Regardless of weather or location, Southeast Michigan has a trail for you

When I became a father, one of my goals was to make sure my two boys participate in as many outdoor and natural experiences as possible. Yes, they both still enjoy (perhaps too much at times) electronics and have some amount of screentime most days. But regardless of the time of year, the busy-ness of our schedules, or the many other distractions, each week as a family we get “out of doors” to enjoy a park, play soccer, climb a tree, or simply take an extended walk with the dog.

The great thing is that our region provides us with a multitude of options, and we have many family spots. One of our favorite activities is simply taking a hike, preferably one that allows the boys to “get a little dirty” and possibly climb a tree or cross a creek on a fallen branch. Some of our favorite natural areas and trails are the non-paved nature trails that cut through the middle of Belle Isle; the Meadow Loop and trails through the South Marsh at Lake St. Clair Metropark; and the trails throughout Matthaei Botanical Gardens, especially those in and around Gaffield Children’s Garden.

Gaffield Garden
Gaffield Children’s Garden

This Thanksgiving weekend, the family bundled up and trundled over to the Yates Trail along the Clinton River in Rochester Hills and Shelby Township. It usually doesn’t take too much convincing to get our boys out on a trail, but the promise of hot apple cider and warm donuts from Yates Cider Mill made it a sure thing! While the weather was brisk, the joys of seeing fall colors, running along the trail, skipping stones in the river, and watching the ducks bob in at out of the water made for a great time on a Sunday afternoon.

FamAlongYatesTrail
Yates – Vettraino Family

While the trails mentioned above are some of our favorites, they are by no means the only opportunities our great region offers to explorers of all sizes, ages, and abilities. Through SEMCOG’s recently launched Southeast Michigan Trail Explorer, residents of all interests can find a trail that meets their needs! In total, Trail Explorer provides 360-degree imagery of nearly 1,000 miles of regional trails (around 550 miles of water trails, and 400 miles of land trails).

TrailExplorerCapture
Screen capture from Trail Explorer

These virtual tours of some of the region’s greatest assets are a wonderful way to both plan and scope out your next trail adventure. While taking a paddle along a river or lake in December may not be in the cards for most of us, putting on a hat, lacing up the boots, and adding a couple additional layers of clothes for a walk along a trail may just be. Below are a few of the trails through which I have taken a virtual trek via Trail Explorer and which I plan to physically enjoy this winter, spring, and summer! There are many others. Learn more about the many parks throughout the region, featuring trails and all other sorts of great activities at Southeast Michigan ParkFinder.

Boardwalk Trail at Crosswinds Marsh, Sumpter Township