Riverside Park is spacious green and scenic with ample shaded places. Love that there is parking in…read moreclose proximity within the park to pavilion and water. Water level seemed a bit low and there was some trash in the water. The children's playground is a highlight bright and colorful easily seen from a distance. Looks to be in great shape now at 6 years since it's 2018 installation. I didn't enter the restroom today but they are here. I was somewhat disappointed to smell marijuana from quite a distance from the guys smoking near the restroom. I avoided that area - don't want a secondary high! There is beautiful art installation "Embracing our Differences" occupying the Southern end of the park. I miss the YpsiFest Heritage Festival which I worked annually through 2019.

​Riverside Park is situated between Ypsilanti downtown and Depot town. This is a small scenic park…read morewith a great stretch of river that has a beautiful view. It features kids play structure, picnic tables, playground, gazebo and restrooms. Great place for walks, bicycling, dog walking, picnicking, fishing and has good benches for nature viewing. This is one of my favorite parks I enjoyed last summer. Nice walkway along the river, there's so much scenery. There is a cute little spot near the gazebo to sit back and watch the river roll through. That is my favorite spot in the park and I atleast spend 15 minutes whenever I'm there. I enjoyed watching the river flow and listen to the water. Great place for a quiet stroll. Love the multi tiered bridges over the water! Good place to bring kids and have relaxed outdoor activities. This park had frequently hosts different events through out spring, summer and fall before COVID. Parking is available on North and South sides of the park. Parking near the playground is usually busy, cars are parked up and down the drive down to the park. This park also connects to Frog Island Park through the bridge.

Love walking in this park. Very pretty and plenty of ducks. The grounds could use more cleaning up…read morebut this was post Cruzin Flat Rock event.

Been a while since I've been here. Still beautiful!!! Grand babies also like it here. It's, the…read morepark where we get our feet wet"

Oakwoods Metro Park is my favorite Metro Parks. Kensington Park tends to get alot of the love in…read morethe Metro Parks system. My case for Oakwoods is that it is less crowded and has a great nature center with a hawk and owl. Often I travel to the park to simply walk the trails going thru the forest listening to music. Usually get to see some deer in the back of the trails and at dusk many deep come out to dine. Also I have seen some wild turkeys too. For the horse riders inclined they have a horse trail, although I have never visited this section of the park. If your a biker/cyclist I highly recommend parking a Willow Metro Park and biking from Willow to Oakwoods and further down the DownRiver bike trail system.

Oakwoods Metro Park is the last in the chain of three - Lower Huron, Willow, and Oakwoods - that…read moreare connected by a 15mi paved, hike-bike trail (30mi round trip). I've ridden the Connector several times, but I've hiked it as well for conditioning, and enjoyment. There are 5mi of trails thru hardwoods, an ancient sandbar, and scenic overlooks along the Huron River. Of the three parks, Oakwoods is by far the best for hiking. The Connector paved hike-bike trail within the park is 3mi. The meadows you pass thru are impressive in their own right. There's also the new 11mi trail connector that runs thru Flat Rock all the way down to Lake Erie Metro Park. The trail head for the 11mi connector begins a 1/4mi west of the Nature Center parking lot. These connector trail segments are part of the Iron Belle Trail system. Oakwoods also has an excellent nature center, with a rescue Red-tail Hawk, and other exhibits. I recommend giving Oakwoods Metro Park a try.

Went today for their Superb Owl event - it was cute! It was set up in stations so you could stroll…read morearound and do different things. Got to see a great horned owl which was very cool. The other owls were tucked away and asleep in their enclosures, which makes sense. Also saw a bald eagle, a couple hawks, and critters like a tarantula, snapping turtle and others in their critter house. Staff/volunteers on site were super knowledgeable and friendly, and there was a lot to learn about owls during this event. Believe the trails and outdoor bird enclosures are free and open to the public year round.

This is a nice center! We stopped by for their Critter House (limited hours, check their website…read morebefore you go if you want to see it) and enjoyed seeing the snakes, turtles, and more. We then headed outside, dodging raindrops, to see the exterior raptor enclosures. There were a variety of owls, hawks, and more. We especially enjoyed watching the owl that was having a good time on its swing. They are currently also working on creating a nearby nature playscape. The section that is complete so far is very nice - a very neat slide, places to climb, a higher up area to look out from, and more. They also offer some trails to explore. Paved parking is available and staff were friendly.

The park is nice with decent trails that runs along the river. There were lot of mosquitoes and…read morebugs. There were signs that mentioned about ticks, so beware. We had to leave in few minutes due to this. I would recommend using a strong insect repellent if you are going with kids.

Great year-round trail for biking, hiking, leisure walks, XC skiing, and snowshoeing. There are…read moresingle tracks off the main trail for MTB & foot paths. Depending on weather and time of year areas of the main trail can range from dry to flooded or require use of mosquito repellent... Nature, enjoy it. The main trail heading East connects to the ITC trail, before Lilley Rd., that heads North and to the I-275 bike/hide trail past Haggerty Rd. Eventually the main trail is supposed to be extended past the I-275 trail intersect to Hannan Rd.

Really nice trail for walking, biking or skating. Flat cement trails which are shaded by extremely…read moretall trees. Friendly squirrels that walk right up to you. Lots of black squirrels which I've never seen outside of Michigan. I took photos and named all of them. There are multiple entries into this park and lots of parking on a rock or gravel lot. Wasn't crowded at all just a couple hours before sunset. Enjoyed my walk on this trail while visiting metro Detroit. I absolutely recommend and plan to visit again.

Garden City Park is located on the northeast corner of Merriman Rd and Cherry Hill just behind the…read moreGarden City Post Office. There are entrances to the park on Merriman Rd or Cherry Hill. The park is open daily until 10pm. There are many amenities including a civic ice arena, playscapes, picnic tables, covered pavilions and baseball diamonds complete with bleachers and lights for night games. My favorite feature is the 1.2 mile asphalt walking path that circles through the park and accommodates bikers/skaters in one direction and walkers/runners in the other. The only drawback is the squirrels who people have fed over the years to the point now where they walk right up to you asking for food. There are always people in the park but it's never too crowded. It is well kept and even has bags conveniently located for dog owners to use to clean up after their pets. If you live in the Garden City, Wayne, Westland, Inkster or Dearborn Heights area and enjoy outdoor recreation then this park should be on your list.

Heritage Park is always a nice park to visit, especially in good weather :-)…read more Tip: The park is clean and well maintained To enhance your enjoyment, there are lovely gardens here, as well as a petting zoo for children. All around, it's a good place to head for if you want to enjoy a bit of nature and/or have a picnic..

Amazing well owned kept clean and a great place to be open all the time during all seasonsread more

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