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    Waterloo Recreation Area

    3.1 (16 reviews)

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    Hiking trail
    Iridian H.

    This park exceeded my expectations. The hiking trails are spacious and well-maintained. We went to Big Portage lake after our hike. The area was quiet and clean and water was pretty clear. It's a lot quieter than most metro parks around Michigan.

    Pretty site with great trees!
    Liz T.

    I recently stayed at the portage Lake modern campground in July 2020. As far as state park campgrounds go, it was actually pretty nice. Of course it was in the middle of the Covid emergency and even on a holiday weekend the campground was not full. The wash house and showers were very clean but of course everything is being kept ultra clean at this time. Although it was posted that masks were required in the building. My friend and I were the only ones that I saw wearing masks. Perhaps at the sign would have been on the door instead of the side of the building people might've paid more attention to it. The actual campsites were of a decent size, other campers were quiet and followed the rules. There were no loud radios no fireworks in the park and it was a nice relaxing weekend. The dump station was in good repair and very clean but the same cannot be said for the dumpsters. I've been camping since I was a child and I don't think I've ever seen a Michigan State Park have as dirty of an area for people to throw their trash. Now I understand some of this is because some people are just slobs but I don't think there's been any real attempt to police this area and clean it up in a long long time. This is the reasonThat the park is receiving a four-star rather than five star review.

    Campground Host area
    Wanda L.

    This place may be a 3+ star or so if you have an RV (preferably one of those so big it feels like you're driving around in your apartment). As someone we were with said, "It's like camping in a parking lot with grass and trees." Dead on. You're kind of duped driving from the main office area to the campground because you travel on a dirt road with everything around you appearing so thick and 'forest-y' for a long while. All of a sudden, once you get past the check-in, you come upon just about the opposite of all of that uber-nature. The Waterloo State Recreation has 2 main campgrounds/lakes (Portage and Sugarloaf). Sugarloaf is fairly large with 164 sites with a beach, boat launch and playground. Check-in is at 1pm, check-out is at 3pm. Some details: -There's a building with several individual showers, bathrooms (with a fair amount of outlets for the ladies) that also has a few vending machines: drink, ice cream and snack. -Camping spots are spacey with an electric outlet post (bring an extension cord that with allow you to plug in a few extra things). This was awesome because it allowed us to bring a thin box fan to battle the heat in the tent, a small vac to take care of the dirt on the floor and charge our cell phones and batteries. I love it when I can flat iron my hair in the wilderness too. ;-) -No sanitation or water hook-ups are available for RV's at the campsites. Those are located near the campground check-in office. Dumpster is located here too. There are no garbage receptacles anywhere outside, so you must bring your own garbage bags or cans. -A decent amount of water spigot stations are located a short walk away from most camping spots. -You can bring Fido here (on a 6 foot leash and one of those ground stakes that come with a longer leash are helpful) and he/she can't be unattended. We brought one of ours and so did just about everyone else. Dog heaven. -Each camping spot has a round concrete firepit reinforced with metal 4'-5' in diameter and 2' or so high. No grills available, bring your own or a large grate at the very least). On this trip I discovered the amazing and delicious possibilities of hobo food that a simple pie iron can create. Why have I never seen one of these things in all of my life until now? I am officially obsessed. -Camping office sells ice (small and large bags) and firewood that will last for a meal or two or a large bonfire for just for $5. A single Duraflame log seems to work well for strictly bonfire purposes, supplemented by a little firewood (though I wouldn't cook over it). -Beach is small, not much sand area. Water is not crazy clear and sand is kinda dark. I'll admit, I became spoiled and snotty coming from awesome Florida Gulf waters where the 2011 #1 beach in the country exists (all hail Siesta Key in Sarasota!) so nothing could ever compare. Lake water in general skeeves me out anyhow. -Playground is nothing much to look at. Pretty basic and only for kids 2-5 (weird age restriction limitation) and located next to the beach. Especially considering kids of all ages are all OVER the place here riding around on bikes, Razors, skateboards, etc. -There is a camp host (a retired couple) in the middle of the park that keeps an eye on the joint and offers info and sets up crafts for kids at 3pm underneath covered picnic table. They also put out coffee, hot chocolate and donuts at 8am on the weekends, but you can't bring your dog up to the tables with you. ? They take can and bottle returnable donations at their spot to fund these things. -If you want more privacy and greenery reserve a spot along the perimeter of the campground edges of the park and/or to the north of the bathrooms and showers. -This campground, despite it being jammed-packed the weekend we went, actually remained pretty clean. Bathrooms weren't as atrocious as one would expect either. Although, you gotta admit, communal baths are still undeniably quite icky. -There is a very shady looping one mile trail that near the campground office/sanitation area that takes about 15 minutes to walk and other hiking is available throughout the park. -Pricing ran about $25 a night for a spot w/ electric. Recreation Passport / entrance fees apply (get one cheap when you renew your vehicle registration). Quiet hours are from 11pm - 7am (most people actually play by the rules here). Stay is limited to no more than 15 straight days. Reservations are strongly recommended as spaces fill up quickly. There's also a Discovery Center offsite that features year-round exhibits and nature programs.

    Site 31 Sunday around noon waiting for our better site. Checkout is 1 pm.
    Jean M.

    Nice enough. Somewhat crammed spaces in certain areas but also nice shaded areas as well in the central and lower loops. Do not camp at site 31 unless you have an RV! We made reservations last minute and it was the only level spot left. When we got there we basically had to set a 2 person tent up in a 3 way intersection! When it got dark we broke the rules and moved the tent across behind the walking path after almost getting run over by a pizza delivery car. In the morning I thought some people might break their necks staring at our tent that was not in a designated site, but they also stared at us in the middle of the road too so we dealt with it for the night until we were able to move to a better site. That being said, even though the campground did seem to have a bunch of busybody kind of unfriendly adults......The kids were having a blast! We didn't have our kids with us (they are a little older), but to hear all the kids having fun was so nice. Riding bikes in their Jammie's at dusk and swimming during the day. It brought back great memories. The park did seem safe for the kids so I will take the busy bodies any day. The also had a host center with coffee in the morning and activities, games you could borrow and such. It looked like they had a good crowd at the host center. They had new playground equipment separated by age which I thought was nice for toddlers and preschool children to have their own small area instead of having to compete with the older kids and get knocked around. The bathrooms and showers were very clean and in good working order and there seemed to be enough. We never had to wait. It was very convenient to walk to the beach. The beach is not what I would call nice but not terrible. Not a lot of bird poop or anything. The water was murky and the bottom could not be seen even in the shallow. Lots of little fish to bite your legs while floating. It was 90 and humid so I just pretended I was at a fancy spa where the little fish give you a pedicure. No one seemed to mind and everyone was in the water. Lots of footballs flying and again kids having fun. Wish there were more barbecues throughout the park. We loaded up the car and made special trips for meals and were lucky to find a grill and table together. Overall we enjoyed it and would return. Staff was also very friendly and understanding of our moving our tent to a non-site for safety. They had books to drop off or take in the office and ice and firewood for sale. Our wood came with a cute little snake. And you can't beat the location. We were able to pack up and get to work at 6am in A2 without difficulty in around half an hour Monday morning. Beware of the rampant raccoons. They own the place at night eating all the trash and dog food left out in bowls. If you're local and looking to get away for the weekend it's adequate and convenient. We found private spots to relax away from the campground. If I had more than the weekend I would head further north. It reminded me of camping in a subdivision.

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    Ask the Community - Waterloo Recreation Area

    Review Highlights - Waterloo Recreation Area

    There is a bigger shelter over by Portage Lake, with larger restrooms and vending machines.

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    Hudson Mills Metropark - Huron River looks clean even if the news keeps talking about a chemical spill. Maybe it was downstream from here

    Hudson Mills Metropark

    4.8(28 reviews)
    10.7 mi

    Gorgeous park along the Huron river between Ann Arbor and Dexter. Tons of amenities including an…read more18-hole golf course, disc golf course, picnic areas, playgrounds, baseball diamonds, biking and hiking trails, nature trails, river fishing, and boat launches for canoes and kayaks. My husband and I brought our pups here for a little outdoor time during social distancing and despite it being a gorgeous Saturday early-evening we didn't run into any one else on any of the trails we explored. So it's a really great spot to enjoy some outdoor adventures without worrying about getting too close to other people. Beautifully maintained, tons of parking and pup friendly! Just remember bug spray if you get into the woods/near the river. I forgot and got eaten up quite a bit!

    It was an awesome sunny afternoon in early May with temps approaching 60 degrees...the perfect time…read morefor a bike ride. Michigan's Washtenaw County has created a 35-mile "Border-to-Border" paved bicycle trail that winds from Dexter through Tree Town (Ann Arbor) and on to Yipsilanti. Much of the trail is off-road and provides plenty of welcomed shade and river views on a hot summer day. Today, my wife and I chose to ride 10 miles of the B2B Trail in the Dexter area that winds through the Hudson Mills Metropark. Given the pandemic, we saw plenty of courteous walkers, joggers and bikers sharing the 10-foot wide trail which enabled effective social distancing. The Hudson Mills Metropark section of the trail in Dexter is a true gem that offers fresh air, sunshine and the opportunity to get some welcomed exercise. We look forward to the time when we can once again stop into the Riverview Restaurant after our bike ride and enjoy a breakfast or lunch. Until then, we're staying safe in Dexter. 5 stars!

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    Hudson Mills Metropark
    Hudson Mills Metropark
    Hudson Mills Metropark - 12 out of 13 Huron-Clinton Metroparks visited! Hudson Mills is one of the better ones

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    12 out of 13 Huron-Clinton Metroparks visited! Hudson Mills is one of the better ones

    Independence Lake County Park

    Independence Lake County Park

    4.2(21 reviews)
    16.5 mi

    Check the county website or facebook page before you go!! Recently, the beach at Independence Lake…read morehas had to be shut down several times for high e coli levels. One of the posts said that this is because of the amount of geese that have been frequenting the lake this year or because of runoff from rain. We went once before we knew about the e coli issues and actually had a great time. The beach (we thought) appeared clean and the water was the perfect cool temperature on a hot summer day. The swimming area went deep enough that we could float away from the littles on the shoreline. There were two life guards on duty. They have really amazing facilities where a get together was being held under the pavilion. They have a snack station, but we brought our own chips and sodas. They also have a splash pad with water slides. This area was closed when we went, and you have to pay a little more to access this area. They also have some cool trails and a frisbee golf course. You can bring dogs, but not to the designated swimming area. I hope they figure out the e coli issues because we would love to go back.

    Very nice park. Clean water , beach , trails. Not too…read morecrowded. It's hidden in backroad. Definitely will be back again. My daughter enjoyed this park.

    Photos
    Independence Lake County Park - Nice gills here...amongst all the small ones.

    Nice gills here...amongst all the small ones.

    Independence Lake County Park - Rented a row boat & caught some great fish.  Row boats w/anchor, and floatation devices-$10/day. ($20 cash dep).

    Rented a row boat & caught some great fish. Row boats w/anchor, and floatation devices-$10/day. ($20 cash dep).

    Independence Lake County Park - Slide at waterpark...  No food allowed at tables.

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    Slide at waterpark... No food allowed at tables.

    Nichols Arboretum

    Nichols Arboretum

    4.7(134 reviews)
    19.8 mi

    The first time I came here in April and there were no flowers or green and everything was brown!…read more I came back on the last day of May with my husband and it looked completely different!! There is a lot of green everywhere and soo many different flowers (especially the peonies before they were vandalized)!! We parked in the back where it is about a 15-20 min walk to the peonies. It was a nice and mostly shaded walk. We even saw a new bird (Great Crested Flycatcher)! I think it's only worth coming for the peonies but otherwise, it's free (unless you park in the front and then you have to pay).

    We spent two days in AA and this was my favorite activity! What a beautiful time to…read morewitness the thousands of peonies in the peony garden. So many different variations and colors. We stopped by the visitor center and got a guide to the different types of peonies. They also had a restroom which was nice. We took the 2.7 Nichols Walking Trail and really enjoyed the nature, wildlife, scenic city overlooks, and the Huron river views. I would say it's a medium level of hard given that most of the path is easy walking but some steeper inclines and steps that get your heart rate working. It was incredibly pleasant, we spent a little over 90 mins exploring. Also, we learned there is free parking in the Blue M28 lot on the weekends and were able to utilize it! Looked like dogs were welcome, met some friendly pups. Saw people having a picnic in the park and a cute little free library! Such a wonderful place, really glad we came!

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    Nichols Arboretum
    Nichols Arboretum
    Nichols Arboretum - Blue's Tree - an Eastern White Pine, the state tree of Michigan @ The Arb!

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    Blue's Tree - an Eastern White Pine, the state tree of Michigan @ The Arb!

    Innovation Hills Park - Treehouse front slide has large gap that is not connected to tree house

    Innovation Hills Park

    4.7(42 reviews)
    51.8 mi

    Let's get this part out of the way - The park itself? Amazing. It is modern, has plenty of options,…read moreis well maintained, and has some great nature paths outside of the playground area. In an area that features many great playgrounds and parks to take your family to, Innovation Hills has always stood out. There is a lack of options for younger children though (no infant swings?). The three stars? One of the new features of this park is the addition of Park Mobile being introduced for the main parking lot. Signs everywhere reminding you that you better have paid your $1.50 an hour! There is of course a free dirt lot across the busy road for your convenience. Or a parking 'annual pass' you can purchase from the Rochester Hills website. Our society struggles with the concept of 'the third place'. Parks and playgrounds are a haven for families and a community builder outside of work and home. What in the world is the motivation behind suddenly charging for parking? 1 - The City of Rochester Hills wants to prioritize park access for its citizens? Charging for parking doesn't keep out non-residents and in fact just causes Rochester Hills citizens to pay more for something they are already paying for. 2 - The park is often extremely crowded so charging for parking may reduce visitor count? If this was the motivation I am confident this strategy is not working. 3 - We want to encourage more families to park in the dirt lot across the street and attempt to cross a highway? I have more faith in humanity than that. Oh, I think I got it! To quote Tim Robinson's sketch 'The Driving Crooner' - "I gotta figure out how to make money on this thing..it's simply TOO GOOD!"

    After a long school day, we took the kids to Innovation Hills Park, and they had a blast! The park…read morewasn't too busy, and the kids explored everything, from the playground to the jungle gym. I loved the artificial turf--it keeps the area looking nice year-round. This park has everything--playgrounds, walking trails, a serene area with ducks, and even bathrooms. I'd recommend it to any family looking for a fun day out. Definitely a great spot for outdoor fun!

    Photos
    Innovation Hills Park - Tree house slide

    Tree house slide

    Innovation Hills Park - Lights for Christmas.

    Lights for Christmas.

    Innovation Hills Park

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    Waterloo Recreation Area - parks - Updated May 2026

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