Tobico Marsh: a national landmark wetland behind the beach

Bangor Township’s backyard park is a bigger deal than most people realize. Bay City State Park puts about 2,400 acres on the Saginaw Bay shore — sandy beach, campground, picnic woods — but the treasure is behind the beach: Tobico Marsh, a sprawling cattail wetland that was named a National Natural Landmark in 1976 and ranks among the largest remaining freshwater coastal marshes on the Great Lakes.

Walk or bike the Frank N. Andersen Trail from the park and the marsh opens up around you — more than a hundred bird species, from bald eagles and great blue herons to secretive bitterns, plus deer, beaver, and mink. Climb one of the observation towers at dusk during migration and the sky fills with waterfowl settling in for the night. For families in Bangor and Kawkawlin townships it’s the everyday nature fix; for birders it’s a destination they drive hours to reach.