Allegan State Game Area is a forest attracting campers, hikers, bikers snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, horse trail riders and hunters. It is located in west-central
Allegan County, Michigan
Allegan County ( ) is a Counties of the United States, county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 120,502. The county seat is Allegan, Michigan, Allegan. The name was coined by Henry Rowe School ...
, with one gateway just west of the city of
Allegan. It is more commonly referred to as Allegan Forest.
Camping
It has two primitive campgrounds, one owned by the state of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
but operated by Allegan County. Ely Lake Campground is on Ely Lake, a small inland lake while the Silver Creek Campground is owned and operated by Allegan County. They both have picnic tables and fire pits at each campsite and vault toilets and water pump stations. Ely Lake, a non-motorized boat lake has a swimming beach and Silver Creek has a shallow spring-fed creek. They both welcome tent and hammock camping, as they are located in a heavily forested area. There are camping fees and reservations can be made. Silver Creek Campground also has a pavilion for day use with picnic tables and fire pits. Silver Creek Campground is in a good location for road biking as all the roads leading to Silver Creek are paved country roads, even though within the campground the roads are dirt.
The forest is a mixture, but largely hardwood. The
Kalamazoo River
The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to when one includes the South Branch.U.S. Geologica ...
flows through the northern portion. It is popular with canoeists and fisherman. Behind the Calkins Bridge Dam the Kalamazoo becomes the large, but shallow, Lake Allegan.
Geography
During hunting season, many come to hunt
whitetail deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
,
Canada geese
The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...
and
wild turkeys
The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally de ...
.
Trails are laid out for hikers and horse riders in the summer and snowmobilers and cross-country skiers in the winter.
The forest is broken up by private ownership with sections of woods and sections of homes. The state occasionally buys private land to add to the forest and fill in the gaps.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Allegan State Game Area
Protected areas of Allegan County, Michigan
Landmarks in Michigan
Important Bird Areas of Michigan
State game areas of Michigan