Holland Ponds is the best place for hiking! My friends and I love coming here with our dogs because…read morethere is a river through the entire place, which means plenty of opportunities for the dogs to swim! The park is also connected to the apple trail, which leads to Yates Cider Mill, so it's honestly the best place to spend an afternoon! The dogs have fun, the humans have fun, you can take a mid-hike break to fuel up with cider and donuts, and then head back through Holland Ponds! The only downside to the park is that it's close to a shooting range of some sort, far enough away that you can't see anything, only hear things, so for dogs that spook a bit towards fireworks and the like, they will be able to hear sounds that might make them a bit jumpy.

I like this park for many reasons, but mainly because it has that true nature feel to it with so…read moremuch to look at and take in as you walk and meander it's trails. The main trail is gravel, but there are areas that veer off here and there along the way that take you off the beaten path and into some 'real' nature trails. With so much to offer, you can venture off and explore the foliage, ponds, wildflowers, rabbits, birds, frogs and the elusive (at least for me so far) Blue Herons. In fact this park is a Blue Heron Rookery and a nesting area for them as well. Look up into the trees while walking along their nesting areas because they build their large 3 foot by 3 foot nests high in the trees out of twigs. There are signs as well warning the public not to enter their sacred nesting areas. It's very quiet, serene and even a tad rustic compared to the other parks in the county. It does have benches along the way, but the grasses in mid summer have grown up and around some of them making them not so easy to sit on. They also have a small pavilion that once had a picnic table, but the table is now gone, so it's 'just a pavilion' hoping for another table one day so it can once again have visitors sit under it's covered and shady rest area. But why not carry one of those fold up chairs and heck, bring a picnic bag lunch and enjoy a quiet meal as you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere. Make sure to look up and side to side as you're traversing the trail because there are things to look at all around if you take the time to explore. You're so close to the city, yet so far away when you're in the middle of this park so take the time to enjoy all of it's offerings. There are areas where you can get a nice picturesque glimpse of the lily pads in the water and listen to the frogs croaking their tunes as you meander along the path. If you like the type of setting where you seem one with nature and you like a calm, serene setting, this park is a must to visit. Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and see one or more of the Blue Herons. If not, there's always next time because this peaceful park is worth exploring when you want to get away from the city grind.

These trails are fantastic and perfect for a leisurely walk, offering amazing views. Plus, there's…read morea spot for disc golf, and it's a great park for walking your dogs. In the winter, there's even a hill for sledding! What a great workout today!

I can't speak for summer and autumn but this is a nice park in the winter and spring. The sledding…read morehill looked fun, they have a bunny hill level for little tykes and the full hill for older kids. I'm definitely too mature for that myself, though. Okay, so I looked around at three local stores and they were all sold out of sleds apart from a wooden toboggan that was more costly than a nearby kayak. I'm blaming that on too many months of quarantine and joblessness. The trails are scenic and more extensive than the map led me to believe. I don't think it's to scale; the back 40 goes on for much longer than I figured. I'm glad I turned around when I did on my winter hike. Come springtime and warmer temps the whole northern expanse was just about the right amount of nature and exercise. I mainly did the southern circuit in the snow and the sweeping elevation changes and the train trestle over the Belle River were just lovely. Some of the trails could be better marked. On my winter visit I wasn't even sure if the park ended at a low clearance bridge where a road goes over the Belle River. Turns out more than half the park is past there and crossing the road seems to be the preferred way to get there, though the troll way seems more adventurous. There's some power lines with mowed grass that intersect some of the trails and it's unclear if that isn't also a trail. I don't think so but I got kind of lost at one point and tried to use that to double back and got caught up in some sogginess. If you stay close to the Belle River you shouldn't have that problem, though. I also wandered through some of the twisting mountain bike trails trying to find my way back. Just judging from being on foot they didn't look anywhere near as fun as the bike trails at River Bends. Ultimately I ended up using the Google maps on my phone to get back to where I needed to be. There's equestrian trails here, too, and a nice clubhouse with restrooms, vending machines, picnic tables and pamphlets for this and other parks in St. Clair county. This is a quiet, laid back park but I don't think I'd drive too far out of my way to get here.

I'm so grateful for a fenced in playground area with bathrooms!…read more It's a great playground for multiple ages, there are some shaded picnic tables, and you can walk over to the splash pad when it opens at noon. I look forward to taking my littles again soon!

I'm extremely impressed with this park. I would not have known about it other than from a friend at…read morework who lives in the area. As soon as you drive in, this magnificent (perspective of a kid) playground appears to the left. It's even called the Kids Kingdom. My kids had a blast. Even my 20 month old had a wonderful time. We brought some PIZZA, ate on one of the nice picnic tables within Kids Kingdom. However, I must admit I had a specific intent for checking out this park; disc golf!! There is an 18 hole disc golf course. There are plenty of trees, dog legs (left and right turns... not actual legs of dogs), and water hazards to make it interesting. There is a nice variety of long and short throws. The tee pads were extremely easy to find; however, the baskets from the tee pads weren't as easy to find. If I had the map, that I attached to this review, from the beginning it would have been a different story. I skipped one basket because I assumed the drive was a little longer. I ended up throwing it 3/4 of the way to the next basket. No worries... I'll know better next time. I didn't know what PAR was for the baskets, so I assumed everything was PRO PAR and ended with 1 over for the 18 holes. I know there is a lot of room for improvement. I will definitely take my family to this park again!! My wife also wanted me to mention on this review that the bathrooms were nice and right next to the playground. My 6 year old didn't realize the bathrooms were so close and found a tree out in the distance. You'd think he was born in a barn or something....

This park is the best park to walk at in the area!!! There many trail for bikes and just for…read morewalking. There beautiful ponds and lakes to look at as you walk or fish at. There also amazing playgrounds. I wouldn't recommend the beach.

Beautiful park with lots of trail options and scenic views. They have a paved loop which is great…read morewith a stroller, and more rigorous unpaved trails that go around the lake. Tons of parking, and several different play structures. Can't wait to explore more of this park!

One of my favorite places in Sterling Heights! It feels like you're a thousand miles away from the…read morecity, even though it's right around the corner. The trails wind through beautiful scenery with so much nature to take in, and the rivers running throughout make it feel peaceful and relaxing. Every visit brings something new to see, whether it's wildlife, changing seasons, or a different view along the trail. It's the perfect place to walk, clear your mind, and enjoy the outdoors. I've never left disappointed. Sterling Heights is home to an extensive trail system with river views and natural area.

We are avid walkers and love walking the trails in our local parks so when we were looking for a…read moredifferent place to walk, we discovered this one. It's located across the street from Henry Ford ll high school and is easily missed if you're not looking for the entrance driveway. The trail is part of the Clinton River Park Trail System which is a quite a nice trail to bike along if you're a biker. Whether you like leisurely walks on a paved trail or walking along the well worn and rugged dirt trails, it's a relaxing and nature filled walk to enjoy and explore. There were quite a few bikers traversing the trail as well. With the playground and ball field, it's a nice park for the family and people of all ages to have some fun. Bring your frisbees, footballs, baseballs and bats and enjoy what this park has to offer.

I've driven by this park quite a few times over the past year and always was impressed with how…read moreclean and cool looking it was. I finally had the time to stop in yesterday with my date and his kids to check the place out, and we both were pleasantly surprised with how much fun it was. For starters, the park is really well kept. Grass was cut, parking lot was clean and well maintained and all equipment was in good working order. After walking around for a bit, we both realized there was more to do then meets the eye from the road. There's plenty to do for both kids and adults. The one thing that drew my eye initially was the picture of the fire truck on the wall of the building they have right next to the parking lot. The park itself is named after a fire chief, thus, the fire truck theme going on here. They have tons of stuff to do here. They have a lovely covered pavilion with plenty of seating and well maintained picnic tables. They also have a play area for the kids, soccer fields, a horse shoe area, tennis courts and a sand volley ball area. They also had an area that appeared to be a Bocce Ball court, but no equipment to play the game. Also, there was a building with the fire truck painted on that I assume has bathrooms or a tribute area inside. I can't say for sure because the doors were locked and you couldn't see much through the doors. The only downfall to this park is no obvious place for bathrooms. I assume it's in the building but I cannot say for sure. I also saw a few adults walking with fishing poles and equipment. I guess you can go fishing around here as well. I believe there's hiking trails as well if your interested in that also. This park is a great addition to the community and everything about it was impressive. I am sure I will be back in the future!

The splash pad at Chief Gene Shepherd Park is beautiful. The park is beautiful and clean, updated,…read moreand filled with exciting water features for children. My family loves visiting the splash pad on hot days and I love taking them. This splash pad is perfect!

How lucky I was to stumble across this park exploring on a rainy Sunday. This small, historic…read morefarmstead and park are nestled away in north east Oakland County. While the farmstead looked closed at the time, we decided to take a walk in the drizzly afternoon and discovered a gorgeous world around the lake. Everywhere we turned (it was August), we discovered wild grown fruits, from blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries to apples. We found lurking mushrooms and tiny critters. The wildlife was breathtaking and my tot enjoyed exploring the muddy terrain and watching animals. There's no lake access, but you can walk up to the lake and lookout at those enjoying it. We briefly walked around the farm houses on our way back and would love to return for a tour one day. Certainly a tiny, hidden gem.

There's a little something for everyone here!…read more The playground is rated for 2-12 year olds, which is a huge range but helpful because I had a 2 year old with me today! I helped a friend get married here years ago and it was so special, intimate, and so easy! The fireplaces can really keep it warm during colder weather. The bees were bothersome today though, so that's as annoying. The trails are great! It's so peaceful despite being right next to M-59. Basketball courts, bike racks, bathrooms (I think they are locked in the winter though)

This park is especially awesome to me because of the pavilion with the fireplace I think it would…read morebe great on a fall night to make smores! I love that I've been on multiple occasions and it's never crowded, it has a river stream flowing through and basketball court and the skate park is next door. There are also bathrooms nearby and the park is always kept clean. I've attached a video of my experience!