Great paved walking trails. Lots of wooded area. Perfect place to take your dog. Poop bags are…read moreavailable on location.

It's no Stony Creek, River Bends or Polly Ann Trail but then I guess it's no joke like Harrington…read moreTrails Park either. A heavily wooded, overgrown plot of land I'd driven by a couple times and vaguely noticed as some sort of nature park, I then saw Wilcox-Warnes reviewed right here on Yelp and made it a point to turn into its little blink-and-you-miss-it lot. I was kind of up that way for my cousin's graduation party anyway. I had to duck under some low hanging branches, likely from a tree felled in one of the intense storms we've had here in Michigan this summer. The planks which alternated with plain ol dirt for the trail came in handy but in a few places the path was very nearly lost in foliage. But with no machete I still managed to make my way through. It really was like a whole little other world as soon as I crossed that first trail blockage. The trails here aren't the longest but I wasn't really expecting them to be either. I got in a nice little hike right before the sunset with the only other nature goers leaving just as I set off. These woods seem like they'd be loaded with mosquitoes but i just roll with a bottle of Off! in my glove compartment these days so I emerged from my trail walk bite free. There's a little bridge in one place but what looked to be a creek bed was nothing but mud. Odd since we've gotten loads of rain recently in southeast Michigan. Someone build a dam near here or something? The laminated sign reading TRAIL ENDS was also odd in a way that was both hilarious and disappointing. There's room here to just have a trail that loops around instead of just abruptly ceasing so you have to double back but whatever I guess. There's one nice little meadow but other than that Wilcox-Warnes is heavily wooded. And you can hear noise from the road in places but it is a nice little respite from outer suburbia. Truthfully, it's nothing too special and I wouldn't go too far out of my way for this nature reserve with the superior options listed at the beginning of the review but Wilcox-Warnes does offer something pretty rustic if basic. I thought about three stars, but given that this land could easily be eaten up by brown and beige McMansions, condos, strip malls or other insidious, encroaching developments, I'll give WW a four.

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.

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.

Went for a quick walk on the Clinton River Trail before work and it ended up being a really nice…read morestart to the day. It was quiet, open, and had that calm morning feel. I walked to the bridge and back -- just enough to stretch my legs and get moving without turning it into a full workout. Simple, peaceful, and a good spot if you just want to clear your head for a bit.

This is a fairly long trail (16 miles that goes through a few cities). The website with the trail…read moremap was very helpful in locating places to park and trail heads. I was able to park at Beaudette Park and the trail was well marked so it was easy to find and also follow. I bought my dog (and saw lots of other dogs) and was able to walk towards sylvan. This trail connects to the West Bloomfield Trail seamlessly. I do feel there were a lack of garbage cans in certain areas but overall, the path was wide, well traveled, fairly flat, and clean. Perfect for a nice stroll!

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 went to the Wolcott Farm area with the kids. They saw some cows, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens,…read moreducks, horses, and donkeys. They had baby chicks and some bunnies as well. Each building you can walk inside to see the animals. They have staff do feedings at different times. We watched them feed a 16 year old sheep as well which was super cool. They had little baby animals too and it was so much fun watching them eat. I did see that they do cow feedings as well at 10am but we didn't make it to see if it was happening. When we entered, it said that it was part of metroparks. They didn't have anyone checking passes because it was a field trip that was covered. They have a sitting area covered and a small little play park next to it as well. They do have a building with bathrooms inside if needed.

What a wonderful park to visit. We had a great time venturing through the trails and though we only…read moretook the short mile one it was a great experience I'll soon do again. The bathrooms were very clean and the park policeman was very kind. I only know this because we didn't see the sign that they closed at 5 that day and over stayed our visit. He called us on the loud speaker lol. Go check it out.

We have hesitated to stay at Algonac State Park but finally gave in and reserved a spot in the…read moreWagon Wheel... ...aside from the mosquitos and being situated on what seemed to be a giant ant hill, it was great! We made note of a few other sites we'd like to stay at and plan to return. We liked the privacy that the Wagon Wheel offered, compared to the Lakefront (parking lot camping is not our thing). There was plenty of path for us to ride our bikes so we spent most of our time riding. Next time, we plan to bring a bow and arrow so the littles can try some archery. All in all, it was a great visit and we are looking forward to our next one.

This is a very popular state park. It was busy over the weekend with families. Now it's the…read morechildfree camping time. Roads are reverting back to nature (lots of holes and ruts) in the section closest to the St. Clair River, but they are reasonably sized campsites. In the newer section of the park the roads are better, but the sites are smaller. And there are culverts between the sites, which right now are breeding mosquito pits. I'm surprised that there is still a shooting range here at the park, but if you don't mind that noise all weekend, it's not a big deal. I love watching the freighters go by all day long. Its mesmerizing. I think I will try for a river view next time.

A TALE OF TWO TRAILS Really, it's kind of more like three,…read morebut there's no catchy header to be had from that, is there? And the variations between the different areas of Oakland County this epic trail cuts through aren't as night and day as the difference between Oakland and Lapeer counties here. The southern trailhead near Joslyn and Waldon is pretty inauspicious, easy to miss in fact. Good luck finding parking, too. We ended up parking in nearby condo or apartment complex. There are official Polly Ann Trail parking lots, just not anywhere near where the trail begins. Google maps took me to near one of these lots, but maybe a quarter mile away, on my first trip to the Polly Ann, rolling solo that day. I had to do a bit of detective work, finding a dirt road that intersected the main drag I was on. That was between Oxford and Leonard, which is really the trail's sweet spot. Very chill, shaded and bucolic. Horse friendly, too, as I had a couple horses with riders go clopping past me. (No galloping allowed!) I saw a turtle on that stretch, too. South of Oxford, the trail vacillates between being very suburban and non-scenic and the more natural setting you'll find past Oxford. There's even a very annoying gap in the trail in Oxford where you have to cycle a good long way through the city to find where it picks back up again. The day I went cycling with Jenna we got lost trying to reconvene with the trail proper, and had to get directions from a passer-by and double back to pick back up on the trail. Unless you're a completist itching for the day when they complete the connector that links the Polly Ann to the Paint Creek Trail I'd probably just start your journey in Oxford after that rude intermission or find that lot Google maps took a swing at and whiffed on. The stretch from Leonard to the county line is lovely, but once you cross into Lapeer that's where things get really wild and wooly. The trail is actually managed by two different entities, one for Oakland County and one for the Lapeer and you can really tell the difference. In Oakland the trail is either pavement, crushed limestone or fairly manageable dirt. In Lapeer there's a short stretch - 1800 feet I believe I read - in Imlay City that's paved but beyond that the trail is either bumpy dirt with big stones and tree branches jutting out, or just grass. It's been mowed to a reasonable length both times I've biked out there, but it's still slow going. No way would I try this part of the trail without a mountain bike. It's almost better just for walking out here, or horseback riding though I didn't see any horseback riders on the Lapeer stretch. I barely saw anyone else on the Lapeer leg of the Polly Ann either, apart from people on the more domesticated Imlay City span the day I hit the trail with Aaron. So if you want real solitude and pretty backcountry the Lapeer stretch really delivers but you really gotta work for it. In addition to the speed-sucking, sweat inducing grass there were a couple places where felled trees necessitated disembarking from the bike and sliding it under or lifting it over. There was also one area where I could hear someone's shooting practice in the distance go on at length. It's Trump country out here so use caution! But like I said, oh! the nature! Besides the aforementioned horses and turtle, I've seen plenty of rabbits, squirrels, butterflies, several deer, frogs and a blue Heron on this trail. You might come across some mosquitos, too, depending on the time of day and year, so I'd recommend packing bug spray. I've now made 4 trips to the Polly Ann trail, and still haven't covered much of the Lapeer end, missing a span between the Peg's Place bridge and Imlay City and anything north of Bowers Road where Aaron and I turned around. It's 34.2 miles and the Macomb Orchard Trail is about 10 miles shorter but I did that whole trail in 3 trips. So yeah, there's a reason most people don't continue into Lapeer as the pace slows down to that of maybe a brisk jog. There's plenty of adventure to be had here, the question is how much do you want? With other trails around southeast Michigan I might just wait til improvements are made up in Lapeer County to try and finish off this monster.