"Ice Stars" Form on Haven Hill Lake

Haven Hill Lake was created for Edsel and Eleanor Ford and their family in the 1920's by damming Cedar Creek, a part of Michigan’s Huron River watershed. The creek runs out of the lake and eventually becomes part of the Huron River flowing into Lake Erie south of Detroit, Michigan.


In the days of the Haven Hill Estate, the lake was a source of beauty and recreation for the Fords, their family members, and guests. Today it provides the same joys to guests of the Haven Hill section of Michigan's Highland State Recreation Area.

In winter, the lakes' surface freezes and thaws repeatedly throughout the season. Intriguing shapes form on the frozen surface as winter temperatures rise and fall. Sometimes unusual "Ice Stars" can be seen all over the surface of the frozen lake. These star-like shapes are formed when water seeps up through a hole in the ice and snow, creating a spider or octopus-shaped series of channels around the hole at the center.

Watch an aerial video flying over the Ice Stars HERE. 

Visit a great lake ice website in Burlington Vermont for more lake ice information... HERE

The aerial photos and video for this article were gathered using a DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter and a GoPro camera by FOHRA member Jay Fitzgerald and his son Jack.

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

hh-logo-friends-of-jpg The Highland Recreation Area is a wonderful place to get outdoors in the winter! Beauty abounds in the form of amazing sites and sounds. The clean snow and skies left after the last few days of snow afforded me a great hike today.

hra-entrance-road-010809-1280x1024The entrance road into the park this morning only had the tracks of one or two vehicles ahead of me before I made the westerly turn. It looked like maybe 3 - 4 inches of snow had accumulated the past night.

hra-snow-hike-haven-h-lake-010809-1280x1024Looking west from the dam out over Haven Hill Lake (above) a snowy flat landscape caught my shadow in the morning sun...

hra-tree-010809-1280x1024The limbs of this large old oak tree stretched from right to left and formed an interesting pattern (above). The snow today was light and flaky. It glistened in the sun.

hra-snow-scene-010809-1280x1024I think we're often guilty of looking "out" and "over" and "ahead" too much. Today I tried to look down more and found this neat scene of a tree stump covered with snow. If you look closely it has the appearance of a mountain scene I thought.

For my hike today I wore 2 pairs of socks in my boots, long underwear, jeans, and a warm shirt all covered by my set of winter coveralls.  Ear muffs and a beanie hat are my favorite to cover my head. This out fit allows me to "layer up" or "layer down" and adjust my body temperature as I hike. I was warm and comfy all morning. Dress appropriately and take a winter hike in the fresh air at Highland Recreation Area this winter. You'll get hooked as I am.

Haven Hill Lake Peaking

Here's my favorite fall photograph area... the southwest shore of Haven Hill Lake inside the Highland Recreation Area. You can see that I used a trimmed version of this photo as the FOHRA Blog's changeable border at the top of the page too!

And below, a dew-covered spider web from Goose Meadow in celebration of Halloween! Boo!

Fall Colors Painting Haven Hill Lake!

Haven Hill Lake has some wonderful fall colors blooming right now. Go to the dam and look to the north and you'll see a nice patch of color.

The ability to see the vibrance of these colored trees has a lot to do with the time of day and the stillness of the wind. Early morning and late afternoon are best. Soon the whole area will be lighting up.

Just like most people, I always look for combinations of colors like reds and oranges and yellows, so I was surprised at the photo above - it's kinda special with the striking palette of yellow and gold!

Enjoy the fall colors inside of Highland Recreation Area!