Chelsea – Parks & Recreation Areas

8555 Silver Hill, Pinckney (headquarters) • (734) 426–4913 • Campground reservations: (800) 447–2757
This more than 11,000-acre park north of Chelsea is made up of 3 main sections: Silver Lake and Halfmoon Lake day use areas, and Bruin Lake Modern Campground. Has many lakes for swimming, boating, canoeing, and fishing (avoid-foam and do-not-eat fish consumption advisories are in effect for the Portage Lake chain of lakes and Huron River); modern and rustic campgrounds; hunting in season; and 40+ miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, and birding. Halfmoon Lake open Apr. 1–Nov. 1. No alcoholic beverages allowed in park Apr. 1–Sept. 30. Recreation Passport required: state residents $14/year with license plate renewal, or $19/year at park gate; motorcycles $7 with license plate renewal, $12/year at park gate; nonresidents $11/day, $40/year. michigan.gov/pinckney V

(734) 475–8307 • Campground reservations: (800) 447–2757
At 20,500 acres, this state park is the largest in the Lower Peninsula and is great for birding, boating, cross-country skiing, fishing, hunting, hiking, swimming, mountain biking, and camping. It has 11 lakes; modern, rustic, backpack-only, and equestrian campgrounds; trails; and a visitor center. Track chair available, allowing users to explore areas of the parks where traditional wheelchairs might not work. Horse-N Around Stables (734–637–4457, texting recommended; 12891 Trist Rd., Grass Lake) offers trail rides in the park. The Eddy Discovery Center (734–475–3170, 17030 Bush, Chelsea) has hands-on exhibits, natural history programs, park information, and displays of local ecology, wildlife, and Michigan rocks and minerals. Discovery Center hours: Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m, Sun. noon–5 p.m., with reduced hours during the rest of the year. Recreation Passport required: state residents $14/year with license plate renewal, $19/year at park gate; motorcycles $7 with license plate renewal, $12/year at park gate; nonresidents $11/day, $40/year. michigan.gov/waterloo

33 Cavanaugh Lake Rd., Chelsea

(734) 971–6337

One-acre roadside picnic area four miles west of Chelsea. Play area. Fishing. Not wheelchair accessible. Open year-round dawn to dusk.

Chelsea Dog Park welcomes dogs registered with the city of Chelsea and people to its park on Letts Creek Linear Park Tr. east of McKinley. Palmer Commons at 304 S. Main, across from city offices, hosts Chelsea’s summer concert series and Saturday farmers market and is available for public and private events. Pierce Park is a municipal park on S. Main with a small playground, picnic tables, and a large pavilion. Timber Town Park, on F.A. Weber Dr. off Sibley west of N. Main, has a vast, volunteer-built wooden play structure and a veterans memorial footbridge; plans are in the works for improvements to ADA accessibility, parking, lighting, bathrooms, and the possible addition of pickleball courts. Veterans Park, next to Letts Creek at N. Main and Sibley, has picnic tables, a small playground, two softball diamonds, and a play structure. In August 2023, the Main Street Park Alliance received $1 million from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy for cleanup of the polluted former Federal Screw Works Property (500 S. Main) to transform the 2.6 acres into a park. Cleanup is slated to begin in summer 2024.

Entrance on Dexter Chelsea Rd.

(517) 522–4097 (Waterloo DNR wildlife office)

803 acres around Four Mile Lake. Shore fishing, waterfowl hunting, small boat launch.

18801 North Territorial (1 mile east of M-52), Chelsea

(734) 971–6337

This 335-acre park’s 2 miles of marked hiking trails (part of the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail) access a variety of habitats, including fens, marshes, bogs, ponds, forest, and prairie, and the Embury Swamp Natural Area Preserve, the ecological gem of the county park system. Over 500 species of plants. Open year-round, dawn to dusk.

1175 S. Main, Chelsea

(734) 475–5858

Golf course, boardwalk, and nature trail in a 26-acre park. See sandhill cranes, red foxes, and painted turtles. Cross-country skiing. Open year-round. piercelakegolf.com

Along with the connecting Silver Lake and Crooked Lake trails, this 17-mile loop is hilly and picturesque for hiking and mountain biking. Since the trail contains exposed roots, rocks, and steps, it’s only open for cross-country skiing when there’s a 6-inch snow base. Maps at Pinckney State Recreation Area headquarters.

This 33.9-mile hiking trail links the Waterloo and Pinckney recreation areas, passing pine plantations, open meadows, marshes, kettle bogs, forests, and 14 lakes. Good for cross-country skiing, hiking, and mountain biking. Camping in designated areas; overnight lodging available along the trail (reservations: 800–447–2757, midnrreservations.com). Search michigan.gov/dnr for Waterloo-Pinckney Trail

14801 Arnold, Brooklyn

(517) 467–7401

1,122-acre state park with 5.8 miles of trails through its high ridges, deciduous forests, meadows, and wetlands, and with views of 144-acre Watkins Lake. Birdwatching, especially waterfowl. To protect important bird habitat, the lake and surrounding park property is a designated waterfowl refuge and is closed Feb. 15–May 15 and Sept. 1–Jan. 1; however, wildlife viewing is available year-round along Arnold Rd. washtenaw.org (search Watkins Lake State Park)