Located in the quaint village of Bellevue is Dyer Kiln Historic Site, where you can see the remains of the first limestone kiln in Eaton County. In the 1800s the kiln was used to burn the rock for the production of cement, and among the buildings still held together by Bellevue mortar is Michigan’s state capitol in Lansing.

The limestone used in the kiln was mined across the street in the West and East Quarries. The abandoned limestone quarries, long since flooded into small lakes, are today the centerpiece of Keehne Environmental Area, an Eaton County park named for Edward Keehne.

At 17 acres, Keehne Environmental Area is not big, not developed with waterslides or playscapes, not even that well publicized. The park is simply a pleasant little place for a short hike where children can absorb the beauty of the woods, look for waterfowl and other bird life, or possibly catch a few fish.

The park has less than a mile of trail that winds around the quarries but much of it are boardwalks across the West Quarry which makes for an excellent fishing pier for kids to try and catch panfish or even a northern pike.