Park address: 3100 Barclay Way, Ann Arbor MI 48105
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
Oakwoods Nature Area is a 55-acre woodland located in the far northeast corner of Ann Arbor. View the Ann Arbor Parks and Nature Areas map for location context. The park is bordered by Green Rd, Nixon Rd, M-14 and the Arbor Hills neighborhood. It is across the street from Sugarbush Park and is a quick walk from Kilburn Park and Arbor Hills Nature Area.
The park is an undeveloped natural area with unpaved trails along the area's rolling hills. The environment is dominated by mature oak and hickory trees. Several small ponds surrounded by wetlands make it a great spot for bird watching or listening for frog calls in the spring. These add up to a beautiful hike in any season. It is a peaceful location but the traffic on M-14 can be heard in the northern part of the nature area.
Access Points and Parking
The trails within Oakwoods Nature Area have five access points. The main entrance is located inside of the Barclay Park condominium development off Nixon Road, 3100 Barclay Way, where there is limited public parking adjacent to the trail entrance. There is another signed entrance along Green Road which does not have any parking options but is near public transportation and the crosswalk that connects across Green Road (Sugarbush Park trails are just to the south). There is also a trail access point in the northeast corner of the Owl Creek Apartments property as well as two park entrances from the Arbor Hills neighborhood to the east.
There is a bike lane along the westbound side of Green Rd but there are no bike racks at Oakwoods Nature Area.
Public transportation: The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (TheRide) operates the public transit system for the greater Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area. There is a stop located at Green and Sugarbush, just a few minutes walk to the Green Road entrance to Oakwoods Nature Area. Check out TheRide Guide for more details.
Using a phone? - Click for a GPS Tracker and Wayfinding Map
Amenities
- Nature trail, view trail map
- Total trail length: 1.6 miles
- Topography: Rolling
- Trail type: Natural footpaths
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 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 maintenance issues, or other problem during your park visit, please report through A2Fix It. Parks are large spaces and A2 Fix It requests can be difficult to find without detailed information. 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.
HistoryAnn 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 Oakwoods Nature Area property was acquired in several stages from 1984 to 2016. These additions occurred as the surrounding areas were zoned for residential development, during which the land was dedicated to or purchased by the city.
The nature area has undergone restoration efforts by the staff and volunteers of Natural Area Preservation for many years. The first documented restoration work was the cutting down of buckthorn, a non-native invasive shrub species, in January 1996. The first controlled burn was conducted a couple of years later, in the spring of 1998. Controlled burns help to limit invasive plant growth, break down plant debris and stimulate the germination of native wildflowers. The staff and volunteers of Natural Area Preservation continue to work on restoration projects at Oakwoods Nature Area each year. Visit Natural Area Preservation for more details on the efforts to protect and restore Ann Arbor’s natural areas. You can find more information related to Oakwoods Nature Area in a 2014 Natural Area Preservation newsletter:
