Gallup Park

Gallup Park is a 69-acre park and is Ann Arbor’s most popular recreation area. It is located along the Huron River and Geddes Pond with scenic walkways that traverse small islands with pedestrian bridges that form a loop. View the Ann Arbor Parks and Nature Areas map for location context. View a map of the park showing all of the paths and trails. There are concessions, coffee, riverside seating and free WiFi located at the boat rental office. The park contains three playgrounds, canoe, kayak, and paddleboat rentals, picnic areas and grills scattered throughout the park, two picnic shelters, open field for play, and over three miles of asphalt trails that are popular for biking, rollerblading, walking and running. Gallup Park is an important connector on the Border-to-Border (B2B) Trail. Two drinking fountains and many benches allow the park user to take respite from their recreational activities. In 2017, the Rotary Centennial Universal Access Playground opened and offers a universally accessible play area. Gallup is also home to the Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden and several rain gardens. The park has two large picnic shelters and a meeting room in the livery building that can be rented. Visit park rentals for information on hosting an event or renting a shelter at Gallup Park.

Gallup Park Vehicle and Pedestrian Bridge now open

The new Gallup Park Bridge Ribbon Cutting Ceremony took place Thursday, Oct. 24 to celebrate the completion of construction. The bridge is now open to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The special event also recognized the funding and support — and input from community members — which brought the project to fruition. The project was made possible through funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Park Maintenance and Capital Improvements Millage, with valuable input from local residents guiding the design process.

Boat Rentals, Tubes and Launch

You might hear the term “Canoe Livery” which refers to the place where you can rent a canoe, kayak, tube, stand up paddle board, or a paddleboat where trip transportation is also offered. The Gallup Park Livery has an accessible dock for people of all ages and abilities. Gallup Park is the destination for paddling trips, downriver from Argo Livery- see Canoe Liveries Map for launch locations or visit www.a2gov.org/tube for information on tubing to Gallup. There is a public boat launch for those with their own watercraft. The livery also hosts river camps and programs.

Winter at Gallup

Year round, heated restroom facilities are attached to the canoe rental building. The Gallup paved pathways are scheduled for clearing when it snows. For more information on walking in winter or which parks are on the path clearing routes, visit Parks in the Wintertime. If you are a bird watcher, Gallup Park really shines in winter. The open water that is often present at Geddes Pond in the early winter can be an ideal place to view wintering ducks and other waterfowl. Rafts of Common Mergansers, with their green or rusty red head-feathers, make Geddes Pond their temporary home. Other diving ducks, such as Canvasback, Redhead, Scaup and Bufflehead, can be seen searching the waters for fish and invertebrates. Often a raptor, such as a Merlin or Cooper’s Hawk, will make its winter home here too, feeding on the bounty of small songbirds that shelter in the berry bushes at Gallup. These birds and others are highlighted in a 2019 Natural Area Preservation newsletter feature entitled, A Treasure for Birds: Gallup Park by NAP ornithologist Juliet Berger. This park is also a pickup location for a sand/salt mixture in the winter to help residents treat sidewalks.

Park Notices

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.

Park Hours

6 a.m. - Midnight

Amenities

Drinking Fountains

Playgrounds

Restrooms

Rain Gardens

Grills

Picnic Tables

Canoe & Kayak Livery

Boat Launch

Bike Racks

Picnic Shelters

Parking

Compost, Landfill & Recycling Bins

Paved Paths

Walking Trails

Access and Parking

There are four parking areas: one at the main entrance off Fuller Road, two past that lot within the park along the park drive (currently inaccessible due to bridge construction), and one further southeast on Geddes Road. Parking gets tight on beautiful summer days due to livery visitors and shelter rentals/ events at Gallup. Be sure to plan ahead and prepare to walk or allow time to reach your final destination or meeting place! There is overflow parking located across the street at Huron High School. If you want to add a 15 minute scenic walk to your Gallup visit, consider parking at Furstenberg Nature Area, 2626 Fuller Rd, where you can park and walk via boardwalk to Gallup while enjoying the oak-hickory forest and savanna.

Gallup is accessible by bicycle and on foot via the Border-to-Border (B2B) trail, which goes all the way through the length of park, connecting to Dixboro Road and Parker Mill Park on the east, and Nichols Arboretum and Fuller Park on the west. Gallup connects with Furstenberg Nature Area on the west.

Public Transportation

There is a bus stop located at Geddes and Huron Parkway, just a three minute walk to the Gallup boat/kayak rental office. Visit TheRide for schedule and route details or check out the parks ride guide.

Park Maps

Open the Park Tracker - See your location while in the park Open the Park Finder - Discover more Ann Arbor parks

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 park is named after Eli Gallup, long time parks superintendent, who acquired the land for the park and pond in a purchase from the Detroit Edison electrical company in 1955. Eli made significant acquisitions and contributions to the Ann Arbor Park system during his tenure.

Read Gallup Park history for a pre 1970s history recap.

After the 1971 parks bond measure passed, Phase I of the Geddes Pond reformation began in March 1972. The work consisted of the preparatory work on dredging portions of the pond, preparing a base for walkways and cycle paths along and across the river. It also included building of certain “islands” in the river both for recreational use and for wildlife.

Recent Developments

June 2015: Ann Arbor City Council approved a resolution to move ahead with the State of Michigan, Department of Natural Resources grant to renovate the Gallup Park Livery and surrounding site. The grant provided $300,000 to the City of Ann Arbor to make improvements to the Livery and entry area at Gallup Park including barrier free parking and entry improvements, trail renovations, livery building upgrades, patio renovations, barrier free docks for kayaks and fishing, landscaping, and way finding signage.

June 2017: Gallup Park welcomed the city's first universally accessible playground. Named Rotary Centennial Universal Access Playground, the project was a partnership between the city and the Rotary Club, which celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2016 and was the major donor for the project, contributing over $550,000. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources trust fund also contributed a grant award of $300,000 toward the project. Read more about this here. Also in 2017, a mile long stretch of the B2B was repaved and widened where possible, between the Geddes Dam and the Universal Access Playground.

June 2019: Goatscaping at Gallup was an old fashioned brush clearing project on the two inside islands that gave boaters the rare opportunity to spot goats as they paddled around the pond. Efforts to clear out invasive growth continue and updates on any upcoming goat activity can be found on the Goats at Gallup webpage.

Active Adopters

Several volunteer groups and individuals are currently assisting with care at this beloved Ann Arbor park and they are invaluable in the park's care and beautification!

The Toyota and Subaru dealership of Ann Arbor on Jackson Road has adopted Gallup Park in spring 2022. They will volunteer several times this year to help with various beautification and stewardship projects. We're looking forward to partnering with them to make Ann Arbor's most popular park even more inviting and enjoyable for all!

Established in 1991 by the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North, the Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden located off Geddes Rd. has flourished over time. The Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North continues to care for the garden by doing frequent weeding, spreading woodchips and adding to the perennial native flowers. The garden attracts butterflies and hummingbirds by having very specific plants and flowers including New England aster, butterfly weed and prairie dock. Twenty-seven species of butterflies can be found in the garden!

The butterfly garden requires frequent maintenance and attention throughout the spring, summer and fall. If you are interested in assisting the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North with some of these needs, email us at adopt-a-park@a2gov.org or call 734.794.6445.

Volunteer in the parks

Looking to make an impact in a park or nature area? Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation provides volunteer opportunities for almost every interest, ability, and commitment level.

Learn more about volunteer opportunities

Park Finder

Discover parks and find amenities through the City of Ann Arbor Park Finder. This map allows you to search park names or search by amenity type or keyword.

View the Park Finder

A2Fix It - Service request tool

A2 Fix It is an online system you can use to report any maintenance issues or other problems during your park visit. When reporting an issue in a park please include detailed location information in the "details and description" section near the end of the request process. Pictures that provide location context are very helpful.

Submit a request