# Sycamore Creek (Michigan)

Sycamore Creek is a tributary of the Red Cedar River in the state of Michigan in the United States. The stream is 26.5 miles (42.6 km) long and drains an area of 106.1 square miles (275 km$^2$) on the central Lower Peninsula, in and around the city of Lansing. Via the Red Cedar River, it is part of the watershed of the Grand River, which flows to Lake Michigan. Via Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes system, it is part of the larger watershed of the St. Lawrence River.
Sycamore Creek flows for its entire length in Ingham County. It begins in Leslie Township, approximately 2.4 miles (3.9 km) northwest of the city of Leslie, and flows generally north-northwestward through Leslie and Vevay townships; the city of Mason; Alaiedon and Delhi townships; and the southeastern part of the city of Lansing. It flows into the Red Cedar River in Lansing, 1.6 miles (2.6 km) upstream of the Red Cedar River's mouth at the Grand River.

## Watershed characteristics

The Sycamore Creek watershed consists of three HUC-12 subwatersheds, as defined by the United States Geological Survey:
| Name | HUC-12 code | Area |
| Headwaters Sycamore Creek | 040500040506 | 49 square miles (130 km$^2$) |
| Mud Creek | 040500040505 | 31 square miles (80 km$^2$) |
| Sycamore Creek | 040500040507 | 26.1 square miles (68 km$^2$) |
Terrain in the Sycamore Creek watershed is generally rolling, with hilly and swampy sections. According to a watershed management plan for the Red Cedar River submitted in 2015 by the Michigan State University Institute of Water Research (IWR), the Sycamore Creek watershed had a population of approximately 72,975 at the 2010 census, with most of that population living in the lower (northern) part of the watershed, which includes part of the city of Lansing and nearby urbanized areas. Land use in the watershed as of 2006 was as follows:
| Land use | Percentage | Area |
| Agriculture | 30% | 31.7 square miles (82 km$^2$) |
| Developed | 30% | 31.4 square miles (81 km$^2$) |
| Shrubland/grassland, including grazing | 21% | 22 square miles (57 km$^2$) |
| Wetland | 10% | 10.3 square miles (27 km$^2$) |
| Forest | 9% | 9.1 square miles (24 km$^2$) |
A survey conducted for the same IWR report found approximately 2,478 large farm animals living in the watershed. Approximately 2,504 homes in the watershed were serviced by septic systems as of 2012.
Recreational trails have been built alongside or near portions of the creek in Mason (the Hayhoe Riverwalk), Delhi Township (the Sycamore Trail), and Lansing (the southern part of the Lansing River Trail).

## Tributaries

This is a list of named streams in the Sycamore Creek watershed, as identified by the National Hydrography Dataset. The list's default order is from the mouth of the creek to its source.
| | Name | Flows into | Length |
| 1 | Hilliard Drain | Sycamore Creek | 4.3 miles (6.9 km) |
| 2 | Alton Drain | Sycamore Creek | 5 miles (8.0 km) |
| 3 | Banta Drain | Sycamore Creek | 2.2 miles (3.5 km) |
| 4 | Cook and Thorburn Drain | Sycamore Creek | 6.6 miles (10.6 km) |
| 5 | Mud Creek | Sycamore Creek | 13.9 miles (22.4 km) |
| 6 | Aurelius and Vevay Drain | Sycamore Creek | 2.9 miles (4.7 km) |
| 7 | Willow Creek | Sycamore Creek | 5.2 miles (8.4 km) |
| 8 | North Branch Willow Creek | Willow Creek | 1.8 miles (2.9 km) |
| 9 | South Branch Willow Creek | Willow Creek | 1.4 miles (2.3 km) |
| 10 | Talmadge Drain | Sycamore Creek | 5.5 miles (8.9 km) |
| 11 | Hazelton Drain | Sycamore Creek | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) |