Welcome to our series of guides for going out in area parks and natural areas. On the respective Meetup page is a map of the trails and pictures of things you might see. RSVP to "Attend" this Meetup and you will be notified when others post pictures of their hikes at the park. We'd be delighted if you decide to hike there and share your pictures on the Meetup page. These guides have been curated for HVG by member John Metzler.
Matthaei Botanical Gardens
Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd, Ann Arbor
You can expect see Red-winged blackbirds at Willow Pond and might see herons, egrets or cranes. Or maybe a hooded merganser passing through. As you head up along the road and into the meadow, keep an eye out for bluebirds or maybe a red-tailed hawk. As you get closer to the farmhouse and barn, keep an eye out for turkeys, maybe you’ll see an entire flock, maybe just a couple of toms trying to impress some hens. As you come back along Fleming Creek, catch the skunk cabbage blooms in the areas of standing water on both sides of the trail. If you’re lucky, you might find a bloodroot. Deer are frequently seen throughout the entire area of the trail (as are turkeys). Muskrat can occasionally be seen swimming in Fleming Creek or snacking on greens along the bank. Expect 2 to 4 miles of walking on easy dirt trails, depending on how many loops you walk. NOTE: The trail areas are OPEN, although the conservatory and formal gardens at Matthaei are currently closed. And parking is FREE!
https://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Huron-Valley/events/269419503/
Scio Woods
Scio Woods Preserve, 4000 Scio Church Road
Scio Woods is a nice, simple hike and the route is always pretty. This time of year, it might be a bit muddy as well, but nothing too bad. Plus the various streams are likely to have some flow in them, making the bridges even prettier. Whether you go clockwise or counterclockwise, stop by the pond just east of the parking lot. Please enjoy the pictures, then go enjoy Scio Woods.
https://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Huron-Valley/events/269615503/
Saginaw Forest
2|42 Church Parking lot, 648 S. Wagner Road
Come out to UM's Saginaw Forest on the west side of Ann Arbor. You can hike about 2 miles or so, around 3rd Sister Lake and in the woods. Trails are mostly flat or with fairly gentle rises.
https://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Huron-Valley/events/269633371/
The Bluffs Nature Area
1257 N. Main St., Ann Arbor
Hike the Bluffs Nature Area, a glacial ridge right next to N. Main in Ann Arbor. You can hike 2-3 miles with lots of up and down. The Bluffs are a bit more challenging than some of the other small local parks. There are more hills and trails are unmarked with many intersections - the perfect recipe for exploring. With luck, you'll find the switchbacks and the snowmobile. Take an appetite for adventure and a printed copy of our map (below). Remember, there's no shame in backtracking. Parking is limited. Note: the street address is literally painted on a utility pole on the west side of N. Main St., visible only when heading north. The parking lot is just north of the Hawkins Auto Body parking lot. Coming south on Main, the lot is just south of a "Downtown Ann Arbor" sign.
https://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Huron-Valley/events/269677237/
Marshall-Freeman Nature Areas
3320 N. Dixboro Rd, Ann Arbor
The address on Dixboro is approximate; the parking lot is on the west side of N. Dixboro, just north of Plymouth Rd. GPS 42.3126,-83.6614. Trailhead is at the west end of the lot.
Enjoy 2 miles of hilly hiking in two adjoining nature areas on Ann Arbor's north side. Hike in the Marshall Nature area and Tom A. Freeman Preserve. The trails in Marshall-Freeman are not particularly complex, but they are largely unmarked with enough intersections to make it interesting. Plus one or two of the trails leading away from the main trails sort of fade away in the woods...great fun. The parking lot is *just* north of Plymouth Road on the west side of Dixboro Rd.
https://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Huron-Valley/events/269719706/
Bird Hills / Kuebler Langford Nature Area / Barton Nature Area
Barton Nature Area / Barton Dam parking lot
This hike spans three of Ann Arbor's premier parks, over glacial hills and the Huron River, right in town. Park in the Barton Nature Area/Barton Dam parking lot on Huron River drive, then cross the road and head uphill into Bird Hills. You'll travel over the glacial hills of Bird Hills and Kuebler Langford, then cross the pedestrian bridge over the Huron River to Barton Nature Area in the Huron River flood plain and finish by walking across the top of the Barton Dam (another pedestrian bridge allows you to avoid the dam if you prefer).
Expect lots of hills through Bird and Kuebler, a fair bit of wet in Barton. As of late-March, trout lilies were poking up through the ground in Bird Hills and Kuebler-Langford. With luck, and alertness, you might see a Great Blue Heron along the Huron, or maybe a Red-tailed Hawk or Great Horned Owl. And you're guaranteed many picturesque views along the way.
Our basic route (yellow path on 2nd map below) is a 3.4-mile hike with about 500' of gross elevation gain. Add the green loop in Bird Hills for an extra 1.7 miles and 300' of elevation. The green loop in Kuebler adds 0.6 miles and 130' of elevation gain.
Like many of Ann Arbor's city parks and nature areas, the trails are excellent, with lots of intersections and no markings. This makes them a good place to practice navigating in woods - they are small with clear boundaries, so getting lost isn't a concern. But getting misdirected is an enjoyable possibility - stay calm, listen for traffic or the river, and enjoy your wanderings.
https://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Huron-Valley/events/269759800/
Draper Houston Meadows Preserve
Draper-Houston Meadows Preserve 578 Mooreville Rd · Milan, MI
The parking lot in on Mooreville Rd (Main St. in Milan), just east of Platt Rd
Hike along the Saline River, in meadows, and through some small woodlots. Hepatica are in bloom, trout lilies are up and will be blooming in a week or two. There are some impressive sycamore, oaks, and elms to see in the woodlots. Wood frogs and others are noisy in the vernal ponds. At present, wear either waterproof boots or accept wet feet. Parts of the trail are flooded a few inches deep. Remember, Sierra Club policy is to walk through the water and mud, rather than around it - do your part to not promote erosion. Water is particularly an issue along the southeast parts of the trail along the Saline River.
https://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Huron-Valley/events/269864698/
Nan Weston Preserve
Nan Weston Preserve, Eusades Road, Manchester, MI
The Nan Weston Preserve is a beautiful woods along the River Raisin in SW Washtenaw County's Sharon Township. It is sandwiched between Sharon Mills County Park and the Sharonville State Game Area. It has an amazing variety of native plants throughout the preserve, with very few invasives. Nan Weston is a great place to catch spring ephemerals. Right now, the Hepatica and Marsh Marigolds are in bloom. Skunk cabbage blooms are fading, being replaced by unfurling leaves as the wetlands green up. Waterleaf, cutleaved toothwart, and (I think) Dutchman's breeches are all coming in, but no blooms as of April 6. By mid-May the woods will be awash in Trillium. The woods has lots of beeches, including some big, older trees and lots of young ones (still holding onto their leaves in the photo above). Look carefully and you'll find some beech drops, a fungus that grows only around mature beeches.
Down by the river there is lots of evidence of beaver activity. If you follow the trail along the River Raisin, going east toward Sharon Mills, there is an active heronry, but bring your binoculars. Please obey the signs and stop where they ask you to stop: the trail is cordoned off about 100m from the heronry to avoid disturbing the nesting birds. After the nestlings fledge, probably late-June, the trail will be re-opened and you can hike into Sharon Mills County park. Since you can't currently hike to Sharon Mills from Nan Weston, stop by Sharon Mills on your way home (the Sharon Mills parking lot is right at the little jog from Eustades to Sharon Hollow to Pleasant Lake Rd). Walk down to the River Raisin to see the beaver lodge out in the river and more evidence of beaver activity.
https://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Huron-Valley/events/269908929/
Nichols Arboretum
Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
Park in UM's M-28 lot on Washington Heights for free on the weekend. There are spots along Washington Heights by the Arb, but they are rarely available. An alternative is parking in the neighborhood along Geddes and using the Geddes entrance.
One of our series of guides for going out in area parks and natural areas. On the Meetup page is a map of the trails and pictures of things you might see. RSVP to "Attend" this Meetup and you will be notified when others post pictures of their hikes at the park. We'd be delighted if you decide to hike there and share your pictures on the Meetup page
https://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Huron-Valley/events/269909028/
LeFurge Woods
LeFurge Woods Nature Preserve, 2452 N Prospect Rd · Superior Charter Twp, MI
Get out to LeFurge in the next week or two! Really! You'll want muck boots, or at least some sort of waterproof boots. But even if you don't have any waterproof boots, the Spring Ephemeral show will be worth the damage done to whatever you wear.
Yes, the trails in the woods are muddy in places. But the promise of a flower show is there - trout lilies (oceans of them), bloodroot by the hundreds, cut-leaved toothwort, spring beauty, blue cohosh, trillium. Almost none were open on a chilly morning, 4/9/20, but bloodroot buds were everywhere.
If you go, please, at least post a comment on here letting the rest of us know what is or isn't in bloom. Thank you in advance.
Explore a small woodland and wetland preserve in Superior Township. Hike 2-3 miles on relatively flat terrain. Normally you could add 2 miles on the Superior Township Greenway, down to the Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy farm and back, but that trail is closed due to mud.=
https://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Huron-Valley/events/270000776/
West Lake Nature Preserve
West Lake Nature Preserve, 14980 Waterloo Rd · Chelsea, MI
Visit West Lake Preserve, a wonderful preserve north of Chelsea on West Lake (pictured above). It has the lake, meadows, woods, and several wetland ponds. The morning I was there the air was full of the sound of Sandhill Cranes and at least two flights of them came over. There is skunk cabbage and Hepatica. There were American Coots, many Ringneck ducks, and some Buffleheads on West Lake and the large pond on the west side of the preserve. Trails were surprisingly dry for a Michigan woods in spring.
The first map below shows the trail system, the 2nd map a suggested route to hit all the woods. The route is basically a loop through the eastern part of the woods, then a loop in the western part, connected by walking around the small pond in the middle. The route shown is just under 3 miles.
https://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Huron-Valley/events/270026665/
Whitmore Lake Nature Preserve
Whitmore Lake Preserve 1551 7-Mile Road · Whitmore Lake, MI
Parking lot is on 7-Mile, just west of Nollar Road.
Go explore one of Washtenaw County's most beautiful nature preserves. Hike approximately 3 miles of fairly easy terrain. Trails will be muddy in spots. Spring ephemerals are coming out. Some migratory waterfowl can be seen on the ponds. While I often hike just the perimeter trails at Whitmore (#2 to 12 to unmarked to unmarked to 5 to 8 to 11 to 10 to 8 to 4 to 3 to 2), I recommend adding the 5-6-7 section, even if you walk it "out-and-back" as part of a perimeter hike. There are ephemerals to be seen along that part of the trail as well.
https://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Huron-Valley/events/270022968/