Oakland County has an incredible variety of parks that are truly four-season wonderlands. They come in all sizes and configurations with varying terrain and trail conditions. Some, such as the parks managed by Oakland County Parks and the Huron-Clinton Metroparks are extremely well known and attract visitors numbering into the millions every year. Others are much lesser known, and even when I mention the names of some of those parks to outdoor enthusiasts, I often get a response akin to, “Never heard of that place.”
Today’s Wilder Side of Oakland County shares snapshot views and information on two of those lesser-known parks, both of which I visited last week. Perhaps you have heard of them already. First, we’ll look at Innovation Hills, a park managed by the City of Rochester Hills that’s open to the public. The park’s entrance is at 2800 West Hamlin Road, east of Adams Road.
The name, Innovation Hills, is rather enticing. I had never heard of this gem until a few years ago when a friend of mine brought it to my attention and shared some of the park’s features. The summer photos are from that adventure. I was back there last week solo trekking on a subzero wintery day, which was a fun exploration of this protected gem.
During that face-numbing hike, I didn’t see deer but noticed numerous deer tracks leading to sheltered swales; low usually moist areas out of the wind. I opted out of trekking into those areas with hopes of capturing photos that would probably have the deer breaking cover. However, during my last summer exploration, it was easy to photograph deer that barely glanced at me as they munched on vegetation near the boardwalks and at swales and licked at mineral-rich stumps.
As I paused to look about and sip on hot cocoa from my thermos, I noticed a Cardinal and a Fox Squirrel perched in the branches above me, seemingly watching my every move. I also saw fresh fox tracks in the snow. Perhaps, it had been verbally scolding the fox before I appeared. Fox tracks are quite easy to identify and wouldn’t be confused for dog tracks if you pay attention to the stride. Fox track strides have one paw in front of the other and appear almost as straight line. If you have a dog, you know that they cannot leave their paw prints in a straight line!
There are small ponds at Innovation Hills that provide ideal habitat for frogs and turtles. During the summer, it’s a great place to capture photos of reptiles, amphibians, and Green and Great Blue Herons that come in to forage on frogs and fish in the shallows. I was pleased on my most recent trek to see multiple warning signs of “Danger Thin Ice – Stay Off” since, in reality, you should never assume ice is safe to cross. Those signs should be heeded!
My meanderings also took me to a canoe and kayak launch site and a bluff overlooking the river, perhaps the favorite part of my trek, and a good reminder that this park is truly on the “wilder side” of Oakland County. If you hike out to the bluff, be careful. It’s a long way down, and it would be extremely difficult getting back up. Situational awareness is always paramount, especially in winter adventures near water. I enjoyed watching a few mallard ducks “cruising” down the river and just listening to the river’s flow.
With the wind speed increasing and my face beginning to feel numb, I picked up my pace and wandered back on a paved path that had recently been cleared of snow, pausing briefly to photograph a gray squirrel hunkered down on a tree branch. Lest you wonder when seeing the photograph, many gray squirrels are black.
The next day I was off to Cummingston Park in the City of Royal Oak, a unique and much smaller park surrounded by urban growth. There are several entrances to the park, and I entered from the intersection of Torquay and Leafdale, where it is easy to park on the street. Park passes are not needed. It’s just a matter of reading the entrance sign, following the rules and hiking on in.
The terrain is extremely flat and most of this 31-acre park is heavily wooded with some impressively large hardwood trees of varied species. Although there are no interpretive signs at the park, many of the trees have metal tags on them to identify their species. One of the trees needed no identification sign. Frozen maple sap drew my attention and in a moment of levity, I used my tongue to sample the sap. Spoiler alert: There was not even a hint of sweetness.
The Royal Oak Nature Society is responsible for the stewardship of the park and occasionally offers a public event. My trek was on one of those events that was geared to winter tree identification by looking at the buds. The public can explore on their own. Just be sure to pay attention to the rules posted at the entrance. If you are looking for a place with numerous wildlife encounters, this is not the place. However, if you walk slowly, stop often, and look and listen, you will discover hidden aspects of this urban gem.
Jonathan Schechter is the nature education writer for Oakland County Government and blogs about nature’s way on the Wilder Side of Oakland County.
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