Once upon a time were many tribes of trolls who lived peacefully throughout Michigan. All of the trolls loved nature and took care of the flora, fauna and fungi - great and small. They lived in harmony with everything and created troll villages out of fallen tree branches and grasses. For years, they lived in peace, but one fateful day, a strange group of creatures came to their land and began building and paving over their beloved forests and prairies with odd, flat stone surfaces on which wheeled metal things rolled on, made loud noises, and filled the air with smoke everywhere they went. These creatures also changed the trolls’ wetlands by damming up streams and rivers with big concrete walls and burying strange, non-natural objects. So each and every troll began to move to small plots of land that had yet to be destroyed by the “creatures.”
There aren’t many of these rare plots left, but one happens to exist in a land called Barry County. The plot of land is known as “Pierce Cedar Creek Institute” and is home to one of the few existing troll villages left in Michigan. Set on 850 acres, Pierce Cedar Creek Institute provides trolls and its visitors with a unique exposure to a rare blend of diverse habitats including forests, prairies, marshes, streams, lakes, and wetlands. In this particular wetland, you might notice buried logs and tires on a section of the path. “Creatures” (previous human land owners) buried the logs and tires to create a road through the wetland, giving access to the timberland due south. They’ve remained here since then, as removing the logs and tires would cause the path to quickly recede into the wetland. The mix of water and organic soils in this wetland gives the ground an elastic character. If you have a group, try having somebody jump while the others stand still. Do you feel the ground tremble?
Although the road remains, thankfully much of the wetland is still diverse in flora, fauna, and fungi and a great home for trolls. And if you love nature and respect its wonder, the trolls will thank you and let you pass. But if you don’t, they will say “Go home, and never come back! Or else…you might make a good snack!” So please, be a good friend to nature: stay on the trails, keep your dogs on a 6-foot lease, and leave nature in nature.
Hiking trails are open to walking/hiking every day from dawn to dusk. The Visitor Center is open Monday through Friday 9 am – 5 pm. Please use existing trail system in your exploration. BE CAREFUL OF MUGGLES. This is a frequently traveled area. These hiking trails are closed during hunting season from November 15-December 1 every year. There will be signs that say "Stay off Trails due to Hunting" during this time period.
This cache is a small watertight box. The cache includes a log book, pencil, and small nature-related items. Please put everything back the way you found it. Thanks!