I was so excited when I learned that this place had finally opened up to the public, the abandoned pier, filled in with solid waste and allowed to grow up with plants and become somewhat of an unofficial nature preserve. Now it's an official nature preserve, and you can explore it, and it's pretty remarkable.
It's a little tricky to find the entrance, you need to park in the lot for the metroparks office, off of Lakeshore Blvd (North of MLK drive, just past the looparound towards Bratenahl), but it's worth it. Follow the path, going around the back of the building, and you'll find a peculiar gate, like an old-school subway turnstyle (don't worry, it swings both ways) and you'll gain entrance to this magical place.
Right when we got out to the main loop trail, we were completely surrounded by birds...red-winged blackbirds, with nests very close to the path, some type of flycatcher, yellow warblers feeding their young. All this during June; I can't even imagine what sort of birding hotspot this place becomes during the peak migration times in May or September.
Walking the loop takes you through a variety of habitats, from more meadow / prairie / dune like habitat, through wetlands and open woods. There are no really dense woods in this place, but some are shadier than others. There is a main loop trail and there are some forks and side trails--we didn't have time to explore the place fully the first time we went here.
On the west side there are some nice views of the downtown. Parts of it get a little buggy, and it gets surprisingly hot too on the interior of the area; there's an area where it is exposed to sun and yet sheltered from the lake breeze.
An odd place. But I recommend checking it out. Very cool and I am still very excited to see this place open, and I'd like to come back here again next time I'm back in Cleveland.