Hidden Lake Gardens

[2] One facet of the Hidden Lake Gardens mission is "To preserve an undeveloped area of the scenic Irish Hills, providing a place of beauty and inspiration for public enjoyment.

Fee sought to create picturesque landscape scenes, embellishing on the natural environment of his property to create a “series of pictures.” In 1945, Harry Fee would donate Hidden Lake Gardens to Michigan State University, and his generous Financial endowment continues to develop the gardens with additional land acquisitions, building construction, and educational programs and visitor services.

Here visitors can view a wide variety of flowering crabapples, beeches, lindens, maples, oaks, lilacs and other trees and shrubs.

Selected cultivars of pines, firs, spruces, larches, hemlocks, false cypress, arborvitae and junipers are displayed in a 5-acre (20,000 m2) garden setting.

The adjoining lathhouse provides a shaded outdoor environment for ferns, begonias, caladiums and other plants from late May into October.

Summer and early autumn provide an abundance of blossoms but no matter what time of year, this garden offers something of interest in each season.

An auto road and six miles (10 km) of marked hiking trails allow visitors to explore the property which consists of oak-hickory forests, open fields, glacial kettleholes, and wetland areas.