Jul 31 2007
Highland State Recreation Area
During the height of the 20th Century automotive boom, Edsel Ford purchased a farm named Haven Hill in southwest Oakland County. The location had everything that a nature lover could want. There were lakes, hills, marshy areas and some very deep woods. The farm had large stables for horses and several nice structures in which to live and work.
In time, the State of Michigan gained ownership of the property and turned it into a section of what might just be southeast Michigan’s best hiking park. The Highland State Recreation Area is over 7,000 acres in size and contains 40 to 45 miles of trail. Some cater to mountain bikers. Other sections of trail are meant for horse riders. All of the trails are open to hikers.
One of the beautiful aspects of hiking in the park is the fact that only a very few roadways cross the large tract. And even the largest road - Duck Lake Road - has an underground walkway that makes a road crossing unnecessary. The trails in the eastern sections of the park tend to be flatter, straighter and more scenic than those in the western sections of the park. However, the trails in the western sections are a real joy to hike or bike. They constantly twist and turn and flow up and down hills. This is the kind of hiking that is difficult to find in southeast Michigan. Several hills that top out at almost 1,200 feet, including Mount Omich, give the feel of mountain hiking - again, a rare experience in this part of the state.
The trail system even makes a short backpacking weekend possible. There is a small, rustic-style campground in the Haven Hill area in the east side of the park. It is adjacent to a very nice group campground. If a hiker started from the west side of the park, he or she could stop for the night at the campground and hike back out the next day. It would be a nice, near-in adventure.
I have written several hike reports about Highland over the years. You can read them below:
07/17/01
I was just out hiking today at Highland Rec. Area. I did ten miles combining horse, x-country ski and mountain bike trails. It was way cool. And they have 45 miles of designated trail - and some renegade trails, I think. Anyway, there are a lot of hills and the only road crossing was a tunnel underneath a road.
Oh, and there is a rustic campground. So, if you start at one end, you could do a sizeable overnight. They also have an organization camp that is meant for groups that are 70% kids. They look a lot better than the real campground. I think the key might be to wait around for a weak moment at the park office and try to camp there.
The park facilities, BTW, look terrible. But it looks like few people use it. All the better…
02/06/03
I headed out of school right after the bell tonight and got to Highland SRA by 4PM. I was able to get about 2.5 hours of hiking in - probably 5 or 6 miles.
This is really a great place. The park is about 7,000 acres and it has some of the largest hills in SE Michigan. The hills tend to box the interior regions, so that nearby sprawl can seem very far away. There are also a bunch of lakes and swamps in the park, so this is very interesting park with several nice vistas. There are probably over 40 miles of trails in the park. Terrain is hilly.
Currently, the trails are icy, but snow-covered. Trekking poles are recommended.
Highlights of the evening: Looking at the hills that boxed me into a kettle-swamp area, Watching the sun set between two hills and seeing the glow of the sky as it turned pink, Feeling night fall in the forest, Passing through the tunnel underneath Duck Lake Rd.
09/01/03
Hike Report: Highland SRA
On Saturday, Kathy and I met a priest friend of ours for lunch near Flint. On the way back, we decided to go for a hike. The original plan was to hit Pinckney. However, I drove down I-75 by mistake and found myself in the unusual position of having to improvise my route back to US-23 through the northern suburbs. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve felt directionally discombobulated (sp?) in the last year and this was one of them.
Anyway, we were close to Highland and so I decided that this was the spot for us. We parked at the mountain bike trailhead and caught the main spur trail into the forest. After a bit, we followed a section of the horse/hike trail to the beginnings of loop D. Then we hiked up and down, up and down, up and down and around and around until we finished the 3.8 mile loop. Then we hiked out. It was probably about 7 miles or so all told.
I always love hiking in Highland. The terrain is excellent. Lots of hills and some nice steep ravine views. There are also some nice steady ascents that you don’t find in many other SE hike spots. Trail conditions were definitely hikeable. However, it seemed as if recent use/maintenance of the D loop wasn’t as strong as in the past. There were a few trees down and vegetation did tend to creep in at spots.
We saw a runner, a biker and a horseman at the trailhead, but only one person on the actual trail. This happened at about mile 3.5 of the 3.8 mile loop. We had been lulled into the emptiness. We were in the late hike exertion malaise when - BOOM - mountain bike! Around the turn came a biker with his head down. We were surprised. He was surprised. When everyone woke up we were able to avoid incident and passed on our merry ways.
Highland probably has 30 or 40 miles of trail, so people tend to get spread out. Use of this park is surprisingly light considering its location. The terrain tends to keep bike numbers down. We had fun.
07/20/04
I’ve also wondered about the group sites at Highland SRA. It is a really neat little area and much nicer than the developed campground. I suppose if you got a group of, say, NCT hikers you might be able to backpack into that place.
Park Map:
Mountain Bike Trail System:
MMBA Trail Guide:
http://www.mmba.org/trails.php?trail=6
Bridle Trail Map:
http://www.geocities.com/highlandtrailriders/highcolormap.pdf
Highland Map from the Michigan Trail Atlas:
http://www.jacksbikes.com/contents/media/highlandrec.gif
Area Topographical Map: