After spending the day with my dad in Monroe, I decided to get a little late evening loop in at Monroe’s Munson Park.  Munson Park is Monroe’s do-everything park.  Tennis, soccer, gardening, softball and fishing are all park of the scene at Munson.

The trail system at Munson began many years ago as a fitness loop – the kind that were very popular in the late 70s and early 80s.  That loop remains.  It runs parallel to N. Custer, the Cranbrook subdivision and then loops back south of the sledding hill at the center of the developed park areas.

My hike last night began at this midpoint area.  I parked along the VERY-POTHOLED access road that arcs behind the softball fields.  As I walked east, I saw about 50 or 60 black and white ducks hunkering down for the evening in the park’s pond.  Several park visitors cast lines into the pond for fish.  It’s catch-and-release only at Munson.

On my left was the medium-sized sledding hill that fills the dreams of winter-loving children during Michigan’s seemingly-endless winters.  Good views are possible from the top of this hill.

I pushed north along the loop and got a good laugh at the bridges that residents of the adjacent subdivisions have built to gain access to the Munson trail system over a large ditch.  If there was ever an advertisement for how trails can help property values and quality of life, this is it.

I noticed a woodpecker’s home in some nearby trees and waterlogged soccer fields to the west.  As I walked, a cold, steady rain began to fall.

About midway through the loop, it is possible to connect with Payson Drive into the neighborhoods on the east side of Munson.

The grassland habitat to the north was almost completely filled with water, but the trail remained mostly dry.  This is a good trail to walk when it is very wet and darkness is approaching.  There is little risk of getting lost in a mud-bog late in the evening.

As I moved back towards my car, I noticed the weather observation site at Monroe’s Custer Airport.  I believe that this is where Monroe’s official temperature is taken.

There is nothing remarkable about this loop.  It’s just a nice place to take a walk during poor hiking conditions.  Additional mileage is possible north on the Munson mountain bike trail and east along the Monroe river trail.  Here is my map:

http://tinyurl.com/6qzc7r

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