White Oak Park

Overview

White Oak Park is a small three acre park between White Oak Drive and Pin Oak Drive, in the far northwest of the city, south of Huron River Drive and just west of Newport Road. View the Ann Arbor Parks and Nature Areas Map for location context. The park is mostly wooded natural area, with a path running through the park and a small play structure nestled in the shady woods. The park also contains benches and a picnic table. Some plant species found in the park include deptford pink, curly dock, white vervain, Virginia knotweed, clearweed and wood sorrel.

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

Unpaved Trail

Playground

Picnic Tables

Access and Parking

The main entrance near the playground is on White Oak Drive, and there is street parking on the road. There is also an entrance and street parking on Pin Oak Drive. A trail cuts through the park between the two streets.

The park is accessible on foot and bicycle using the surrounding neighborhood streets, but there are no bike racks at the park and no bike lanes or sidewalks along nearby Newport Road.

Public Transportation

There is a bus stop at the corner of White Oak and Newport, about a 3 minute walk from the park. Visit TheRide for closest stops 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 was set aside as a green space and acquired by the city in 1991 when the Newport Hills subdivision was developed. In 2003, public input was solicited from the neighbors regarding developing the park, and in 2004 park improvements were made. A single path running east to west was created along with benches, a picnic table and a small play structure. These improvements cost about $34,000 in total.

In 2023 a young neighbor of the park named Ella sent a letter to Mayor Christopher Taylor with some ideas for improving the park. She submitted a proposal with Adopt-a-Park, and a Little Free Library was purchased for it. Park neighbors and friends came together on August 26th, 2023 to paint the library box and plant some native species.

Read a Natural Area Preservation (NAP) Newsletter detailing the park's history and the efforts of park stewards to reduce the invasive species within the park:

Winter 2014-2015 Park Focus: White Oak Park by Kristen Schotts

Park Stewards

Park Stewards are experienced volunteers who have adopted a nature area to protect and restore while fostering an environmental ethic within the community. Stewards are committed to ongoing and long-term care of their park. They work with Natural Area Preservation (NAP) to develop an annual work plan that outlines restoration goals and techniques for their natural area.

Richard Geglio

Richard has been working as a steward in the park since 2014. Living next to a nature area, he has always enjoyed peering into the natural setting. Over time the desire grew to restore it to its original beauty. He was fortunate to have a neighbor who felt the same, so they teamed up to take on the project. Over the next few years, they removed most invasive plants allowing the area to repopulate with natives. The project has given Richard an appreciation for the beauty and complexity of natural areas.

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