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Like many families with at-risk members, our family has taken to spending a lot of time outside during this COVID-19 quarantine to keep busy while still social distancing. This May we went to the Glover rustic lodge for a day and night to explore the woods and have time away from the house. But, you don't need a lodge to get out and explore nature. One of the places that my family of four (and our dog) explored this May was the Rogue River trails in Belmont, Michigan. We loved it!The Rogue River Hiking Trail is part of the very large Rogue River Park that is at the head of the White Pine Biking Trail. The 116-acre park offers many attractions, but with most of the playground equipment closed and wanting to keep to social distancing, we decided to keep to nature's playground - the woods! The Rogue River hiking trail is 1.25 miles long, but offers hours of hiking and exploring with its many small trails that go off from the main trail. We decided we needed adventure and chose to take some of the smaller paths leading through woods, small dunes, and over small creeks that we had to jump stones to cross. There were many different kinds of plants that the boys had never seen before, rocks to cram into pockets and all sorts of birds to watch. When we got to the main path we came upon the DNR's minnow ponds where thousands of frogs and toads filled the air with their croaks and ribbits! It was quite amazing to see so many all in one place, the water teeming with life. We stopped on the other side of the pond that wasn't so populated by amphibians and my husband taught our son Otto how to skip rocks. After a few tries, he did it! We also saw several turtles sunning on logs and the man-made pallet habitats and snakes throughout the tall grass and wooded areas, but we didn't get as close to those! In one part of the path, there were many fallen trees that our sons climbed across and under. Throughout the trails, there were informational plaques placed to give hikers information about the area's special plants and animals as well as the nature of the river itself. When we reached the Rogue, we were able to walk right alongside it using the small trails. After over an hour of exploring through the woods on a hot day, our boys were tuckered out from their adventure and we made our way back with the help of the maps along the paths. This time of quarantine has made us creative to get out and explore nature. Michigan is rich with trails and nature centers for everyone to explore while still maintaining social distancing. Rogue River trail was beautiful and we can't wait to try it again and explore more trails near us! We might even bring a nature scavenger hunt next time!