Sixth of seven hikes in the Walk in Wonder 2026 hike-a-thon.
Sibley Prairie is the largest remaining lakeplain prairie in Michigan, a habitat that is bursting with naturally-occuring wildflowers. Lakeplain prairie is the result of an unusual combination of soil and hydrological conditions at the edge of a great glacial lake about 12,000 years ago. These habitats used to be plentiful, but few remain due to agriculture and development, and many of the plants that grow here are now rare and threatened.
The part we hiked is known as Sibley Prairie West, and it’s about 39 acres. This section is already protected, but there is a much larger 440-acre adjacent plot which was scheduled for auction in August 2025. That portion was sought after by developers who would have bulldozed it, and only a genuinely heroic effort by the Michigan Land Conservancy secured an option to purchase if the money can be raised by the end of 2026.
Our hike-a-thon has been focused on raising money for SMLC’s stewardship efforts more broadly, but if you’d like to know more about the specific effort to save Sibley Prairie, you can read more at savesibleyprairie.org.
The photos below capture some of the flowers we saw on our hike. Hopefully we can follow up with the rest of Sibley soon!
