South-Central Michigan · Fall 2026 field card
Seventeen trees that grow around Eaton Rapids, Michigan's Island City, from fencerow maples to a couple of real trophies. Tap a card when you've got the leaf. Timing: it's early October, so red maples and sumac are turning first; most of the region hits peak color in the third and fourth weeks of October, and oaks hang on into November.
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Two kinds of places. Nature preserves and gardens ask you to leave everything where it is, so snap a photo of the leaf there. City and county parks are fine for picking up fallen leaves to press.
A former brickyard turned city park along the river, with floodplain woods, a disc golf course, and easy river access. The single best stop for river-loving trees.
Eaton Rapids' nickname comes from the channels the river and an old millrace cut through downtown. Street trees and riverbank growth both turn here.
Most of Eaton County is active farmland, and the fencerows, windbreaks, and roadside edges between fields are where a lot of the area's trees survive.
Small, privately-held woodlots dot the farmland. Respect property lines and stick to road edges and public access points; a photo is the right way to count these.
Fresh-fallen leaves press best and you never have to pull one off a tree. Grab two of each in case one cracks.
Lay leaves flat between paper towels inside a heavy book for 1-2 weeks. A sheet of wax paper keeps the pages clean.
Poison ivy turns a gorgeous red right now and loves the same woods. "Leaves of three" stay on the ground.
At nature preserves and gardens, a clear photo of the leaf next to your hand counts as found.