Maps

Navigating Nature Centers in Oakland County

Oakland County, MI Government 1 Comment

If you’d like to learn about the wilds surrounding your everyday life, you’ll love our map of nature centers in Oakland County. This interactive map, created by Oakland County’s award-winning GIS team, will lead you on a journey across the county, from center to center, helping you plan a trip to any one of these great locations to learn about the natural world. Sunshine or rain, summer or winter, these nature centers are there for you to help grow your pool of knowledge!

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Heritage Park in Farmington Hills. Photo credit: Jonathan Schechter

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Astronomy Adventures in Oakland County

Oakland County, MI Government Leave a comment

Summer is the perfect time for adventures and discovery! In Oakland County, the night sky presents a constant source of wonder and awe. There are many fun ways to delve a little deeper into the world of astronomy because the county is well equipped with observatories, planetariums, and astronomy clubs.

Find the best places in and around Oakland County to view the stars with our interactive star gazing map and grab a telescope to observe the worlds above us. Check out the cavernous craters of the Moon, the massive mountains nestled on Mars, or the rings on Saturn radiating light into the night sky. The possibilities for discovery are endless.

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Oakland County Twisters: A Historical Guide

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If you’re fascinated by weather, you’ll love our Tornadoes Map, created with data from local weather geek Matt Malone by Oakland County’s award-winning GIS team. It shows a limited history of the tornado paths and touchdown points, and their EF scale ratings, from 1953 – 2015. Go back to July of 1957, and view the path of an EF4 tornado that traveled 29.9 miles, almost all the way across the southern portion of Oakland County. In 1998, a funnel was spotted after having touched down near Otter Road and Sylvan Lake. It lifted without causing any damage – what a relief! Click on the map to learn more and get details on twisters that touched down here in the past.

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See Spring in Bloom on an Oakland County Trail

Oakland County, MI Government Leave a comment

Oakland County and its surrounding areas offer miles and miles of trails for your fitness and enjoyment! Now that the snow is gone for good (fingers crossed), it’s a splendid time to get outside and take in the much-needed sights and sounds of spring. Whether you want to take a quiet stroll, jog through a park, bike with friends, or saddle up on a horse, there’s a trail for you.

View a partial list below to find a trail in your area. If you love maps, visit our Trails Page for an interactive trail viewer map. The map will allow you to sort by parks and trails, take note of a trail’s surface area, and view a trail’s elevation by clicking on it.

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Walk Down Memory Lane with Aerial Photographs of Oakland County

Oakland County, MI Government 3 Comments

Did you know that Oakland County has an extensive aerial imagery collection? With our new app, you can go back and explore the county over time, ranging from 1940-2017. Enter an address or city in the “Search Address/Place” box. Then, zoom in and out as you check out your house, neighborhood, landmark buildings, parks, and more by clicking on the boxes next to each year, or layer. Take a trip all the way back to 1940 and explore our county 70 years ago, or “live in the now” by checking out our super-detailed 3-inch resolution 2017 imagery.

Take a look at this progression over time. Isn’t it amazing?

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