Four Mile Lake and Chelsea State Game Area (CSGA)
-- between Dexter and Chelsea

Drive to Dexter.  It's six or seven miles west of Ann Arbor.  
You'll probably get there either by Dexter Road, Huron River 
Drive, or I-94 and Baker Road.  However you go, you'll end up 
driving right through the middle of town, going west.  Turn left 
(south) onto Dexter-Chelsea Road, just before the tunnel.  
Continue on Dexter-Chelsea Road, which soon turns westward, for 
4.3 miles, where you will cross a railroad track.  One hundred 
yards past the railroad crossing, turn right (north) into the 
Chelsea State Game Area.  There's a small sign there.

Drive a quarter mile to a road on the left.  Down this road is 
where you'll find the best passerine birding.  Turn (west) and 
take the road all the way to the end--about 0.4 miles--and park 
in the small parking area.  Drive slowly; you'll see birds along 
the road.  From the parking area the lake is to the north and a 
marshy area is to the northwest.  Take the footpath straight 
ahead from the road. 

There's also a boat launch area straight ahead on the entrance 
road (just past the road to the left).  From this area you'll 
have your best view of the lake.  You can get closer to the 
waterfowl and also get a more open view of the lake if you walk 
out to the end of a piece of land that juts out into the lake.  
(Walk north from the boat launch.)

There is no other public access to Four Mile Lake.

---------------------------------------------------------------
To:               bbowman@umich.edu
Subject:          Four Mile Lake Birding
From:             jadcat@juno.com (Judy/Charles A Dupuis/Tamason)
Date sent:        Mon, 26 May 1997 15:35:42 EDT

Hi Bruce,
   Good to hear from you.  We have generally found the best spots for
warblers at Four Mile Lake to be the large trees around the parking
lot; the road to the left with the peninsular continuation ( which you
mentioned); and the walk through the woods.  For the last of these
routes, walk around the green steel fence,on the right, just before you
would get to the parking lot.  Continue on the this trail bearing to
the left.  Some of the best warbler action was at a spot where a
corrugated pipe runs under the trail and separates two fairly large
swamps.  If you continue on a bit further, you will come to an open
view of the lake off to the left.  John Swales and I went back to Four
Mile Lake last Friday and, while the birding was still pretty good, it
had declined a bit from Wednesday when Pete and I were there.  Hope
this helps.
                                 Best regard,
                                                       Chip Tamason