red pine and what looked like a leftover cranberry in the wetland area. Despite our shaky identification skills ⸺ a wildflower guide with photos would be handy to take along ⸺ the sanctuary/cultural trails were a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours wandering.
In the southeast corner of the sanctuary is an old orchard and a fenced-off pollinator garden with milkweed, horsemint, prickly pear cactus and other neat plants to discover.
For the more adventurous, the wildflower trail has connections to the North Country Scenic Trail. (Read our November 2021 story of one woman’s solo trek on the trail: HERE.)
By the time this story is published in mid-May, the weather should be warming and the wildflowers flourishing ⸺ a spectacular time to visit Loda Lake.
Find information about the sanctuary at: www.migardenclubs.org and the Forest Service web page for Loda Lake (with directions): tinyurl.com/33u44jph
Kevin Howell lives in Mason County. He loves the Michigan woods, lakes, people and, especially, Michigan craft beers ⸺ not necessarily in that order!
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