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.

Preserved land for all to enjoy. Don't expect a physical nature center. Instead, check out the…read moretrails that lead you along the Clinton River. As an extra bonus, they have bathrooms and a pavilion.

I'm not Mr. Outdoors or anything but I've hiked a few trails in my day. The Porcupine Mountains,…read moreCanadian Rockies, the Pinnacles in Berea, Kentucky, Castle Rock in North Carolina and just basic stuff here in Southeast Michigan. Barton nature area in Ann Arbor, the trails at Lake St. Clair Metropark, the E. L. Johnson nature center and one in Livonia whose name is slipping me right now, etc. I wasn't expecting Nicholson nature center to be anything epic like some of the earlier entries on that list. You can tell that by looking at a map. But there's pleasant enough hiking trails nestled in Michigan suburbia. Nicholson might qualify as one of those if it wasn't so damn muddy! I've never hiked such muddy trails. You best wear big rubber fishermen's boots to trudge through this slop or get big mud stains running way up the side of your jeans like I did. It's a nice enough little swath of woods here but just not worth it for the mud puddles. I kind of wish Barrymore's would buy this forest and build giant roller coasters back here.

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.

Two nice additions have been added to the park..... A Little Library to take or leave a book and a…read morefood pantry to contribute to or take something you may need. They're both located in the front near the park map, restrooms and basketball courts. There's also a tree near the playground where you can paint a rock at home and set it around the tree. This park is bustling at times during soccer and baseball seasons. With 2 play areas, a couple of covered pavilions offering shelter and shade and indoor restrooms in the front of the park, this is a perfect spot for small gatherings. There are two large grassy areas near the baseball diamond and in the soccer field where you can fly kites, or run with your pet or play any other activity. This is a park the whole family can enjoy with plenty to see as far as plants and trees and animals such as squirrels and birds and rabbits and we've even seen a couple of ducks. When you're in the wooded area walking the path, you forget for a few moments that you're in the middle of the township because it's so peaceful. Come and enjoy whether you want to take a few moments for yourself or have some quality family time. Hope to see you there!

Very small park with two tiny trails. Was not enough for myself and my 4 yo on his bikeread more

This place is SO fun and I can't believe I never knew it existed. It's definitely geared a bit…read moretowards kids in the beginning of the hike with a bunch of fun, interactive things set up near the parking lot, but this is a great little hike you can do with your friend and/or dog with a lot less traffic than Paint Creek Trail, which connects to Dinosaur Hill, or the Rochester Municipal Park, which is located right next door. A very short hike, clocking in at about 1 mile, with the nature preserve seemingly split in two by Paint Creek. It was fun and is a very quick hike with changes in scenery that keeps the hike interesting. Another great option in the Rochester/downtown Rochester area for all skill levels to take advantage of! :)

Nice place to take your dogs or your kids. The trails are well kept and connect to the Paint Creek…read moretrail. The trail map is posted at different locations which makes it very easy to know where you are and how to get to where you want to go.

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.

I love taking my kids here! My stepson even caught his first fish here! My son taught him well,…read morelol. It's my favorite thing about living in Sterling Heights - seeing kids and teens out in nature doing what boys should be doing, instead of stuck at home glued to their phones or screens. They find many adventures along these trails and see wildlife similar to what I see driving 3 hours to our place up north. It's right in our backyard! They've always taken such good care of their parks. There's bike riding, kayaking, jogging, mountain bike trails, walking areas, and seriously the best nature you'll find within an hour and a half radius. The trails run all through Sterling Heights and end up in different parts of the city, or they'll lead you straight back to the Dodge Park or their awesome nature center!

I really dislike having to give parks imperfect ratings, as getting out into nature in any capacity…read morecan bring peace, but sometimes they just don't work for my personal needs. Clinton River Heritage park was quite small, so not great for hiking or walking my doggo (I prefer avoiding sidewalks on main roads, and that would be the only nearby option to lengthen my walk). My second issue was that, once you crossed the main bridge, you pop out into a decent field, but it's directly behind a set of apartments, attached to their parking lot; not really a scenic view. That being said, Clinton River Heritage Park is still a very pretty sliver of nature in the middle of a busy city area. The views of the River are beautiful, and there are plenty of seats to sit and enjoy watching the wildlife. We came across some giant maple leaves, truly impressive, gave me a laugh comparing them to my pup. You have an available viewing dock, canoe/kayak drop in (although it looks to be currently closed), picnic tables, charcoal grills, benches, restroom, trash receptacles and a small children's play area. The parking lot is small, but honestly perfect for the needs of the park, and the cleanliness of the area was acceptable (although I cannot speak for the restrooms as I did not enter them). Overall, I think this is a great small park for the residents of the attached neighborhood/s, and great for River watching, but didn't quite fulfill my need for exercise and dog walking.

Great park! We stopped by for a soccer game and loved the park; clean and well maintained lawns…read moremade for a great soccer field; kids enjoyed the play structures too. Great gem in Troy!

Cool spot...long trail for walking 2 bathroom spots, huge area for soccer, huge green area for…read moresoftball/baseball, covered picnic area...huge parking lot! I take a drive to come here. Never too busy and always a great time! This is a huge park with lots of area to enjoy.