Schlitz Audubon Nature Center Pavilion

Located along a high bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, this simple outdoor pavilion serves as a trailhead for the extensive system of hiking trails throughout the 185-acre Schlitz Audubon Nature Center preserve. Its location at the edge of an open, sun-filled clearing takes advantage of the lake view and supports Nature Center activities including educational programming, outdoor weddings and events, as well as a gathering place for hikers.

This is a place you would want to find hiking in the woods. It has delight, a sense of discovery, and primitive iconographic power. By using raw, unpeeled site-harvested Black Locust trees for support columns, the structure maintains a visual connection to the surrounding trees and quietly blends into the landscape. Recycled Douglas Fir timbers form the pavilion roof and deck structures.