Deerfield Nature Park's four river bridges

Deerfield Nature Park, west of Mount Pleasant on Remus Road, gives you four ways across the Chippewa River. Isabella County’s current park list names Fisher Annex Covered Bridge, Lewis Pontiac Bridge, and two swinging bridges. That makes the bridge loop more varied than the old summary suggested: one covered crossing, one conventional bridge, and two that move a little under your feet.

The covered bridge is the showpiece. It was first built in 1968 for foot traffic. A fire destroyed its wooden superstructure in 1995, but the steel frame and concrete deck survived, and the bridge was rebuilt the next year. So the red span you walk through today carries the old bridge’s name and surviving base, with a wooden structure dating from the 1996 rebuild.

Around the crossings, the 591-acre park has about eight miles of hiking and biking trail, a sandy swimming beach, two 18-hole disc golf courses, five covered pavilions, and a canoe and kayak launch. In winter, county crews groom trails for cross-country skiing. Ten rustic campsites sit about a mile from the parking area and can be reached on foot or by canoe.

The park is open year-round, and a county vehicle permit is required. The same annual permit works at Coldwater Lake Family Park and Herrick Recreation Area, too. Check Isabella County’s page before you go for current permit prices, gatehouse hours, camping reservations, and seasonal trail rules.