WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY
Indian Springs Metropark sparkles with adventure during the sultry days of summer. The “Spray ‘n’ Play” area keeps toddlers and children cool – and mom and dad happy. Beautiful picnic areas are abundant. Golfers purse their passion on a challenging 18-hole course. A paved bike trail embraces prairie areas and woodlands.
The Environmental Discovery Center is a nature-lovers delight rich with nature displays and scientific facts. This 2,215 acre parkland located just nine miles northwest of Pontiac, managed by Huron-Clinton Metroparks, has excellent habitat for the Compass Plant, the 13-lined Ground Squirrel and the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake.
This is their habitat story from the “Wilder Side Of Oakland County“:
Compass Plant
Indian Springs provides more than just a glimpse of what the landscape of Oakland County and much of Southeast Michigan looked like more than a century ago; it has tall grass, prairie remnants, with perhaps the Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum ) being the most obvious species. This sunflower-like plant grows 10 to 12 feet tall and towers over other flora in the Environmental Discovery Center prairie area, a restored landscape managed with carefully planned, prescribed fires.