Creekshead Nature Preserve Loop

This 27-acre preserve just 12 miles north of Ann Arbor, was donated to Legacy Land Conservancy in 1995. It holds a beautiful mature beech-maple-basswood forest and is invasive-free. Because the ecosystem here is intact, spring brings spectacular wildflower blooms including carpets of spring beauty, wood anemone, and trillium with scattered plants of the more rare, Dutchman’s breeches, squirrel corn, and the parasitic plant, beech drops. Both Johnson and Nelson Creeks, tributaries to the Huron River, begin in this wet forest giving the preserve its name, Creekshead. The hydric soils and wet conditions make it an amphibian hot spot. Brush up on your frog calls before heading out to see the spring wildflowers and you’ll be able to hear several types of frogs calling for mates while you enjoy the blooms. The half-mile trail loop will lead you through this high-quality southern-mesic forest, past vernal pools and over the small, seasonal creek flowing through the property. Creekshead is the only publicly accessible natural area in Washtenaw County’s Salem Township. This preserve is truly a gem.