Munson Park Hike Reports

Munson Park

July 9, 2004: One of the funnier things I've seen lately was an ad in the Monroe Evening News. In big bold letters, the ad said "Visit the MunsonPark Trail." It was paid for by Jack's Bicycle and Fitness, which had its name in small print at the bottom. I'd never seen an ad for a trail before. But there it was. I kind of think that bikers would do this way before hikers would. But the trail really did need/does need some more users to keep the pathwell-defined.I think they might be on to something. I am tending more toward theidea that Michigan has enough trails already. They just aren'tpublicized enough. Better publicity would spread the users out, increase awareness and, hopefully, support.This might be a bit off-topic, but Detroit is always comparing itself negatively to places like Chicago and Cleveland. Well, one thing that Detroit has that these cities don't is an immense number and quality of great nearby trails. It could be a marketing focus. But right now even the locals have little awareness of what is really out there.

April 17, 2004: Anyway, today I did a five mile route at Munson. I did the same trail last weekend and geez it was different. The temps were way up, the sun was blazing and the forest was very green. It was oneof those days where you could hear the crackle of the forest. Little guys were moving everywhere and it was kind of like you couldhear the green stuff sprouting up. Several snakes, a frog and amouse all ran away from me at various points. Lots of neat wildflowers.

October 19, 2003: Good Morning! Last year, I tried to hike the newly-created second forest loop at Munson Park in Monroe. I did it at night, got completely lost and turned my ankle. Maybe it's the bad karma, but I never finished that loop...Until yesterday. It was a glorious day. Sun and leaves made for anamazing show of colors. At times it seemed like I was blinded bythe bright yellows. Munson Park is just off N. Custer Road in Monroe, adjacent to the low-use Custer Airport. The park has about 8 miles of marked trail. Five or six miles of this is really good hiking trail. The trail makes heavy use of a hundred acre or so plot of land. The forest is so dense that night falls early and the inevitable switchbacks are hidden by the trees. Terrain is very flat, although the trail builders made sure that every possible slope became part of the route. On a number of occasions, the trail will make a sharp turn and shoot in between two closely-spaced trees on a small hill. This might seem like a bit of a gimmick, and it is. However, Monroe is situated on lakeplain, and the trail would be very boring without quick turns and dives in between trees. Generally, the trail is composed of several small loops. The first wooded section is 1.8 miles. The second is 2.2. The third is about a mile and a half. Mileage is marked along the trails at 0.2 mile intervals. Additional mileage can be had by walking abandoned access roads and farm paths. More mileage can be had by walking the park fitness trail and connecting to the Monroe Riverwalk. Probably the most interesting part of the hike was the prairie that has been restored in the center section of the hike. An old farmfield has been planted with native plants. Right now, the field is filled with black-eyed Susans. I counted the number of flowers in a small patch and extrapolated to the entire field. My guess is that there are 5 to 10 million black-eyed susans in that field. I could give one to every 30th person in the country!BTW, my thanks to the Eagle Scout who was out trimming trail on this day.

April 29, 2002: On Saturday, I helped clear about a mile of brush for a trail at Monroe's Munson Park. The city, a local bike shop and the MMBA are getting together to create a five mile wooded trail in a county thatis mostly known for its excellent marsh hikes. Of course it started raining almost as soon as we got started. We were thoroughly soaked by the end, but it'll be a nice, albeit flat trail when we get done with it. And it'll connect to the River Raisin Greenway that goes about seven miles and will soon connect to a refurbished SterlingState Park on Lake Erie. Greenway maps available from Monroe City planning office.

June 2, 2002: Oh, and this morning I helped create more trail in Munson Park inMonroe. Looks like 5 to 7 miles of new trail in the park woods. This'll connect to 8 or 9 mile of River Raisin Greenway, which will connect to 8 or 9 miles of reconstructed trail in the currentlyclosed Sterling State Park. We're looking at a 20 to 30 mile trail system by 2003.

July 23, 2002: Hey guys. I think I mentioned before that I've been helping to build a trail in Monroe. Well, it's about two-thirds complete, but open to hike or bike. Essentially, Monroe had about 100 acres of woods inthe back of it's biggest park that they decided to turn into a trail system. The woods are divided into two sections. Each will have it's own loop. The southernmost loop is complete and hikeable. It's about 2.5 to 3 miles long. The northern woods will have a 3 mileloop - it is scheduled for completion on Aug. 17, 4PM. Monroe isn't very hilly, but the trail tries to maximize the terrain. It's loopy, but the forest and cover is thick. It's gets very dark, very fast. The loops are currently accessed by a 0.5 mile hike along a two track skirting two bean fields. Monroe got a grant from the fish and wildlife service to return this to native prairie in the future. This will add to the natural surroundings and increase trail length.The trail system also connects the walking trail in the front of Munson Park. This connects to the Riverwalk, which will connect to Sterling SP by next year. Sterling is also scheduled to expand by 25%.Take I-75 to the Elm Rd. exit. Take Elm west. The name of the street changes to N. Custer, but it's about 5 miles west from thefreeway. The park is on the right. Enter park. Drive on dirt roadpast fountain and hill as far as you can go. Park. Head to the two track on the east side of the beanfield. Nice hike. Recommended for Downriver/Monroe/Toledo hikers.

November 3, 2002: Okay, so Friday afternoon rolls around and all I want to do is hike,but something comes up at work, and I have to stay until 4:30 (I'm usually out by 2:30). Well, anyway, by the time I get home, it's getting dark outside. And I still have to get my car to Monroe - 45 minutes away - for a tuneup. So, I make the fateful decision to throw my Petzl Tikka into the car and do some night hiking. Anyway, I get to Monroe at about 6PM. I decide to run the Munson Park loops in the dark - about 7 or 8 miles. I have hiked the first loop many times, so I have no problem with that. But I'm only half familiar with the second loop. Bad decision #1 - hiking alone at night on unfamiliar trail. So, things are moving along swimmingly on the trail until I get to the second loop. After a bit I convince myself that I'm going in circles. I decide to cut out of the woods and take a shortcut back to my car. Bad decision #2 - going off trail alone at night in unfamiliar surroundings. So, I think I'm going in the right direction across some farm fields until I see an American flag in the distance. I initially think it's from the ballfields at the front of the park, but soon realize that it's the big flag at the car wash on Telegraph Rd. No place for hikers. Bummer. This means that I need to backtrack. But it also means that I know exactly where I am. So, I head in the direction of the Frenchmen's Bend subdivision and pop out at a little park, but turn my headlamp off to move stealthily to a sidewalk. Bad decision #3. This is a bad decison because I immediately twist my ankle. Later it swells up, but this means no weekend hiking for Mike. Anyway, the subdivision route is about an extra mile, but it's a sure bet on streetlit sidewalks. At this point I'll take it. I return to my car, take a deep breath and return home with vows thatI'll never be that stupid again. Anyway, I need to find some other poor sap to hike at night with. I need to bring a compass. I need to be sure of my route. And I should have thought a bit before making fateful snap decisions. Daylight savings time sucks.