Laura Herberg

Detroit

Outdoors Life Reporter at Bridge Michigan

Civic life reporter at @media_outlier. Formerly at @WDET + @CuriosiDWDET

Articles

It’s almost morel season, Michigan! Here’s how to find them — and how to cook them | Bridge Michigan

1 week ago | bridgemi.com | Laura Herberg

Morel mushroom season in Michigan typically starts in mid-April and runs until mid-JuneMorels can be found under poplar, apple and ash treesTrue morels have hollow stemsSoon, the ground will warm to around 55 degrees and wild, edible morel mushrooms will begin popping up in Michigan. The season to find the coveted, nutty-flavored fungus usually starts in mid-April in the southern part of the state and lasts until mid-June in the Upper Peninsula.
After ice storm, more than a dozen Michigan state parks remain closed indefinitely

2 weeks ago | bridgemi.com | Laura Herberg

Shuttered state parksMichigan State Parks closed indefinitely because of the ice storm1. Aloha State Park (Cheboygan County)2. Burt Lake State Park (Cheboygan County)3. Cheboygan State Park (Cheboygan County)4. Clear Lake State Park (Montmorency County)5. Fisherman’s Island State Park (Charlevoix County)6. Hartwick Pines State Park and Visitor Center (Crawford County)7. Negwegon State Park (Alcona and Alpena counties)8. Onaway State Park (Presque Isle County)9. Otsego Lake State Park (Otsego County)10.
Millions of walleye will soon head up the Detroit River

3 weeks ago | bridgemi.com | Laura Herberg

As the sun comes up, Chesterfield resident Bruce Zurawski gets ready to drop his bate in the water and jig for walleye just south of the Belle Isle bridge on the Detroit River. When water temperatures reach the 40s in early April, around 14 million walleye will head up the Detroit River from Lake Erie.
Get outside, Michigan: Run for the freighters and catch a sucker

4 weeks ago | bridgemi.com | Laura Herberg

Celebrate the return of freighters with a run and craft fair in Sault Ste. MarieSee how many suckers you can catch in OmerTake advantage of opportunities to explore “the Chesapeake of the Midwest” and “coral reefs of Michigan’s forests” this weekThe 2025 Great Lakes shipping season is back! In Sault Ste. Marie, they are celebrating the return of big ships to the Soo Locks with a new event on Saturday: Freighter Festival of Races.
As some Michigan ski resorts eye later closing dates, who will stay open the longest?

1 month ago | bridgemi.com | Laura Herberg

Mount Bohemia and Boyne Mountain have a friendly rivalry over who can stay open the longest each season. Mount Bohemia leadership thinks people will be skiing on natural snow there into May, while Boyne Mountain officials hope snowmaking technology will keep the resort open until Memorial Day weekend. Other resorts like Nubs Nob say snow in Michigan isn’t good past early April.
Michigan Dreaming: Help Bridge compile the ultimate summer bucket list

1 month ago | bridgemi.com | Laura Herberg

The sun sets over Lake Michigan near Glen Arbor.
Cougar cubs spotted in Michigan for first time in a century

1 month ago | bridgemi.com | Kelly House |Laura Herberg

Wildlife officials have announced the first confirmed cougar cubs in Michigan in more than a centuryThe pair of 7- to 9-week-old kittens were spotted in Ontonagon County in the western Upper PeninsulaA state official called the discovery ‘exciting,’ but noted that the cubs’ fate is uncertain after they were found without their motherFor the first time since humans wiped out Michigan’s native cougar population more than a century ago, wild cubs have been spotted in Michigan.
Maple syrup workshops, a lunar eclipse, lasers: Get outside, Michigan

1 month ago | bridgemi.com | Laura Herberg

A bucket is ready to collect sap from a maple tree at Heritage Park in Farmington Hills. (Laura Herberg/Bridge Michigan) March 12, 2025Late March and early April are prime time for maple syrup productionA lunar eclipse will be visible in Michigan (weather permitting) in the early hours of FridayLooking for a way to celebrate Pi Day (March 14)?
Group wants to lift state ban on Upper Peninsula dark sky preserves

1 month ago | bridgemi.com | Laura Herberg

Michigan legislation bans state-sanctioned dark sky preserves in the Upper Peninsula Dark sky preserves restrict light pollution to preserve the visibility of the night sky A group affiliated with a campaign to stop mining near a state park in the UP wants to see dark sky preserves allowed there Watching a meteor shower at an international dark sky park at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in the Upper Peninsula led Tom Grotewohl to wonder if the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park could have...
Northern Michigan to tourists: Yes, it’s winter. Come anyway. It’s fun

1 month ago | bridgemi.com | Justin A. Hinkley |Laura Herberg

Winter is the slow season Up North, so communities are adding cold-weather events to lure tourists Ice festivals, winter triathlons and hockey tournaments have had some success, drawing hundreds of people There are more hotel stays this year, but recent heavy snows could’ve brought people north for staple events such as snowmobiling and skiing An avid athlete who competes in triathlons, Gaylord resident Meagan Rinck admits she sometimes found Michigan winter months dreary, especially with no...