The Leelanau Conservancy bought its first piece of the Cedar River Preserve in 1990. For the next 33 years, the only way into the preserve was by boat. The Ridgeline Trail opened in 2023 as the first dry-land route into the preserve, which means anyone in Cedar can now drive a couple of miles, climb a ridge, and look down over Solon Swamp as its tamaracks go gold. This is only the third autumn that view has been open on foot. In late August the Conservancy added another 10 acres nearby.
How the preserve was put together
The Leelanau Conservancy calls the Cedar River Preserve "the Everglades of Northern Michigan." It describes the preserve as a 588-acre wetland complex in the Solon Swamp, near the southwest corner of South Lake Leelanau. Older Conservancy articles give smaller totals, 546 and 548 acres. That makes sense for a preserve that has grown one parcel at a time.
Here is how the pieces came together:
- 1990. The Conservancy raised money to buy the first 120 acres, including 1,200 feet of Lake Leelanau shoreline.
- 2008. A 100-acre purchase closed on March 21. That brought the Conservancy's holdings in the Solon Swamp complex to 300 acres, with more than two miles of lake shoreline and connecting channels.
- 2019. In May, the Conservancy and the State of Michigan finished a land exchange involving six Solon Swamp parcels. It had taken four years, and it pulled the Conservancy's holdings together around the river mouth. The same year, an 80-acre property overlooking South Lake Leelanau came on the market, and the Conservancy bought it with money it already had on hand.
- 2023. Longtime volunteers Bart and Gail Ingraham made an estate-plan gift of more than $1 million to pay for better access to that new addition. The Conservancy named the 80 acres the Bart and Gail Ingraham Preserve, and the 1.3-mile Ridgeline Trail opened later that year.
- August 2026. Doug Fierberg, a local attorney and landowner, donated a 10-acre undeveloped wetland near the preserve in Solon Township, the Leelanau Ticker reported on August 31.
The 2026 parcel won't change your hike. It matters for the water. The Conservancy describes it as rich conifer swamp and mesic northern forest, and as "a vital corridor for wetlands and wildlife habitat in the Victoria Creek Basin, which flows into Lake Leelanau." The view from the ridge looks out over land that took more than three decades to assemble, and the Conservancy is still adding to it.
Why this swamp ranks so high
Ecologists score plant communities with a floristic quality index, or FQI. On the Conservancy's explanation, a score above 35 marks an area of statewide conservation importance, and a score above 50 is "extremely rare." The Cedar River Preserve's native FQI is 91.1, based on 262 native plant species.
Most of the preserve is fen. The Conservancy describes fen as a "quaking mat" of dense vegetation over open water. It is fed mainly by groundwater and has alkaline soil, which sets it apart from a bog, where rainwater feeds acidic soil. The main trees are white cedar, yellow birch, balsam fir, black ash and tamarack. The fen can't hold a deer's weight, so few deer live along the river. Mink and muskrats do well there.
The tamarack is the tree to come for in October. It's a conifer that drops its needles every fall. In its fall color hike roundup, the Conservancy says the stand you can see from the ridge "begins to transform" around mid-October, going from lime green to lemon yellow against reds and oranges. As the hardwood leaves drop, the tamaracks turn a deep gold that lasts into the first days of November. As of October 7, the change should start within about a week and continue for roughly three weeks after that.
Getting to the ridge from downtown Cedar
The Conservancy's preserve page doesn't give road directions. A regional trail log at aticonsult.com, last updated September 30, 2026, gives this route:
- Start at the main intersection in downtown Cedar, where Kasson Street (CR-651) meets Sullivan Street (CR-616).
- Go north on Kasson Street 0.35 miles to Schomberg Road and turn right.
- Go 0.5 miles to Lake Shore Drive (CR-645) and turn right.
- Go 1.2 miles. The preserve entrance is on the south side of the road.
- There is no restroom.
From the entrance, the Ridgeline Trail runs through meadow and forest, then climbs steadily along a ridgeline past a vernal pool. At the top you look out over Solon Swamp, the Cedar River and South Lake Leelanau. The Conservancy lists the trail at 1.3 miles, though one of its event listings describes a 1.4-mile loop. The event pages say parts of the route to the ridge are steep and recommend bringing water.
The Conservancy also runs a Chronolog photo station overlooking Solon Swamp, where visitors submit photos from the same spot to build a time-lapse. A shot taken in mid-October and another in early November would capture both stages of the tamarack change.
The same swamp from the water
Paddlers can see the swamp at eye level on the Cedar River, the route people used for the preserve's first 33 years. Here's how the two ways in compare:
| Ridgeline Trail | Cedar River paddle | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Lake Shore Drive (CR-645) entrance | Cedar Village Park |
| Distance | 1.3 miles | About 4 miles to Conservancy land |
| Time | Short hike with a steep climb | About 1.5 hours paddling to the preserve |
| What you see | Swamp, river and tamaracks from above | Fen edge, channels and wildlife up close |
| Open to the public since | 2023 | The whole waterway is protected and open |
According to the Conservancy, the current on the Cedar River is "almost nil," so you can paddle upstream or downstream easily. It also notes a few spurs branching off the river near the mouth, so keep track of your route if you plan to go all the way to Lake Leelanau. The full river can be done in an afternoon. Everything from the mouth at Lake Leelanau to the village of Cedar is protected, part of it as state land, and open to the public.
What's out there in fall
The Conservancy lists these species for the preserve:
- Birds: sandhill cranes, ospreys and kingfishers. Ospreys and kingfishers often perch on dead trees that are still standing. You may hear the swamp sparrow before you see it. The Conservancy compares its call to an old-fashioned sewing machine.
- Mammals: mink and muskrats.
- Plants: rare carnivorous species including yellow pitcher plant, sundew and bladderwort, plus cattails, bog lady's tresses and rose pogonia orchid.
- Night insects: rare Saturniid moths with wingspans of up to five inches. The Conservancy says they can't survive under artificial night lighting, and they thrive in Solon Swamp, "where only moonlight cuts the night blackness."
Sharing the preserve during hunting season
October falls in hunting season, and the preserve has its own rules. The Conservancy's visitor guidance asks hikers to be careful and wear orange during hunting season. Dogs are allowed on a leash, and owners are asked to pick up after them. The Cedar River Preserve hunting rules allow duck and merganser hunting only from boats, prohibit hunting from shorelines, and limit trapping to Unit 2 under the stated permit conditions. Paddlers on the river in fall may share the water with hunters in boats.
Two guided walks on the calendar
The Conservancy has two docent-led hikes at the Ingraham Preserve on its events calendar:
- Fall Morning Hike at Ingraham Preserve, October 24. The walk goes through meadow and hardwood forest to the elevated views at the southern tip of Lake Leelanau. The date falls right in the window the Conservancy gives for the tamarack change.
- Tryptophan Trek at Ingraham Preserve, November 27. This is a two-mile hike on the day after Thanksgiving. Bring water.
The event pages don't list start times or registration details. The Conservancy says it usually adds events about a month in advance, so check the calendar again closer to each date.
Some of the land I work with in Leelanau County sits next to ground like Solon Swamp. When you own property beside a preserve that was built one parcel at a time, it helps to understand how conservation land, wetlands and long-term stewardship affect what you own. If you're weighing questions like that about a property near the Cedar River or anywhere else on the peninsula, I'm glad to walk through them with you. Tom Alflen. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
