Admission to Haehnle Sanctuary is free
Open all year round from dawn to dusk
See the information below to help you plan your visit
Enjoy your time at Haehnle Sanctuary
* Walking, hiking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing on trails
* Limited Handicap access
* Wildlife Observation & Photography from Respectful Distance
* Dogs Permitted on max. 6’ leash and clean up after your pet
To protect this special place the following is prohibited:
* Walking, hiking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing on trails
* Limited Handicap access
* Wildlife Observation & Photography from Respectful Distance
* Dogs Permitted on max. 6’ leash and clean up after your pet
Minimize your impact by following these important guidelines:
* Stay on the trail - to protect plants, nesting areas and other habitats
* Leave what you find - stones, plants, seeds, mushrooms, and wildlife belong to this place
* Respect wildlife - observe from a distance
* Leave nothing behind - pick up all your trash
Haehnle Sanctuary is 5 miles northeast of downtown Jackson. The entrance is near the intersection of Seymour Rd & Fairlane Dr, Grass Lake, MI.
GPS Coordinates: 42.322, -84.289
The overlook area is accessible by car through main gate. Entrance with disabled parking permit required.
Trails are not ADA-compliant. Grassland trails near the overlook are gently sloping, wide and flat.
Grassland trails are rated easy. Forest trails are rated easy to moderate.
There is a handicap-accessible toilet available during the crane migration season, September thru November.
No fresh water or garbage collection is available on site.
Haehnle Sanctuary is a regional staging ground for the Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis). In the fall thousands of cranes migrate from northern Michigan and Canada and gather in this area. By day, the cranes can be found in large numbers feeding in fields surrounding the sanctuary. Driving maps [link] showing daytime gathering areas are updated during the fall.
Towards sunset, the ritual of roosting begins as cranes search for a location to gather for the night. The largest numbers will enter the sanctuary in the hour before sunset and settle in for the night. The peak of the season is late October to mid-November when thousands of cranes can be seen entering the marsh area.
The nighttime event is a wonderful thing to behold. While they usually take several hours to enter for the night, leaving is a different story. In the morning just after sunrise, the cranes depart at a rapid rate. Sometimes they can explode out of the marsh in less than 30 minutes making the morning spectacle a bigger thrill than seeing them arrive. It is earlier, colder, and darker than the nighttime view, but well worth it.
In October and November volunteers are stationed at the Harold Wing overlook to provide information about cranes and Haehnle Sanctuary. We are staffed most Saturdays and Sundays from about 4 PM to dark. Want to volunteer? See our volunteer page [link]
If you have a group and would like a guide, please email Jackson Audubon at jacksonaudubon@gmail.com. We can provide a brief presentation and a short guided tour of the sanctuary.
Haehnle Sanctuary is a top eBird hotspot in Jackson County with over 200 species recorded. In addition to the cranes gathering in the fall and nesting in the spring over xx birds have been recorded nesting on the property. Mud Marsh, Eagle Lake, Portage river and the hundreds of acres of other wetland provide a great opportunity for seeing waterbirds. Nearly 60 species of waterfowl and other marsh birds can be seen each year.
Check out the eBird Species list for Haehnle Sanctuary (it takes a few moments to load).
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