Recreation

Smoking is banned in all Ann Arbor city parks with the exception of Cobblestone Farm, and Huron Hills and Leslie Park golf courses. For an indexed Google map of all 163 Ann Arbor parks, see tinyurl.com/2774x8a.

At the 4-acre Spring Pond at Rolling Hills County Park (734–484–9676, washtenaw.org/rolling-hills-county-park), visitors may fish from the bank or two disability-friendly fishing piers (catch and release only). At Spring Valley Trout Farm (12190 Island Lake Rd., Dexter; 734–426–4772; springvalleytroutfarm.com), you can catch your own farm-raised catfish or rainbow trout; all equipment is provided, no license is required; fish cleaned, iced, and packaged, or you can cook it on site (grills provided); group outings available. Numerous small lakes, many only a short drive away, offer good fishing; call the Huron-Clinton Metroparks (810–227–2757), the Waterloo State Recreation Area (734–475–8307), or the Pinckney State Recreation Area (734–426–4913). The Michigan Fishing Hotline (855–777–0908) has fishing and lake information for the entire state. Because of chemical contamination, the Michigan DNR warns anglers not to eat fish from the Huron River.

2781 Packard (Cobblestone Farm)

(734) 794–6230

Manages nearly 2,100 acres of parkland and 15 recreation facilities, including pools and a canoe livery. Call to reserve pavilions or to hold special events in city parks. Register for classes, camps, and programs at a2gov.org/parksregister. Scholarships and discounted passes to pools, rinks, and classes are available for city residents who qualify. a2parks@a2gov.org, a2gov.org/parks V

Buhr Park, 2751 Packard. (734) 794–6234. This expansive park adjacent to the city’s Cobblestone Farm has ball diamonds, an outdoor pool (where swim lessons are offered), and a covered outdoor ice rink (home in summer to roller derby matches). a2gov.org/buhr

County Farm Park, 2230 Platt. (734) 971–6337. 127 acres of lush fields, bush-covered areas, and forest lowlands, home to rabbits, woodchucks, pheasant, skunks, and numerous songbird species. Features native flowers and grasses and hundreds of species of trees. Has a perennial garden with sensory opportunities, community vegetable and flower gardens through Project Grow, a playground, picnic pavilions, and three loop trails; the longest trail is 1.4 miles and features 18 exercise stations placed along its length. Pavilions are available for rental; visit parksonline.ewashtenaw.org to make a reservation. washtenaw.org/421/county-farm-park

(810) 227–2757

Nearby Metroparks include Delhi (3902 E. Delhi), a handy spot for paddlers to access the river; Dexter-Huron (6535 Huron River Dr.), a wooded 123-acre area along the B2B Trail; and Hudson Mills (8801 North Territorial), with 1,549 acres including golf, disc golf, river access, and trails for biking, hiking, and cross-country skiing. Year-round calendar of events on website. Metropark vehicle entrance fees: $10/day, $40/yr. ($29/yr. for age 62 & up). metroparks.com S, V

3200 Jennings, Whitmore Lake

(734) 449–4437

Swimming, boating, disc golf, picnicking and playgrounds, fishing, hiking, biking, rollerblading, and sand volleyball. Launch site for canoes, kayaks, and motorized boats with ten or less horsepower. A variety of programs and events offered throughout the year. Blue Heron Bay spray play facility includes water play structures, geysers, jets, and slides. Snack bar at beach and concessions at Blue Heron Bay, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Blue Heron Bay admission: $4/Washtenaw County residents ($5/nonresidents). Vehicle entrance fee: county residents $6/day, seniors (age 62 & up) $3, nonresidents $10, nonresident seniors $6. Resident annual fee $30/yr., nonresident $45. washtenaw.org/424/independence-lake-park S

The city park system abounds in wild pockets. These range in size from the Hannah Nature Area, a quaint 1-acre wooded site at the end of Bath St. just west of Seventh St., to the sprawling Marshall Nature Area, 79 acres of ridges, hollows, and low-lying meadows east of Domino’s Farms. Located between the Leslie Park Golf Course and Upland Dr., the Leslie Woods Nature Area is a mature woodland that contains some of the largest oaks and hickories within the park system. Another oak-hickory woods, the Bluffs Nature Area above N. Main St., features steeply wooded slopes and trails popular among mountain bikers. Two obscure entrances on Miller west of Newport drop off immediately into the Miller Nature Area, a densely overgrown valley. Many small trails switch direction so quickly that disorientation can set in; plunge ahead and you’ll eventually emerge in a quiet neighborhood on Arborview.

The 54-acre Olson Park, at Dhu Varren Rd. and Pontiac Tr., honors former Ann Arbor parks director Ron Olson, who went on to head Michigan’s state parks system. Transformed from a gravel pit, Olson includes wetlands, woods, Traver Creek, and Traver Pond, providing a habitat for many species of native plants, butterflies, songbirds, and migratory waterfowl. It has a half-mile paved path surrounding Traver Pond, a basketball court, a dog park, soccer fields, a playground, a picnic shelter, and a dense net of mountain bike trails.

8555 Silver Hill, Pinckney (headquarters)

(734) 426–4913
Campground reservations: (800) 447–2757

North of Chelsea, this more than 11,000-acre park has many lakes for swimming, boating, canoeing, and fishing (a do-not-eat fish consumption advisory is in effect for the Huron River and Portage Chain of Lakes); modern and rustic campgrounds; hunting in season; and trails for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, and birding. Recreation Passport required: state residents $13/yr. with license plate renewal, or $18/year at park gate. (Motorcycles $7 with license plate renewal, $12/year at park gate); nonresidents $11/day, $39/year. michigan.gov/pinckney V

This township directly south of Ann Arbor has a 626-acre nature area at its center: the Pittsfield Preserve, north of Michigan Ave. east of Platt, includes more than four miles of nature trails, sandhill cranes, buttonbush swamp, and numerous wetlands, mature woods, and meadows. Pittsfield also operates Hickory Woods Park, 5415 Crane, with trails, restrooms, and a playground structure; Lillie Park, 4365 Platt, just south of Ellsworth, with 3 1/2 miles of ADA-accessible nature trails, grills, pavilions, electrical outlet, restrooms, soccer fields, 2 playground structures, and 2 floating docks on Haven Lake for catch and release fishing; Marsh View Meadows, 300 E. Textile, with trails, grills, new pavilion, restrooms, and playground structure; Montibeller Park, 4305 Ellsworth, with 1.5 miles of nature trails, grills, pavilion, restrooms, ball diamonds, playground structures, and tennis courts; Pittsfield Township Park, 701 W. Ellsworth, with grills, pavilion, restroom, ball diamond, playground structure; and Woolley Park, 1315 Textile Rd. with .84 miles of trails, playground structures, disc golf, and basketball court.

Ann Arbor boasts miles of parks along the Huron River. Connected by trails, they provide the perfect setting for a long scenic walk or bike ride, as well as the chance to stop and enjoy activities ranging from bird watching to disc golf to swimming. Here’s an overview, downstream from northwest to southeast.

Located on the northwest side of town, the Bird Hills Nature Area is the city’s largest park, a favorite of hikers for its unpaved wooded trails through steep hills and ravines. The trails connect to the 31-acre Kuebler Langford Nature Area and the 7.7-acre Hilltop Nature Area, with spectacular views of the Huron River Valley and intermediate mountain biking trails. To the east, across the river and Huron River Dr., the low-lying Barton Nature Area contains several different ecosystems, including prairie, emergent marshland, wet meadows, and former farmlands, and is home to the century-old Barton Dam. To the east stretches Bandemer Park, frequented by many for its 9-hole disc golf course, dirt bike jump course, and views of Argo Pond. The pond is circled by a trail connecting Bandemer Park with Argo Park to the east. A pedestrian boardwalk and then a dirt trail follow the eastern shoreline south through dense willows and oaks to the Argo watersports livery off Longshore Dr. On the west side of the pond, the paved Border-to-Border Trail (B2B) runs from Bandemer to Argo Dam and follows the Huron River all the way to Ypsilanti. The wildly popular Argo Cascades are a bypass channel featuring a series of nine narrow drops and pools that carry paddlers and inner-tubers from Argo Pond down to the main river just upstream of the Broadway bridges.

The B2B Trail goes under the bridges and passes through the picturesque Riverside Park, located on a relatively shallow portion of river suitable for fly-fishing. Downstream, off Maiden Ln., there are many inviting outdoor tables, grills, and a stunning Greek Revival picnic shelter at Island Park. In the woods at the back of the park, an old dirt road, now a walking path, ascends to the Cedar Bend Nature Area, a high, forested slope (also accessible from Broadway via Cedar Bend Dr.) whose view of the city’s skyline is partially obscured by oaks and hickories.

Across the river from Island Park, Fuller Park bustles with people playing on its soccer fields, large playground, and in its outdoor pool and waterslide. From here, the B2B Trail runs east along Fuller Rd. and around the U-M’s Mitchell Field and softball diamonds, leading to Gallup Park. The city’s most popular park, it has three playgrounds (including a “universal use” one designed to accommodate people with a range of disabilities), grills, tables, a fishing pier, and a canoe, kayak, and paddleboat livery. More than 3 miles of bucolic trails and arched footbridges join a series of small islands, and a pedestrian walkway connects Gallup with its quiet neighbor to the west, the Furstenberg Nature Area. The most ecologically diverse park in Ann Arbor, it contains several rare species of flora native to wetlands, woodlands, prairie, and oak savanna.

Teeming with rollerbladers, joggers, and cyclists, the B2B Trail continues from Gallup Park east to Parker Mill County Park, where there is a historic grist and cider mill, and then to Forest Nature Area, a wet forest of black maples, hackberries, and rock elms traversed by a boardwalk trail with interpretative signs. A branch extends all the way to the U-M’s Matthaei Botanical Gardens (1800 N. Dixboro Rd., 734–647–7600), providing nonmotorized access to its conservatory, gardens, and pathways.