April is Earth Month! It’s easy to celebrate natural beauty when West Michigan is your home. The region has so many beautiful beaches, parks, trails, and natural resources to visit. While it’s no secret that West Michigan has beautiful landscapes and scenery, West Michigan’s nature has some interesting facts that tie to it.  

Water: 

There’s a reason Michigan is called the “Great Lakes State.” You are never more than 85 miles from a Great Lake standing anywhere in Michigan! Michigan’s freshwater shoreline is longer than any other state. In fact, 42% of the state is surrounded by water. Michigan has over 3,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline. Anywhere in the state, you’re never more than 6 miles away from any body of water—but when there are 11,000 inland lakes, the commute to any body of water can’t be too far. If you love having access to bodies of water, Michigan is the state to be in!  

Land:  

Just as water has an impressive track record of facts correlated with Michigan, stats for parks and recreation in Michigan is impressive too. Anywhere in Michigan, you are never more than 30 minutes away from a state park, forest, or campground! Agriculturally, Michigan ranks #2 nationally due to the large variety of crops and different farming climates across all four seasons.  

Trees: 

Michigan has about 20 million acres of forest that cover 53% of the state. Over half of Michigan is covered by the 14 billion trees that are planted. The forest size in Michigan ranks in the top 10 in the nation!  

Are you interested in lending your green thumb for Earth Day? Here are some Earth Day events occurring in West Michigan if you’re interested in lending a helping hand: 

April 22: Earth Fest 

April 22: Earth Day Evening Stroll 

April 23: Earth Day at Frederik Meijer Gardens 

April 23: West Side Community Clean Up and Block Party 

 

Follow us along on social media (Twitter, Facebook) as we post pictures of Michigan’s natural landscapes using the hashtag #WestMI and share your Michigan photos with us!