There's a park that backs up to the fish pond at Saline Fisheries Research Station, and I find it…read moreamusing that it's called Wilderness Park, being that it's on the southern edge of downtown Saline. It's two acres of wilderness right on the edge of suburbia. You'll see a strip of mowed lawn along Willis Road, where it dead ends into Saline Milan Road. That's the northern edge of the park, which goes all the way back to the pond. Park on the street, or else in the gravel parking lot at Willis and Saline/Milan, opposite Fifth Corner. There are two paths into the wilderness. There is a faded map to help you chart your course. The trees are tall, so it's a good place to walk the dog on a chilly, windy day. If you go all the way to the shore of the pond, there are some benches, in case you want to sit and meditate on nature for a while. The pond sees a lot of action: mallard ducks, Canada geese, kingfishers, egrets, herons, etc. Most years, I have seen a pair of swans raise babies.

Nice little (very little) neighborhood park. Less of a destination spot. Can loop through once in…read moreabout 10min. Multiple entries, with Dicken Dr or Carol Dr being your best bets for parking. There is plenty of street parking on those neighborhood roads. Next to Dicken Elementary. The trail is unpaved but wood chipped for the most part. Some parts were a little muddy. Some very small dips and inclines but it is generally a flat and easy short trail. I imagine this spot to be really nice in the spring/summer/fall months when all the greenery is in! Still a nice walk in the winter when there isn't any foliage. Lots of squirrels around, brown and black, and birds. There must be a lot of dogs that walk through here, as my dog was sniffing everythingggg. Towards the elementary school entrance, there is a small pond lookout. Saw signage out by the Dicken Dr entrance indicating they plant native wildflowers here and there's a pollinator corridor. I'll have to come back in the spring/summer to check this out! Main suggestion would be to have a trash can at one of the entrances. I checked all and there were none. I'm guessing this park doesn't get a ton of visitors so I see why that would make sense, but there was nowhere to drop a dog poop bag.

A very small area but it seems bigger as the trails splinter off from the main (larger) one. A…read morelittle tricky to spot as it blends in with neighboring private yards. Well shaded but the mosquitos love it. Thank you neighbor for leaving fruits of your harvest.

A lovely 22-acre park/nature area tucked into the middle of a neighborhood. It's a short walk from…read moremy house so my pup and I go hiking through here on the regular. It's so clean and peaceful, mostly due to the work of the neighbors that live around it. They take fantastic care of it. The entrance to the park from Arborview is surrounded by homes and, at least last summer, one of the homes had a vegetable garden that they labeled with "help yourself" (don't quote me on that if you get in trouble for taking a tomato this year, tho). Lots of greenery, and a number of pathways mean that no two walks are the same. One main, wood chipped pathway runs north/south from Arborview to Miller and then several other, smaller pathways spiderweb off of it. There are a few benches throughout and only a handful of signs so once you get going it may be hard to figure out where you are but it's easy to retrace your steps. Also, it's not so huge that you can't get through it pretty easily. Just last night my pup and I made it there, then through a good chunk of it, and back to our home about 5. mile away in about 45 minutes. If you live on the west side of Ann Arbor and don't have the time to dedicate to heading over to Nichols', Gallup Park, or Bird Hills this will get you your fill of nature quite nicely. You can find a map for the park here if you are so inclined: http://www.a2gov.org/departments/Parks-Recreation/parks-places/Documents/Park%20Maps/Miller%20Nature%20Area%20Map.pdf

Nice park. There is a little brook with a walk bridge. It's very picturesque. Fishing looks like a…read morepopular activity. They have a huge playground

This is a great place to bring the kids / the dog!…read more There is a picnic pavilion that can be used by two small parties at the same time. I have rented it once before for a family reunion. Talk to the Saline Rec Center if you wish to rent the pavilion. There is a kiddie playground. The sign says "no dogs" but we decided that the rule was because someone didn't clean up after their dog. While nobody else was there, we used the playground equipment for a little informal agility training. Don't tell anyone! There is a dog park with a fence. This is the only place in the park where you are allowed to have your dog off a leash. One side of the park is the Saline River, so if your dog is a major swimmer, s/he might escape the fence by swimming into the river. This is a really huge park. Lots of room to walk and run. The annual Celtic festival is held here.

Let me start off by saying when you first enter off of Michigan avenue it does appear a little…read moreshady. Lol! Please no I did not notice any restrooms available there were a few benches scattered through at least the half of the trail that I went to. I feel in the summer that this place's vegetation will be so full and that's being said make sure you bring some bug spray because it was the end of November probably the last 50° weather and I still saw some bugs. Also it's definitely a great place for biking seem like they have a few side dirt roads that you probably could take but at the same time it's gravel for easy walking. In the trail was very clean and there were trash bins/doggy bags available - maybe it should just a cold months but that's normally all used up or gone so I'm happy with this location. Since I only did half I would like to try the other half which at the parking lot you can tell that seem to be the center point of the whole trail. Happy hiking!!!

What a great find. The Bridges of Canton might be better name as you cross several of them over…read morethe canal. It is only four miles from end to end. Heritage Park on one and a leo's Coney off Michigan on the other. Well shaded and it felt ten degrees cooler. You need a hybrid or mountain bike if cycling. It is packed gravel and had some loose spots. Plenty of resting spots. Not very crowded. GPS took me to the middle of the trail. There are a few offshots, ITC and Sycamore loop.

Mary J. McCann Park is on the east side of Warner Road, south of Bemis and north of Willis. It's a…read morebit hidden by all the trees, but the entrance is well marked with a sign and a fence. There is no parking lot, per se, but there is room to park about a half dozen cars. There will be mosquitoes as soon as you emerge from your car, so be prepared. Also bring your hat and sunscreen, if it's a hot and sunny day, because even though this place looks shady and dark from the road, most of it is open prairie. It's only about a quarter mile through the buggy part of the park. Stay on the trail to avoid the poison ivy, which is a native species, so no complaining--it's a food source for luna moth larvae--did you know that? If you keep heading due east, you will emerge into a very open and sunny part of the park. There are signs to identify some of the trees and flowers you will see there. Some of the signs identify non-native species. I wish they would distinguish. Just a little detail that we nature freaks would notice. There are mowed paths all over the open part of the park. Here and there, you will find plantings of native wildflowers. In the very center of the park, there is a pavilion, but no tables. I think the chimney provided as a home for chimney swifts is a neat idea. Where did they nest before there were chimneys? Hollow trees, I suppose.

This is a really nice park with an unfortunately bland name. It is in the southeast corner of Ann…read moreArbor, thus the name. I've been here before simply to walk the paths and sit at a picnic table writing in my journal. I've also been here with a large group that rented a pavilion for a picnic. There are soccer and baseball fields, a playground, drinking fountains and restrooms in addition to the picnic areas. There are big open green spaces where friends have played spontaneous games of bocce ball as well. This particular part of Ann Arbor is rich with parks. Within half a mile are the Swift Run Dog Park and beautiful Lillie Park. Southeast Area Park isn't all that spectacular in terms of natural setting, but it is really nice for recreation and for large outdoor group events. I think it'd be perfect for company picnics or family reunions.

I'm so happy to have this lovely park close by. Ann Arbor has a lot of parks, ranging from a…read moretriangle of grass with some benches to parks with trails and canoeing. Allmendinger isn't big enough (like Gallup) to have a bike/walking trail, and it isn't adjacent to a body of water, but it's a dang fine neighborhood park. The majority of the space here is open and sunny, with the side along Pauline offering more shade as well as lots of play equipment for kids and picnic tables. There is an outbuilding, too -- with public bathrooms that are really not that gross, amazingly. They even stuck some sort of fake stained-glass sticker on the windows in the bathroom. I was kinda amused, kinda charmed that someone wanted to make the park bathroom look that nice! There's a drinking fountain outside of this building too, but it doesn't seem to be working. Bummer. There are also two large baseball diamonds, which would be perfect for baseball or kickball.... ... and then, around the periphery of the park is one of my favorite parts: Lilacs! Big, giant bushes (trees, really!)... mini-walls of lilacs. Right now, they are blossoming, and just a walk near them -- either in the park or on the sidewalk smells like heaven. Way to go, whomever planted these beauties long ago, and big ups to the A2 Parks staff for keeping them strong and healthy! I wasn't able to hop on anyone's wi-fi, but I do have a wireless card for my computer, so this can theoretically be my new "outdoor office" now and then. I just have to remember some SPF and camp out on the shady side of things...

This park has a *CARGO NET*!!! Way too small for regular adults to climb though. Makes me wish I…read morewere a kid again... or at least a dwarf (worth it?).