Cedar Creek Conservation Estate on 200+ acres

Property Description

This Country Estate is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

This country estate has a 3 bath/4 bed home with a wrap around deck, and a view of the Cedar Creek Mill Pond, a garage and two barns sits on 207 acres. A hunter and nature lovers dream only 50 min to Grand Rapids and 40 min to Kzoo. With a mix of rolling oak hickory forest with a carpet of spring ephemerals to planted pines to agricultural fields. Tamarack wetlands line over 3/4 a mile of Cedar Creek, a cold water trout stream. There is 300 feet of frontage on Big Cedar Lake which holds one of the only populations of the threatened Inland Lake Cisco. The natural resources are so unique they have been protected by a conservation easement held by the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy.

This stunning 2,990 square foot custom home offers comfort, character, and captivating views you won’t want to leave behind. Step into a welcoming entryway that flows into a gourmet kitchen with a large island and separate eating area. The kitchen seamlessly connects to a formal dining room which overlooks a great room with high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the scenic Cedar Creek Mill Pond. Behind the kitchen you will also find a cozy family room with a wood stove and custom walnut bookcases crafted from wood harvested on the property. A wrap-around deck invites you to enjoy peaceful views in every direction, perfectly blending indoor and outdoor living.

The main floor also includes a den and a convenient mudroom with laundry, leading to the spacious primary suite. The primary bedroom features generous closet space, a full en suite bathroom, a second fireplace, and sliding glass doors that open to a private deck.

Downstairs, you’ll find three additional bedrooms, a full bath, and an additional living area with sliding glass doors to a lower-level patio. Recent updates include a new oven (2024) and furnace (2023), plus a whole-house generator that activates automatically during power outages. Adding a touch of functional tradition, a bell tower on the property features a historic church bell from Lake Odessa to call everyone in for dinner from across the property.

The previous owner was a skilled bow hunter, solely hunting with a traditional style longbow. Mounts that you will currently find in the home, from his travels around the world include a record Elk for archery, impala, wildebeest, buffalo, warthog, antelope, and more.

Outbuildings
The driveway leads to a spacious 1,025 sq ft 4 stall garage, and a 900 sq ft tractor barn. Across the lawn is a historic timber gable style barn built in the early 1900s that is approximately 1,600 sq ft. It has been updated and maintained through the years, on the inside you will still find the beautiful old wooden structure. The south side of the barn has been transformed into an auxiliary living space with a large room heated by a timberline wood stove with sliding glass doors onto a large deck.

Property Highlights

• 207 acres
• 38 acres of wetlands from a rich conifer swamp to a button bush bog and 7 springs on the property that flow into Cedar Creek.
• Over ¾ a miles of frontage on the Cedar Creek
• A sturdy bridge constructed by Miller Davis over Cedar Creek
• 300 feet of frontage on Big Cedar Lake
• 2 acres of open water in the Cedar Creek Mill Pond creates a beautiful view from the wrap around deck
• 27 acres currently cut for hay
• Concord and Delaware grapes
• Many fruit trees and garden space
• Evergreen plantings include red and white pines, Austrian pines, as well as several species of spruces, firs, and cedars.

The property is in beautiful Barry County, which is often referred to as the County that you can be down state but feel like you are in Northern Michigan. Barry County has a total of over 35,000 acres conserved by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), local government, and nonprofit organizations.

Property Tax
This is a HUGE incentive for the new owner!! Thanks to Public Act 446 passed in 2006, upon transfer of a conservation easement property the property tax remains capped. There will be no “pop-up” to the current SEV.

Oak Hickory Forest
Topographically diverse, rolling oak-hickory forest – Oak-hickory forests in Michigan are uniquely valuable, offering a rich blend of northern and southern tree species with a carpet of spring ephemerals that support diverse wildlife and scenic beauty. The dominance of hardy, fire-adapted trees like white oak and shagbark hickory reflects a resilient ecosystem ideal for recreation or sustainable use. Owning a property within this forest type means investing in a rare landscape with deep ecological heritage, ideal for recreation, or simply enjoying nature’s seasonal splendor.

Registered Tree Farm through the American Tree Farm System find more information on their website: www.treefarmsystem.org/michigan

Big Cedar Lake
Big Cedar Lake is a rare cold water, high quality inland lake. Big Cedar Lake hosts the Inland Lake Cisco (Coregonus artedi), a threatened species of the salmonid Cisco that can only tolerate a narrow range of temperatures and dissolved oxygen, and is therefore highly susceptible to water quality changes. Big Cedar Lake provides habitat for many other populations of native fish species as well, including but not limited to bluegill, bowfin, yellow perch, Northern pike, and largemouth bass.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources describes Inland Cisco Lakes as “unique, high quality, relatively fragile resources … characterized as cold and deep with narrow nearshore areas, steep drop-offs and exceptional water quality.”

This property is in the Lower Thornapple River watershed, and part of the Cedar Creek complex. Big Cedar Lake is a headwater lake for Cedar Creek. The water flows from this Property into Cedar Creek, then downstream into the Thornapple River and ultimately into the Grand River to Lake Michigan.

Cedar Creek
Cedar Creek is a high quality cold-transitional trout stream and hosts the southernmost population of the Northern White Cedar tree. The Cedar Creek ranks as a high-quality watershed for water resource protection in three Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) approved Watershed Management Plans. This diverse Property with vast wetlands and water resources is conserved because it is ecologically unique and key to protecting the Cedar Creek watershed.

For those wanting to learn more about Cedar Creek visit this website hosted by the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, a local nonprofit organization that is helping to conserve Cedar Creek:
https://www.cedarcreekinstitute.org/stewardship/

Pierce Cedar Creek Institute sits on 850 acres in rural Barry County. The Institute’s vision is to be a leading force and vibrant center for environmental education and research, resulting in awareness, appreciation and preservation of the natural world.