You Are Invited To Visit
The Detroit Audubon Society
St. Clair Woods Nature Sanctuary
Visit the sanctuary at anytime. It is located in St. Clair County.Take the Wadhams road exit off of I-94. Go north on Wadhams road to Griswold road. Turn left (west) on Griswold to Dunlap road. Park here on Griswold.Then, walk south on the sand trail until you reach the sanctuary sign.

Printable Sanctuary map click HERE

Additional Sanctuary map HERE

GPS map of sanctuary

June 3, 2007 Port Huron Times Hearld article regarding Painted Trillium

Trails are marked by blue stakes. Bring insect repellent, waterproof
footwear for wet areas, clothing for protection from branches and thorns,and a compass to guide you. As a sanctuary guest, please remember thatcollecting, cuttng, hunting, operation of off-road vehicles, and other activities that disturb the flora and fauna are prohibited. With so many acres to explore, you will find each visit a rewarding experience.

ST. CLAIR WOODS SANCTUARY WORK DAYS

In an effort to increase enjoyment of our sanctuary in St. Clair County, we have set three days to work at marking trails and repairing boardwalks over wet areas. June 16 was very productive and another date is needed in the fall to complete the work. We need volunteers to help. Bring a lunch, water and insect repellent. We will be moving downed limbs to help mark the trails and to allow easier walking.

Please leave a message at:

248 354-4960 or daspres@detroitaudubon.org.

Go to the DAS web page for directions to the sanctuary.

June 16 was very productive.

It was an enjoyable day. We cleared trails and moved fallen logs. We still need to rebuild boardwalks over wet areas. A date in the fall is planned to complete the work. Thanks to volunteers Ruth Hart, Jack Smiley, James Russell, Emily Nine, Alyse Waldhorn, Dave Lancaster, Ellen Chamberlain, Joanna Pease, Richard Quick and Chris Fielding.

Photo by Chris Fielding

Photo by Richard Quick

Sanctuary Impressions
In every season of the year, sanctuary visitors are struck by the calm and serenity of the forest. In summer, the trees-- some tall and stately, some young and tender-- form a dense, cool grove, while farther along they are widely spaced allowing bright patches of
sunlight to filter through. In winter, dark trunks and branches stand silent sentry, etched on a background of pure white.
No one tree species dominates the woods, rather you see many species; hemlock, white pine, oak, paper birch, sugar maple, beech, and basswood. In this damp, rich woods, you may also recognize numerous interesting shrubs including spicebush, witch hazel, juneberry, and leatherwoood; along the eastern boundary, where the land is higher and drier, quaking aspens with a ground cover of wintergreen, fringed polygala, and bracken fernproliferate. A chain of spring ponds means a proliferation of chorus frogs, wood frogs, and salamanders.

Red Trillium

Click here for more pictures from April 2006

Spring waters move slowly south, forming small gullies, traveling toward a tributary stream in the southwest part of the sanctuary. Along these gently sloping banks, abundant spring wildflowers appear in late May and early June... at the right time of the year a blanket of yellow trout lilies appears; the ground will be covered with hepatica, ginger, and geranium. Several species of graceful ferns can be encountered along the way, and White Trillium and Red Trillium are everywhere. The star resident is the rare Painted Trillium, found only in this part of Michigan.

In May, the forest resounds with the song of Ovenbird, Veery, and Red-Eyed Vireo, punctuated by Great Crested Flycatchers. Overhead, three Broad-Winged Hawks circle above the treetops. A Brown Thrasher is feeding its young. A Red-Headed Woodpecker is
at work, and a Yellow-Shafted Flicker inspects the bark of an oak. The Barred Owl calls nearby. A Woodcock darts through protective ground cover. An irate Red Squirrel scolds from a low branch.

By late summer most of the wet areas are dry and the stream motionless. Scattered through-out the woods are the berries of the Blue Cohosh and White Baneberry. In bloom where sunlight pierces the canopy are Beechdrops, Large-Leaved Aster, and Goldenrod.
The diverse shapes and bright colors of fungi such as Polypore, Stinkhorn, and Coral enliven the forest floor. The familiar call of the Northern Yellowthroat is heard. Although it is possible to see and hear much nature merely by walking along the sand trail, the sanctuary has enough habitat variety to permit many hours of nature study and enjoyment.

The St. Clair Woods Is...... 141 acres of undisturbed natural beauty, including a 50-year-old deciduous and hemlock woods, about 15 acres of open meadow, and more than 1/4 mile of frontage on the Pine River in St. Clair County. It is preserved and protected by the Detroit Audubon Society and the Michigan Nature Association. This preservation effort began in 1977, with the acquistion of 48.6 acres by the Michigan Nature Association, of which 41.1 acres was
purchased by Mrs. Irene Jasper as a memorial to her late husband.

In 1978, the Detroit Audubon Society undertook the purchase of 75 acres of woods, and in 1982 added an additional 17.5 acres including the Pine River frontage.