Wilderness State Park – Sunset Coast Birding Trail

Best Seasons to Visit
Available Amenities and Activities
Description
What’s Nearby
Notable Birds
Directions
Recent Sightings
Photos

Best Seasons to Visit

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Available Amenities and Activities

Restrooms Available Parking Available Trails Available Cross Country Skiing Snowshoeing Fishing Modern Camping Picnic Area Recreational Passport Required Paddling Boat Launch Cycling

Description

At over 10,000 acres, with miles of beaches, a boat launch, and almost 23 miles of mapped hiking trails, Wilderness Sate Park offers nearly unlimited opportunities for exploration. Habitats include miles of sand and cobblestone beach, forested dune and swale ecosystems, and various wetlands. With such ecological diversity and being located on great lakes shoreline, it is no wonder that visitors to the park have documented over 200 bird species. The sand and cobblestone beech provides excellent nesting habitat for the endangered Piping Plover although many other shorebirds have been documented during migration. The neighboring trees and wetlands provide shelter and food for many migrating and breeding songbirds, herons, rails, and raptors. The park also features a 250 site campground with modern facilities, making it an excellent home base for visiting the birding trail.

Please note that a State of Michigan recreation passport is required for entry.

Visitors to the park are asked to be respectful of areas posted closed to entry . These closures will include Piping Plover nesting areas, research study plots and other areas where closures are deemed necessary for visitor safety and natural resource protection.

For more information regarding the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, please visit their website at http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/.

To make camping reservations, please visit https://www.midnrreservations.com/WILDERNESSSTATEPARK.

Download a Trail Map.

What’s Nearby

Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, Colonial Michilimackinac, McGulpin Point Lighthouse, The Headlands Dark Sky Park (also a Sunset Coast Birding Trail Site)

Notable Birds

Piping Plover, Bald Eagle, Common Tern, Caspian Tern, Belted Kingfisher, Great Blue Heron, Winter Wren, Black-and-white Warbler, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Canada Warbler

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Recent Sightings

Species	Quantity	Observation Date	Confirmed

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Photos

Shoreline

Trail

Shoreline

Trail

Sunset Coast Birding Trail

1 month ago

We hope to see you at tonight's Petoskey Audubon Program - learn more about Birding in Ecuador! ... See MoreSee Less

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Sunset Coast Birding Trail

1 month ago

There is a Birding and Birdwatching presentation with Petoskey District Library and Greg Bodker coming up Thursday, Oct. 3 at the Carnegie Building.🐦Greg Bodker’s award-winning beautiful photography will help you learn more about birds as he demonstrates the joys of birding this Thursday at 7pm in the upper level of the Carnegie Building!🦅Greg has led birding trips for Michigan Audubon and was on its board of directors for three years. He now enjoys delivering birding and nature education presentations to audiences throughout Michigan. He is excited to report he saw his 358th bird species in Michigan in June 2024, a Black-tailed Gull in Schoolcraft County. Novice and aspiring birders will especially benefit from this program. Informative handouts will be provided with topics to include:~ How birdwatching can reduce stress and improve your health~ Differences between birdwatching and birding~ How to attract more birds to your backyard and suggestions on seed, feeders, and their care~ How birding beyond the backyard leads to many enriching experiences and places to go birding in our area~ Discuss the excitement and enjoyment of birdwatching and a bird chase with stories from the field while birding..#petoskey #birding #birdwatching #emmetcountymi #libraryprograms ... See MoreSee Less

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Sunset Coast Birding Trail

2 months ago

Learn more about Birding in Ecuador at Petoskey Audubon's upcoming October 8 program. Free and open to the public. ... See MoreSee Less

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Sunset Coast Birding Trail

2 months ago

Seeing any sparrows?If September belongs to warblers, then October is surely the month of sparrows. As short-distance migrants (with the exceptional few making it down into southern Central America) sparrow migration through NW Ohio is later than other songbirds, extending from about mid-September into mid-November.While many migrating sparrows begin appearing in September (including the Lincoln's Sparrow whose peak is right at the end of September) October is really when these birds move en masse through the region, with White-throated, White-crowned, and Song Sparrow leading the charge. The appearance of the American Tree Sparrow toward November is often the signal that fall migration is nearing its end and that the next season will soon be upon us.Because of their subdued colors and patterns, sparrows are often confounding to people, earning the group as a whole the throwaway nickname "little brown birds" or "little brown jobs." But rather than simply impress with flash, sparrow plumage begs for closer inspection, revealing a plethora of earthly colors. A wide array of brown, russet, tan, rust, red, peat, loam... These birds are truly made of the rich soil they scratch in.And while many may share the similarity of being "streaky," each sparrow species has its own style and placement of streaks (or lack thereof). When searching for an identification, streaking on the breast is often the place to start, noting its presence or absence and deducing from there. ... See MoreSee Less

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Sunset Coast Birding Trail

2 months ago

Special sighting at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory ... See MoreSee Less

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