What a great Metropark tucked into the hilly terrain of White Lake Charter Township…read more Indian Springs Metropark has a great looking 18 hole Golf Course, an Environmental Discovery Center and both Nature and Equestrian Trails. I'm here today, however, to enjoy the park's smoothly paved Hike-Bike trails. It's the first week of October which means the vibrant Fall colors in Michigan are very close to their peak. My ride through the rolling hills of White Lake Charter Township on a sunny Fall afternoon was absolutely full of color...yellows, oranges and reds everywhere against a beautiful blue sky. Navigating the 8-mile paved Hike-Bike trail loop was a real pleasure today with temps ranging between 65 and 70 degrees...perfect! Indian Springs Metropark earns a solid 5 stars based on having one of the most scenic and best maintained bike trails in the entire Metropark system.

Indian Springs is one of my favorite Metro Parks. The Discovery Center has plenty of exploration…read moreopportunities, including a fun indoor scavenger hunt. The lower level takes you underground to get a fish eye view of the pond where we were greeted by a bluegill. You can rent event space inside the Discovery Center or one of the pavilions throughout the park. Visit during the summer to enjoy the splash park. Visit year-round to slow down and enjoy nature!

Favorite hiking trails! Well maintained and gorgeous year round. Highly recommend to all levels.read more

A great rec area with so many trails to explore about. It's definitely got more elevation gains and…read morefalls that make it a bit more challenging than other hikes, but it's highly enjoyable. My favorite trail here is the Haven Hill Loop via the Blue Trail which clocks in at about 4 and a half miles. It's great year round, but in the spring it is particularly muddy. It can get a little challenging at times here because the park isn't as well kept and well marked as I'm used to at other Michigan state parks and rec areas, but nonetheless, it's a great time! I do find the hike gets a bit monotonous at points because the scenery doesn't change a lot, but then you get onto a boardwalk and it looks SO cool! Love it!

I think this is one of the best hidden gems and I hope it stays that way... lol it has a lot of…read moredifferent trails to walk some take you through nature and some even take you to the lake if you can climb down a small set of dirt slopes. It's very much worth coming and checking out. I went here to hang out with a good buddy of mine and we spent time catching up and checking out the trails there were a few deer and some squirrels but the real draw here are the different trails and path ways which are fairly even despite a few protruding roots. There is also rest area which has a large cement structure to get outta the sun or chill at. Be careful to not pass up the entrance as the gps pointed an entrance about 80ft past where it actually was. If you're looking for a wonderful natural beauty place to hang out with great trails, lake views and benches then this is the hidden gem for you!

We camped at the recreation area for 4 nights and 3 days and unlike reviews we enjoyed the clean…read morecampground, open campground, less people, no noise and really good views! We lucked out with a perfect campsite which closed into what looked like a private enclosure. This gave us VIP level experience where we parked our cars to "close" our enclosure and we pretty much just enjoyed inside for the most part. The only downside was a tonne of bugs in August. Now I know the staff itself couldn't do much but the bugs were incessant. We had campfire going on for the most part which helped a lot but didn't quite think August would look as rough.

So cool sites, close to beach, close to good dining etc. the beach is awesome- no alcohol though…read more Some of the sites are shaded, others not. Electrical can be tricky so bring extension and pray or have super long cord. Only one bathroom per loop and depending where you're at not conveniently located. There are no times for cleaning of said bathrooms- one day 9, the other say10, and maybe 10:30. Guy is nice and will let you into bathrooms until he's ready to clean. They clean bathroom and showers thoroughly. The drier in the bathrooms not a great drier and no paper towels. There is only one dump station so on a holiday be prepared to wait literally 1-2 hours.East loop older- west loop newer for electrical. West loop is better for electrical.

Simply incredible, honestly one of the most peaceful trails in the area, if you're thinking about…read morevisiting, just do it

A nice trail you can ride in full in one trip. I did in in two, but on the first day I also pedaled…read morethe adjacent Clinton River Trail to its Pontiac terminus and on the second I also did a mile or two of the Michigan Air Line Trail til I got to one of its trailheads that just couldn't be on the end of the trail. So, yeah, a lot of these trails just kind of bleed into each other which is awesome for a big interconnected trail system where people can just cycle across the whole state but it can be tricky if you're sitting down to write a Yelp review and figure out where the arbitrary boundaries are. The WBT is crushed limestone which isn't buttery smooth like it's paved neighbor the Michigan Air Line Trail but it only offers moderately more resistance to a good mountain bike and Joni Mitchell won't be singing any songs about them ruining nature with it. You get two parks intersecting this trail. The West Bloomfield Nature Preserve is the larger and where I parked on both my trips here. It looks like there's some pretty good hiking, non-pedal-friendly trails there and I did walk a bit of one but the rigors of my bike ride that day kept me from getting too far. Like the Michigan Air Line Trail, it's another Yelp review for another day after I've racked up more experience. But it is an added bonus. The other park is some rinky dink city park with kids playground equipment but it does have a little shelter with a picnic table or two, perfect for a little snack, water, what have you break. There's also a couple tunnels, a couple lakes, or maybe ponds, it's pretty borderline there and a long photogenic boardwalk looking bridge near the west end of the trail. One downside of this trail is it criss-crosses Orchard Lake road again and again and traffic can be pretty heavy. There's a couple buttons on crossings giving us cyclists the awesome power of unleashing traffic signals to bring those multi-ton polluters to a grinding halt, but there's also a couple times they leave us to twist in the wind, fending for our fragile two-wheeled existence against the uncaring commuters. One is near not one but two curves in the winding road so it's a dicey proposition that can leave you waiting in frustration for moments that turn to minutes and more minutes. I could almost go four stars here but can't quite commit to it. I'll call WBT a 3.5 even if that's not a thing on Yelp.

Here for a party & I am very impressed!…read more Beautiful parks and land. Can't wait to come back and run or bike the trails. Lots of pavillions for gatherings. Bathrooms were clean and I didnt have to worry about a critter running across my feet while I'm washing my hands. Also had boat / kayak access to the lake. Definitely check it out!

This park is the best park to walk at in the area!!! There many trail for bikes and just for…read morewalking. There beautiful ponds and lakes to look at as you walk or fish at. There also amazing playgrounds. I wouldn't recommend the beach.

Well maintained nature center with a variety of animals to see and learn about. Delightful self…read moreguided walking path. We spent about an hour and a half exploring.

The Howell nature center absolutely blew my mind! The play place was very well thought out and just…read morephenomenal! There were so many different activities and places for the kids to play imaginatively. From the Burde blind to the stump jump in the massive treehouse with the hidden swings underneath, it is a child's dream playground. I can't wait to keep him back here and discover all the little things. We enjoyed seeing the animal ambassadors, especially Blue the turkey and it was a really good lesson to my kids about not domesticating wild animals. I wish it was easier to see some of the animals and some of them are mislabeled, especially on the side by the playground. Special tip; if you have a library card, the Howell nature center has a free pass with the Michigan activity pass. You can reserve for up to four people in your family. This is an absolutely amazing deal and we had a blast. Additional tip- pack a sack lunch and enjoy the picnic tables up at the steep hill by the fox and the deer. It's very peaceful and scenic and a wonderful place for the kids to run around safely, see the animals, and have a nice picnic lunch in the semi shade.

Awesome adventure!! Staff is so welcoming and friendly My family is always up for the challenge…read more it makes it a good time

My grandson and I loved all the different levels of obstacle courses. Go at your own pace and the…read morefriendly staff who checked us in and helped us along the way. Thank you.