Loda Lake: the only wildflower sanctuary in a national forest

Tucked into the Manistee National Forest north of White Cloud is a quiet little place that holds a national distinction: Loda Lake is the only designated wildflower sanctuary in the entire national forest system.

It started as a worn-out farm and a small lake the locals called Bass Lake. In the 1930s the land was sold to the forest, and the Michigan garden clubs teamed up with the Forest Service to turn it into a refuge for native wildflowers. They renamed the lake Loda, and they’ve helped tend the sanctuary ever since. A gentle loop trail of about a mile and a half winds past a spring-fed lake, a creek, an old pine plantation, and a boardwalk over a marsh, with numbered posts keyed to a guide so you can name what you’re seeing.

And there’s a lot to see. More than two hundred kinds of wildflowers grow here through the seasons, from spring’s pink lady’s slipper orchids to late-summer blooms, along with carnivorous pitcher plants and sundews that trap insects in the wetland. It’s an easy, peaceful walk and a favorite with birdwatchers too. There’s a small day-use fee, the best color comes in late spring and again in late summer, and the Michigan garden clubs who help tend it keep a visitor’s guide at migardenclubs.org.