Along the winding Red Cedar, the smell of fall is slowly wafting its way into the noses of Spartans old and new. Hidden behind the masses of bikers and roaring busses lie areas on campus where you can kick off your shoes and catch your breath away from all the madness.
With the first week of classes coming to an end, the hustle and bustle of campus life can be so overwhelming that there is often little time to explore MSU's 5,200 acres before they become sealed in ice.
Woodlots and Natural Areas
Deep woods with beaten-down trails can liven up any student's typical jaunt to class. Muddy paths and mushroom-laden logs can engulf someone trying to explore these natural areas, but after being covered with burrs from the knees down, don't fret, because when the sunlight beams through the normally dim-lit woods, it creates a magnificent green sky of leaves and glistening webs shining to the point where you have to squint your eyes.
Trudging through the trail will come to a sad end when a clearing up ahead no longer leads you to further adventure, but back to the concrete streets and marauding bikers.
MSU Horticultural Gardens and Beal Garden
MSU's various horticultural gardens are patches of serenity in this fast-paced college life.
With shades that could shame a color wheel, hundreds of flower types can be found in the Horticultural Demonstration Garden alone.
"We have probably 400 different kinds of flowers in the garden," said Norm Lownds, curator for the Michigan 4-H Children's Garden. "They're in every color under the rainbow."
Lownds also praises the artistic design of the garden.
"(There is) a Monet Bridge; it's modeled after his paintings," he said. "It goes over a pond in the garden and the flowers that surround it recreate the look of some of the paintings of Monet's garden."
Dam
For many, sound is often a component of tranquility, and the white rush of water at the dam is exciting to see, yet calming to the ears.
Those who stroll past the dam behind the Hannah Administration Building may sometimes find wildlife surrounding the area, which brings people onto campus for purely aesthetic reasons.
Perry resident Barb Crissey, 57, who enjoys walking along the river trail throughout campus, is a frequent visitor of the dam.
"There is a blue heron that comes by there quite often," she said. "It has a beautiful wing span."
Lansing resident Octavio Arredondo, 30, strolls past the river and Beal Botanical Garden during his downtime.
"I walk through those gardens about once a week," Arredondo said. "The trail by the dam is relaxing, too. When the water falls, it sounds like music."
Alumni Memorial Chapel
Stones from the White House and the Westminster Abbey helped design another one of MSU's cherished historical spots.
The Alumni Memorial Chapel was built in 1952 for the MSU students who died while serving in the Armed Forces.
People tend to pass quietly as they walk by this ivy-covered building, which sits atop a small hill overlooking the Red Cedar.
Perhaps it's the stained-glass windows or its quaint presence that appeals to those who come and admire the Chapel. And maybe, deep down inside, it's the significance to the university and the sense of pride it invokes in all Spartans.
