Michigan Trail Tuesday is our attempt to showcase a different trail or trail segment each week. The Mitten State is home to thousands of miles of trails, including the new Iron Belle Trail that runs from Detroit in the southeast to Ironwood in the western Upper Peninsula and more miles of the North Country Trail than any other state.

We’ve made it a focus this year to get out and explore as many trails as possible, covering a variety of terrain as we travel the state. On a recent trip to Port Huron we looked for nature preserves and ended up exploring the Fort Gratiot Nature Preserve and surrounding area. While there we found the Kettlewell Pond Trail, a paved path around a wetland that is less than a mile in length but rich in scenery. This a perfect path for walkers and bicyclists, and there are also opportunities for fishing and birdwatching. This trail connects to the longer Fort Gratiot Nature Preserve trail. This trail runs more than three miles from Meijer to a parking area on Keewahdin Rd.

Access to the Kettlewell Pond Trail can come from the Meijer parking lot, the Fort Gratiot Canine Commons dog park, or the McIntyre Park parking lot.

A sign that greets visitors explains how this path came to be: “Trees once grew here in thick deposits of topsoil covering yellow sand. The mining of topsoil and sand stated in the area in the late 1940s. Trees were removed leaving the topsoil and sand. The topsoil and sand were dug out and used in building developments in Fort Gratiot and surrounding communities. In the late 1990s the Department of Environmental Quality required this area to be restored as a wetland after the restoration the land was donated by the Kettlewell family to Fort Gratiot Charter Township. In 2003 Fort Gratiot Township constructed the bike/pedestrian walkway around the pond. The area has become a nature preserve and the home of many different species of birds and other wildlife. Everyday there is something new and different to see.”

We saw a few ducks, geese, and swans as we walked around the pond.

There is a fishing pier on one side of the pond and a smaller dock near the opposite side.

This short trail is perfect for a slow walk while checking out the wildlife, or a few laps of walking or running. Some of the other features at this park is the Fort Gratiot Pond (including a course for remote controlled boats), a disc golf course, a playground, picnic areas, and more.

As we left we were lucky enough to spot this hawk watching us from up in a tree!