The Allegan State Game Area and the great goose migration
The Allegan State Game Area is a huge public-land anchor west of Allegan, known for trails, paddling, hunting, camping, and fall Canada geese.
Locals just call it the Allegan Forest, and at about 50,000 acres it’s one of Michigan’s biggest pieces of public land — woods, wetlands, creeks, and small lakes spread across the townships west of the city of Allegan. The Kalamazoo River winds through the northern part, popular with paddlers, and there are miles of trails for hiking and horseback riding in summer and snowmobiling and cross-country skiing in winter, plus two rustic campgrounds with swimming.
The showstopper comes in fall, when huge flocks of Canada geese stop here on their migration — as many as a hundred thousand pass through, and tens of thousands can be in the area at once. The best place to watch them is the Fennville Farm Unit, on the southwest side, where you can take in the spectacle from the road. It’s also a popular spot for hunting and fishing in season.
The main entrance is off M-89. Come fall, you can pull up at the Fennville Farm Unit and watch tens of thousands of geese rise off the fields without ever leaving your car.