Beautiful day for a walk with nature at Asylum Park. Even had a few deer friends with us.read more

Great park for walking on trails. Some are paved, some are grass, and some are dirt. We saw many…read moredeer in our walk! There are serval lakes along the paths too. We weren't brave enough to try the wild berries but there are plenty if you're up for it.

I stopped here for a bit to destress in the green. This is a very pretty park that has been set…read moreaside though it isn't completely isolated from the noises of the buses and trucks that pass by. Still, pretty, green, refreshing. Great walking and jogging and biking trails, picnic benches, covered areas, grills, fishing areas, permanent structures with restrooms. This park has everything. Over 200 acress and connected by a 3.5 mile trail. [Review 11230 overall, 1006 of 2019.]

Nothing beats a nice stroll in the park. No matter the season! The beautiful green now has a slap…read moreshot of other colors bringing the fall features to life! But as lovers of spring and summer. Green was our calling card for sure. Very beautiful park!

This place was busy as can be today but nice wide paths and folks paying attention to the "on your…read morelefts" from behind allowed for easy social distancing while enjoying the beautiful day. We've taken our dogs hiking here before many times but today was our first time cycling here, and it really is a great place to bike with some somewhat challenging rolling hills. The path goes all the way to the park on the back side of West Lake, so if you've got a mountain bike you could add that loop to the journey. Quarantine has been really rough on me but the sunny days are a joy as we plug away at training for a Beth-athlon I'm planning to do at the end of the summer (I can't run anymore, so I'm making up my own -athlon of multiple activities ranging from paddleboarding to rollerblading. It was great getting some cycling miles under my belt today and getting that heart beat racing.

Nice place for a nature walk! The path is paved and surrounded by nature, including wildlife…read more Parking is very difficult to find; doesn't show up on map. I ended up parking at a local business and walking in.

We've been swimming here for years, so I was surprised to see I hadn't written a review yet!…read more This park has a sandy (with some gravel) beach, accessed via a hilly sidewalk from the handicap parking next to the newish picnic pavilion. Note: to get to the handicap parking, you don't park up top (and walk down those stairs, obviously!), but drive down a clearly marked accessible road down to the four handicap spaces nearer to the beach. You will still have to walk/wheel from those spots to the water. The water starts out really shallow (good for playing, if you have littles), and then goes deep pretty quickly. There is often a bunch of seaweed near to the shore, and, depending on the weather, the water can be murky. Persevere! STILL! It is a swimmable lake, and feels really good to get in the water, so close to home. There's a small playground area, a grassy area next to the sidewalks, and then, along the lakeshore, plenty of space for fishing.

An oasis in the middle of the city, it's easy to blink-and-you-miss-it this gem across from Oakwood…read morePlaza near the intersection of Oakland Drive and Parkview. This small park offers an elevated path and raised overlook and a small beach. If you work nearby, this is a great place to escape on your lunch break with a picnic and a good book. I once spotted a snowy owl in a tree adjacent to the park. Definitely a life highlight! Not the best swimming hole in the area (definitely visit Portage's Ramona Park for a bigger, better beach), but still worth the trip.

Nice paved walking trail in Vicksburg. Next to the Vicksburg Heritage and Depot Museum. Close to…read moredowntown too.

Despite its proximity to busy Sprinkle Road, it's incredibly quiet and peaceful here for a paved…read morepath. It's less than 2 miles from start to finish (we start on TU Ave. and head into Vicksburg, often rewarding ourselves with a beer at the distant whistle or an ice cream at the local ice cream shop before heading back, but there are several places you could access the path.) Parking for the Vicksburg Trailway is available at the Vicksburg Depot Museum on Richardson Street; the northern trailhead on TU Avenue; and the Vicksburg Recreation Area (and disc golf course) just off Sprinkle Road as well, and they've already started construction on a new project that will eventually connect this path to the Portage Trailway, which will be such a nice option for cyclists as they will be able to get from Vicksburg all the way into Kalamazoo. We've did a fair bit of running here when we were first getting started, since when we dropped in at TU we could hit a 5K exactly by turning around as soon as we got into Vicksburg, and I intend to also put on my rollerblades and visit this path since it's nice and flat and very well paved without many cracks in the pavement. There's a few ponds along the path, which means later in the season mosquito repellent will probably be a must if you visit during a shady part of the day, and you can even watch disc golfers try to avoid that water hazard along part of the route.

It really is such a shame that this park doesn't have a beach. We are super fortunate to live on…read moreone of the Portage lakes and have access all the time, but between West, Austin, and Long Lake's parks only Long Lake has a beach (at Ramona Park). Nonetheless, this park has incredible views and offers decent fishing opportunities off of two extended docks, one of which features a large covered gazebo with benches. The playground area here looks legit, and my partner and I always enjoy stopping for a break here when we do a 9-mile cycling route that basically wraps around Austin Lake plus an extra mile each way to access the route from where we live. As with Long Lake, the boat launch is at a completely separate location from the park. Unlike Ramona Park, there is no charge to park at Lakeside Park. We are super excited at the prospect of all the cycling routes in the Vicksburg and Portage area connecting soon. Work got underway on connecting the Vicksburg path into Portage early last year but was halted due to the pandemic. So happy to have a little bit of spring-like weather this week to get out and celebrate all the wonderful natural spaces in our community.

Thanks to our friends, we had a chance to see and enjoy this park…read more The park has great view to the lake with two decks on each side. We saw some folks fishing while we were there. There's also a small trail where you can exercise too. Don't worry, there are a couple of picnic areas for you and your family to bbq and enjoy the serenity of the beautiful lake. The parking lot has lights so when you leave the park at sunset, you won't be walking in the dark to your car.

Fair warning -- many of the paths here run on the muddy side (including some of the raised paths…read moreover the bog that have holes in them that let water through). There is lots of lovely hiking to be done here, though ... And because the area tends to be damp it's a great place to spot cool plants and fungi. Recent, an elevated path was added that connects this park and neighboring Elliason. We're loving all the work the city has done to connect it's natural spaces.

Beautiful park with excellent hiking trails. Wear hiking boots if you're planning on walking bog…read moretrail!

This small 1.5 acre park features some hiking trails and a very open and well manicured grassy…read morearea. There is no parking nearby for non-residents. As parks go, it is very limited for activities. [Review 11223 overall, 999 of 2019.]