The Hudson Mills Metropark is one of 13 Metroparks included in the Huron-Clinton Metropark System. The Metroparks are located in Washtenaw, Oakland, Wayne, Livingston and Macomb counties. For this visit, I went to the Hudson Mills Metropark only.
What are Metroparks?
First and foremost, the Metroparks are a gathering of natural areas primarily located along the Huron and Clinton Rivers that give visitors a year-around opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities. The thirteen parks together total around 25,000 acres that include trails, waterways and facilities.
The Huron-Clinton group of Metroparks includes these thirteen parks:
- Hudson Mills Metropark (8801 N Territorial Rd, Dexter, MI 48130)
- Delhi Metropark (3902 E Delhi, Ann Arbor, MI 48103)
- Dexter-Huron Metropark (7535 Huron River Dr, Dexter, MI 48130)
- Huron Meadows Metropark (8765 Hammel Rd, Brighton, MI 48116)
- Indian Springs Metropark (5200 Indian Lake Rd, White Lake, MI 48386)
- Kensington Metropark (4570 Huron River Parkway, Milford, MI 48681)
- Lake Erie Metropark (32481 West Jefferson Ave, Brownstown, MI 48173)
- Lake St. Clair Metropark (31300 Metro Parkway, Harrison Township, MI 48045)
- Lower Huron Metropark (40151 East Huron River Dr., Belleville, MI 48111)
- Oakwoods Metropark (32911 Willow Rd., New Boston, MI 48164)
- Stony Creek Metropark (4300 Main Park Rd., Shelby Township, MI 48316)
- Willow Metropark (23200 South Huron Rd., New Boston, Mi 48164)
- Wolcott Metropark (65775 Wolcott Rd., Ray, MI 48096)
Activites In The Parks
All thirteen parks offer many activities for visitors to enjoy! While not every park offers all the same ammenities, everyone is sure to find something to enjoy from hiking to disc golf! An example is that all parks offer bicycling trails but only nine offer cross-country skiing trails.
The Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority has a fantastic interactive toggle search on their website that allows you to click on your favorite activity and find which parks offer it. Click HERE to try it out.
In addition to outdoor activities, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks offers the following that are worth looking into:
- Adaptive Sports Clinics
- Swimming Lessons
- Movies in the Park
- Summer Camps
- Summer Concerts in the Park
- School Programs and Field Trips
- Teacher Grants
- Scout Programs
- Mobile Learning Centers
- Click HERE to see a complete list of educational and things to do
Let’s Talk About Hudson Mills
Entering the park from N Territorial Road, there is a long drive entrance to the gate. There the very nice attendant will either check your annual pass or help you while you purchase a daily pass.
After you pull forward from the attendant house, you can proceed straight or turn right. I went straight because I was there to explore! And, I’m a bit of rebel.
First Stop!
The park is in five sections. The main road ends in the area called Pineview. This area has a picnic pavallion, large grassy area, a couple pieces of playground equipment, a volleyball net/court and vault toilets. We were the only people in that area with the exception of a few people on bikes on the other side of the parking lot.
This would be the perfect place to stage a family reunion or get-together. Tons of room to expand!
Activity Center
After leaving Pineview, we made a quick stop at the Activity Center just to be nosy – that’s how I find out stuff for you, afterall!
The day we visited was Father’s Day and lots families were celebrating Dad! There was also a Disc Golf tournament going on. It was busy but, not at all crowded.
The Activity Center is a large buiding that not only offers displays conveying information about the habitat in the area, but is also home to the park offices. Near the Center is a large playground that will adequately tire out the littles – and probably you too!
Oak Meadows
I didn’t stop by the Oak Meadows area of the park but I was near enough to it that I could see the layout. This is where the majority of the ballfields are located and the area is very open for obvious reasons.
Here you will find a soccer field and two softball diamonds. Across the parking lot is a modern toilet and a couple pieces of playground equipment for when the children get bored watching the games. This is pretty close to the Huron River, too.
Rapids View
During my visit, the Rapids View area was closed for maintenance. People were walking there from other parking areas so we were pretty sure it was just the parking lot that was closed.
Along The Huron
This area is beautiful and quite peaceful! I’ll just say right now…the area is heavily shaded and offers a lot of places to sit and watch the river, have a picnic, spend time fishing and more. All of which we saw people enjoying!
We started by standing on the water’s edge by the first bridge, mesmerized by a water snake zipping around the rocks. I’m not a fan of snakes but it was interesting! In all of the years I’ve lived in Michigan (entire life) and time spent around water (a lot), I’ve never seen a water snake before!
Meandering Along
Hudson Mills has 3.1 miles of bike/walking trails and we followed the trail over the bridge. There’s plenty of room for walkers and bikers on the concrete trails and almost everyone we came into contact with was very considerate. Many of the bikers would yell out “on your right/left” as they were approaching which gave us a chance to not only move out of their way but also move our dogs to the side so they didn’t get excited.
We walked until we reached the next bridge, and the entire path was shaded and extremely pleasant as we followed the river. There were several places available for anyone wanting to have a picnic and even included grills.
The river is an active spot for kayakers and I can understand why…it’s a very lazy river and not terribly deep! I saw a lot of small children in their own kayaks with the parents hanging close by, teaching without hovering.
We walked to the second bridge and spent a few minutes on both sides. We were able to get a bit closer to the water on one side and the dogs loved it!
Cost For The Metropark(s)
With the exception of the Michigan Recreational Passport (which everyone should know by now I’m a HUGE cheerleader of), I think the price to enjoy the Metroparks is one of the most reasonable! The annual price of a Metropass for residents of Macomb, Washtenaw, Livingston, Oakland or Wayne counties is ONLY $40. Non-residents pay just $5 more or $45.
What I like is that they also offer Daily Passes for just $10, regardless of what county you live in. A Daily Pass will let you into all the Metroparks you can visit in a single day – at least that’s what I was told by the gate attendant so you may want to double check the info beforehand. If you want to check out a certain park, or parks, prior to making the annual commitment, this is a great way to do so.
If you’re like me, I live an hour from the closest park so an annual pass doesn’t really make sense but the daily pass does. However, should I get halfway through the summer and decide I want to upgrade to the annual, all is not lost.
Until September 5, 2022 you can “trade-up” your used Daily Passes for an annual pass. That means if I trade in my one daily pass, I will only owe $35 for the annual. I can trade in up to four daily passes towards the annual and they must be from four different visits. The annual pass is good for the calendar year (January – December).
And remember, the park is open 365 days a year! If you only visit a park once a month, you will have saved $80 for the year with the purchase of an annual pass at the beginning of the year.
Yay or Nay?
The Huron-Clinton Metropark system, particularly the Hudson Mills Metropark, are a wonderful asset to the communities around them and visitors who trek to them!
The parks are all family friendly and offer educational experiences for all ages. The bonus is that they also work to bring the communities together through sport teams, clinics, movies in the park, summer concerts and much more.
They give people opportunities that they may not be able to find elsewhere. Would you like to kayak but you don’t have your own equipment? Perhaps you want to try it before you invest in a kayak. Afterall, they can be a little pricey. No problem because there is a canoe livery right in the area! Check them out here for more information…Skip’s Huron River Canoe Livery & Outfitters
Want to get some friends together for some Disc Golf? There aren’t a lot of places to do that at but you can here! Do you just want to play a good game of golf on gorgeous greens? You get the idea…
Whether it’s a daily pass or an annual one, this is worth the money! I hope my readers visit one of the parks and if you do, please let me know what you think.
Where’s The Map?
Hudson Mills Metropark Map
Thumbnail map found on Huron-Clinton Metroparks Website that may help orient you within the park.
Last Views
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