This is a hike report that I originally posted on the Great Lakes Hikes Yahoo Group:
Erie SGA
Jan. 20, 2001
Well, Luanne, I've done a lot of thinking about that sort of thing. Mostly because I grew up in SE Michigan (Monroe). And while I have hiked in a lot of places like Isle Royale, G. Canyon, Yellowstone, most of my life is spent in a very industrial/populated region.
It really frustrates me at times. The Erie SGA hike that I mentioned has 5 power plants within view. But it is 4-20 miles of hiking right along the Great Lakes surrounded by some high quality nature. And I almost never see anybody there. I am optimistic by nature and I've hiked there so many times that I don't really see those bad things anymore.
What really frustrates me is that these power plants and dumps and quarries get built in a working class place like Monroe. And people in places like Ann Arbor don't get to see how their lights turn on at night or where their garbage goes. I actually think that I have a more real natural experience seeing the very bad with the very good. It is all part of the same.
As for this project, you could probably discount any SE Michigan hike for reasons like this. And I wouldn't necessarily recommend them to people from far away. But, they are the best I've found and for people in the area, a bit of the beautiful.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Cuyahoga National Park: Hike Reports
I originally posted this hike report on the Great Lakes Hikes Yahoo Group:
Cuyahoga Valley NP
04/06/02
Hey, anyone else know that they've changed the designation of the the CVNRA to actual national park status? I spent a day out there yesterday. It has the closest waterfalls to SE Michigan and has some pretty steep hiking. Much stronger terrain than the Waterloo-Pinckney. Driving distance from my house west of Adrian was 2.5 hours to trailheads. The drive back to my dad's house in Monroe was just under 2 hours. The park has 35 miles of the Buckeye Trail. The plan is to eventually create a 125 mile trail system on the 35,000 acres. It is in an urbanized area, so you aren't that far from people, but the hiking seems real good. No camping in the park. I think you could overnight in the AYH youth hostel, though and take the train back to the original trailhead. Might make for a nice, fun weekend.
Cuyahoga Valley NP
04/06/02
Hey, anyone else know that they've changed the designation of the the CVNRA to actual national park status? I spent a day out there yesterday. It has the closest waterfalls to SE Michigan and has some pretty steep hiking. Much stronger terrain than the Waterloo-Pinckney. Driving distance from my house west of Adrian was 2.5 hours to trailheads. The drive back to my dad's house in Monroe was just under 2 hours. The park has 35 miles of the Buckeye Trail. The plan is to eventually create a 125 mile trail system on the 35,000 acres. It is in an urbanized area, so you aren't that far from people, but the hiking seems real good. No camping in the park. I think you could overnight in the AYH youth hostel, though and take the train back to the original trailhead. Might make for a nice, fun weekend.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Lake Hudson SRA: Hike Reports
I originally posted these hike reports on the Great Lakes Hikes Yahoo Group:
01/19/01
Lenawee County: Lake Hudson State Rec. Area.
There are no trails, but just wild and hilly land along a lake. I bet it would be about a 10 or 12 mile hike around.
01/28/01
Lenawee: Lake Hudson SRA:
Take M-34 West from Adrian. Turn South on Morey Hwy. The park will be on the right.
05/02/02
Tonight I headed out to Lake Hudson SRA in Lenawee County. This has to be one of the least used parks in the whole state system. My understanding is that the park only gets about 90,000 visitors per year. That's about 270 per day for 3,000 acres. And I'll bet most of that comes from deer hunting and muskie fishing. Anyway, this place is desolate. It's a bunch of old farm fields with lots of hills, streams and woodlots. In the middle is a big, undeveloped lake.
There aren't really any trails in the place, but there are some hunting two tracks. I followed one out 2 or 3 miles and skirted a bunch of wooded areas. This might be a really fun place to just get lost in. The best thing is that this place is absolutely in the middle of nowhere. I drove a really nice paved road out and didn't seen any cars driving by for 15 minutes. All I heard the whole hike was the wind whipping across the plain.
01/19/01
Lenawee County: Lake Hudson State Rec. Area.
There are no trails, but just wild and hilly land along a lake. I bet it would be about a 10 or 12 mile hike around.
01/28/01
Lenawee: Lake Hudson SRA:
Take M-34 West from Adrian. Turn South on Morey Hwy. The park will be on the right.
05/02/02
Tonight I headed out to Lake Hudson SRA in Lenawee County. This has to be one of the least used parks in the whole state system. My understanding is that the park only gets about 90,000 visitors per year. That's about 270 per day for 3,000 acres. And I'll bet most of that comes from deer hunting and muskie fishing. Anyway, this place is desolate. It's a bunch of old farm fields with lots of hills, streams and woodlots. In the middle is a big, undeveloped lake.
There aren't really any trails in the place, but there are some hunting two tracks. I followed one out 2 or 3 miles and skirted a bunch of wooded areas. This might be a really fun place to just get lost in. The best thing is that this place is absolutely in the middle of nowhere. I drove a really nice paved road out and didn't seen any cars driving by for 15 minutes. All I heard the whole hike was the wind whipping across the plain.
Lillie Park: Hike Reports
I originally posted this hike report on the Great Lakes Hikes Yahoo Group:
5/31/3
I also checked out more of Lillie Park off of Platt Road south of Ann Arbor. This is another Pittsfield Township park. It's just about the strangest location for a park - right at the intersection of I-94 and US-23. The hike has constant traffic noise and wide, unappealing stone and paved paths. There are some sections of dirt singletrack. However, these were very muddy today. The township website says the park has 2.8 miles of trail, but there is probably more like 3.5 miles if the renegade dirt paths are included. On the positive side, there are two small lakes in the park and the section of rough trail around the northern lake is quite nice. This trail cuts up close to shore and has a small beachlike quality. There are sections of impressive boardwalk and some pretty high scenic viewpoints. This is a good place to walk the dog. And considering the aggressive, unleashed dogs that I encountered regularly on this hike, the target audience appears to have been achieved. I tell you, an apology every once in awhile would be nice.
5/31/3
I also checked out more of Lillie Park off of Platt Road south of Ann Arbor. This is another Pittsfield Township park. It's just about the strangest location for a park - right at the intersection of I-94 and US-23. The hike has constant traffic noise and wide, unappealing stone and paved paths. There are some sections of dirt singletrack. However, these were very muddy today. The township website says the park has 2.8 miles of trail, but there is probably more like 3.5 miles if the renegade dirt paths are included. On the positive side, there are two small lakes in the park and the section of rough trail around the northern lake is quite nice. This trail cuts up close to shore and has a small beachlike quality. There are sections of impressive boardwalk and some pretty high scenic viewpoints. This is a good place to walk the dog. And considering the aggressive, unleashed dogs that I encountered regularly on this hike, the target audience appears to have been achieved. I tell you, an apology every once in awhile would be nice.
Nan Weston Preserve: Hike Reports
I originally posted these hike reports on the Great Lakes Hikes Yahoo Group:
05/01/01
I went for a little hike (2 or 3 miles) yesterday in the Nan Weston Nature Conservancy preserve/Sharonville SGA west of Manchester. Geez, the wildflowers are amazing right now - I literally saw thousands of trilliums. I'd recommend the place to SE Michigan hikers. If you dig around in the maps a little, you can put together a good 10+ mile route.
03/27/02
I got about 5 miles in today at Sharon Hollow (P.31,Delorme's). I started from the Nature Conservancy parking area on Eusedes Rd(Section 29 on the map below). I crossed a bunch of streams - neat little bridges. I connected with the two track along the Sharon Hollow impoundment and hiked west into the game area. I followed the edge of a field along the River Raisin to where is crosses Sharon Valley Rd. I crossed and headed out to the small lake in section 36. Then I came back. 1.5 hours total. A few frogs were chirping. Lots of sandhill crane action. Lots of deer scurrying about.
Trail conditions were okay, but a bit muddy in spots. There are trails pretty much along the whole route and you can get in a good 9 or 10 mile straight line hike in the rest of the game area. But you have to know what you are doing to connect the paths. It's not too hilly, but it's a nice change of pace from Waterloo-Pinckney and you'll see no one else.
http://www.midnr.com/pdfs/wildlife/sga/sharonvl2001.pdf
05/01/01
I went for a little hike (2 or 3 miles) yesterday in the Nan Weston Nature Conservancy preserve/Sharonville SGA west of Manchester. Geez, the wildflowers are amazing right now - I literally saw thousands of trilliums. I'd recommend the place to SE Michigan hikers. If you dig around in the maps a little, you can put together a good 10+ mile route.
03/27/02
I got about 5 miles in today at Sharon Hollow (P.31,Delorme's). I started from the Nature Conservancy parking area on Eusedes Rd(Section 29 on the map below). I crossed a bunch of streams - neat little bridges. I connected with the two track along the Sharon Hollow impoundment and hiked west into the game area. I followed the edge of a field along the River Raisin to where is crosses Sharon Valley Rd. I crossed and headed out to the small lake in section 36. Then I came back. 1.5 hours total. A few frogs were chirping. Lots of sandhill crane action. Lots of deer scurrying about.
Trail conditions were okay, but a bit muddy in spots. There are trails pretty much along the whole route and you can get in a good 9 or 10 mile straight line hike in the rest of the game area. But you have to know what you are doing to connect the paths. It's not too hilly, but it's a nice change of pace from Waterloo-Pinckney and you'll see no one else.
http://www.midnr.com/pdfs/wildlife/sga/sharonvl2001.pdf
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