Pilgrim Haven Natural Area
Pilgrim Haven is a beautifully unique park just south of South Haven that is popular amongst rock hunters but perfect for hikers, picnickers, and anyone who loves the outdoors. Originally a camp run by the Camp Fire Girls of America and later the United Church of Christ, the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy has owned and run Pilgrim Haven since 2011.
In the 1980s, a woman named Suzanne Upjohn DeLana Parish purchased the plot of land because she was worried that a developer would buy it and turn the beautiful landscape into something overdeveloped.
A wooden bridge crosses the Dyckman Creek that winds slowly through the park into Lake Michigan, an old chimney remains in a large field where the camp used to be, and all trails lead to the rocky shores of Lake Michigan where rock hunters look for fossils and pretty stones.
The parking lot is paved, there is a restroom, and the path to the beach is paved so that people with disabilities can get closer to the water than at most parks in the area. Pilgrim Haven Natural Area is overlooked by many but truly should not be missed if you are in the neighborhood, especially if you love rock hunting!
