Huron Parkway Nature Area

Overview

Huron Parkway Nature Area is a 19-acre undeveloped nature area located just east of Huron Parkway, south of Huron River Drive, and north of Washtenaw Ave. View the Ann Arbor Parks & Nature Areas Map for location context.

Occasionally, visitors may encounter a city park with no trails– as is the case at Huron Parkway Nature Area. These natural areas represent a unique recreation and conservation feature of the city’s park system. In these relatively few spaces across the city, off-trail exploration is encouraged– a rare opportunity to meander through a wild space in our urban context. Visitors are also invited to reflect on the conservation value and biodiversity of these spaces, where the Ann Arbor Parks & Recreation’s Natural Area Preservation (NAP) staff work to steward, restore and inventory the natural communities throughout the city’s parks.

The area is an oak-hickory woodland with an open understory. It is a pretty place to wander through the woods. A pond and wetland on the western side of the park provide additions to the variety of plants and animals found in the Nature Area. Malletts Creek flows along the eastern border, and scenic overlooks of the channel can be found.

The Huron Parkway Nature Area is home to several uncommon species, such as hazelnut, flowering dogwoods and chinkapin oaks. The spring/summer wildflowers include spring beauty, May apple, wild geranium, trillium,nd Jack-in-the-pulpit. This high-quality area is undergoing restoration efforts by the staff and volunteers of NAP, including prescribed ecological burns and removal of non-native invasive plants.

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

Picnic Table

Access and Parking

Parking is available at the Huron Hills Golf Course, approximately 0.75 miles north of Huron Parkway Nature Area.

Huron Parkway, which borders the nature area on the west, has sidewalks but no bike lanes. There are no bike racks at the nature area.

Braun Nature Area lies on Huron Parkway Nature Area's eastern border. South Pond Nature Area is within a 5 minute walk from Huron Parkway Nature Area's eastern edge.

Public Transportation

The nearest bus stop is on the corner of Huron Parkway and Boulder Drive, less than a 5 minute walk from the nature area. Visit TheRide for closest stops and route details or check out the parks ride guide.

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 Ann Arbor Parks & Recreation Services Unit purchased the Gunn-Moore property to establish Huron Parkway Nature Area (HPNA) with a grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund in 1993.

Read a Natural Area Preservation newsletter highlighting restoration efforts at HPNA:

Autumn 2010 article: Restoration at Huron Parkway Nature Area by Ann Radloff Hubbard

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