Park Address: 1905 Huron Pkwy, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Hours and Rules
Open 6 a.m.-midnight with quiet hours beginning at 10 p.m. Unless otherwise posted per City Council resolution, when a park is closed, no person shall remain in or enter it other than to quietly sit or walk. Refer to Chapter 39 of the City of Ann Arbor Code of Ordinances for park regulations and rules. Smoking is prohibited, and dogs must be on leash.
Overview
Huron Parkway Nature Area is a 19-acre park located just east of Huron Parkway, south of Huron River Drive, and north of Washtenaw Ave. View the Ann Arbor Parks & Nature Areas Map for location context.
Occasionally, visitors may encounter a city park with no trails – as is the case at Huron Parkway Nature Area. These natural areas represent a unique recreation and conservation feature of the city’s park system. In these relatively few spaces across the city, off-trail exploration is encouraged – a rare opportunity to meander through a wild space in our urban context. Visitors are also invited to reflect on the conservation value and biodiversity of these spaces, where the Ann Arbor Parks & Recreation’s Natural Area Preservation (NAP) staff work to steward, restore and inventory the natural communities throughout the city’s parks.
The area is an oak-hickory woodland with an open understory. It is a pretty place to wander through the woods. A pond and wetland on the western side of the park provide additions to the variety of plants and animals found in the Nature Area. Malletts Creek flows along the eastern border, and scenic overlooks of the channel can be found.
The Huron Parkway Nature Area is home to several uncommon species, such as hazelnut, flowering dogwoods and chinkapin oaks. The spring/summer wildflowers include spring beauty, May apple, wild geranium, trillium,nd Jack-in-the-pulpit. This high-quality area is undergoing restoration efforts by the staff and volunteers of NAP, including prescribed ecological burns and removal of non-native invasive plants.
Access and Parking
Parking is available at the Huron Hills Golf Course, approximately 0.75 miles north of Huron Parkway Nature Area.
Huron Parkway, which borders the nature area on the west, has sidewalks but no bike lanes. There are no bike racks at the nature area.
Braun Nature Area lies on Huron Parkway Nature Area's eastern border. South Pond Nature Area is within a 5 minute walk from Huron Parkway Nature Area's eastern edge.
Public Transit: The nearest bus stop is on the corner of Huron Parkway and Boulder Drive, less than a 5 minute walk from the nature area. Visit The Ride for closest stops and route details or check out the parks ride guide.
Using a phone? - Click for a GPS Tracker and Wayfinding Map
Amenities
- Picnic table and benches (along Huron Parkway)
Volunteer
There are ongoing and limitless opportunities for volunteering and getting engaged with the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Services Unit. Natural Area Preservation has volunteer opportunities that support their mission to protect and restore Ann Arbor's natural areas and to foster an environmental ethic among within the community. If you are feeling the call to volunteer or give some time, reach out or explore the website above to see what’s upcoming or how to get involved.
Report a Problem - A2 Fix It
To report any maintenance issues or other problem during your park visit, please report through A2Fix It. When reporting an issue in a park please include location details. There is a details and description section near the end of the request process to help you provide this. In addition, users can utilize the pin (website) or X (mobile app) feature to provide specific location information inside the park. Finally, please consider including a wide angle photo or include background landmarks, which helps staff find and fix the problem.
Gifts and Donations
Information on donating to the parks and the Guide to Giving can be found here. For special projects ideas in natural areas, Natural Area Preservation staff will guide you and provide project guidelines unique to natural areas.
History
Ann Arbor's city parks sit on the ancestral and traditional homelands of several indigenous Native peoples. Read a land acknowledgement from the city and learn more about the early history of the land here.
The Ann Arbor Parks & Recreation Services Unit purchased the Gunn-Moore
property to establish Huron
Parkway Nature Area (HPNA)
with a grant from the Michigan
Natural Resources Trust Fund
in 1993.
Read a Natural Area Preservation newsletter highlighting restoration efforts at HPNA:
Updated March 2023. Email
[email protected] for incorrect/outdated information.
