Established in 2013, Portage Point Woods Preserve is a 120-acre tract located in Manistee County and within a quarter mile of the Nature Conservancy’s oldest preserve (1974), Lucia K. Tower. The 23-acre Tower Preserve protects a swath of the Portage Point Dunes that includes a stunning, wind-swept blowout rising 200 feet above Lake Michigan.

Portage Point Woods, on the other hand, is a series of forested back-dunes that shelter inland areas from the erosion process of the Great Lake winds and sand deposits that are seen so dramatically at Tower Preserve. There is no open sand at Portage Point. What captivates you are the mature hardwoods of sugar maples, American beech, basswood, red oaks and even Eastern hemlocks that now cover the ridges.

In the fall, when the back-dunes are saturated in a wide array of autumn colors, Portage Point Woods is at it's best. In the spring, the colors are softer as these stately hardwoods provide habitat for wildflowers such as trillium, hepatica, jack-in-the-pulpit, spring beauty, dwarf ginseng and bloodroot. In the summer, they are shelter from the sun.

Portage Point Woods features 1.6 miles of maintained footpaths along with a handful of overgrown two-tracks and social trails. The trail system is well marked, however, keeping hikers or snowshoers from getting turned around. The main trailhead is on Herkelrath Road and includes a parking area and an interpretive kiosk.

For most visitors, Portage Point Woods is a 1.8-mile loop between the two trailheads highlighted by a ridge walk beneath the impressive trees of the back-dunes. There is a bit of climbing, but overall this is an easy outing that allows you to enjoy the magnificent timber above you.