Augusta, MI

This past weekend I went to the Fort Custer Recreation area to do some hiking. I had not been able to get out there in several weeks, and since that time the leaves have changed and fallen. The seasons have shiften from late summer to autumn, and so of course, took my camera with me for some photography. Here is a collection of photos I took this past Saturday from some of the hiking trails there. The weather was beautiful, and you could not have asked for a better day.

I have been going hiking (and sometimes mountain biking) a lot on weekends in the Fort Custer Recreation area between Battle Creek and Augusta, Michigan. It is a nice way to get out and get some exercise and see a little of what Mother Nature has to offer. Here are some samples of some of the photos I have taken, mostly in August of this year. I thought I would share these on a Friday afternoon. Have a great weekend everyone!

I know I have written a lot about the Fort Custer Recreation Area recently on my blogs.  It is something that I consider as a valuable local resource for Southwest Michigan, and the park is located between Battle Creek and Augusta Michigan.

I have gone on many summer hike there this year to get outdoors, and get some exercise.  It has been a great escape for me.  When you spend a great deal of your year as a Realtor always on the phone, or out showing houses or braving the winter elements it is nice to excape now and then when summer is here.

I love hiking on trails, and I enjoy it when I am out there and there is no one else percievably around and it is just me and the woods.  Recently I started creating some videos of my adventures.

Here is the first one if you want to come walking with me for just a short time on one of my adventures...

One of my favorite forms of excercise it to go hiking on the trails of the Fort Custer Recreation Area located between Augusta and Battle Creek, Michigan. The park contains over 25 miles of trails that are used for mountain biking, hiking, jogging, and horse back riding. In the winter the trails are used for cross country skiing, snow mobiling and bob sledding.

I primarily use the trails for hiking because I enjoy the exercise, and like to take my time. I guess it comes from all my training as a boy scout when I was a kid in Arizona, because I love to hike and also occasionally go off trail through the woods.

The trail system at the Fort Custer Recreation area is maintained by volunteers from state biking associations, and also with State funds from entry fees. Michigan residents can pay $10 when they renew their tags annually and have access to all State parks and recreation areas.

The trail system is also well marked, so it is hard to get lost and not eventually find out where you are at. At most of the major cross roads and intersections of the trails there are posted maps telling you where you are at, as well as color coded markers at various points on the trail. So as long as you can read a map, you can find your way around the trails.

So if you enjoy getting into the outdoors, you should definitely take advantage of the trails at Fort Custer or any one of the many other state parks throughout Michigan.

I was out in the Fort Custer Recreation Area hiking some of the trails this past weekend and paused for a drink of water, and took this photo. I thought this tree has such character, and decided to include it here. This one happened to be right off the trail, and easy to see. The forest is quite thick at points along the various trails, and there is such a mix of interesting trees that as a photographer I simply never run out of things to take photos of. This tree looked like it could tell some stories.