Ann Arbor Visit Every Park Challenge-2024 

Note: Walk routes, links to park locations, and other edits will be made in the future.

The city of Ann Arbor has over 162 park properties and Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation has a challenge to visit every one of them. Amanda and I have been attempting the challenge in 2024. 

I will be sharing our progress in this page with parks visited each day, our walking path (courtesy of Apple Watch workouts) and a brief description of the day. Hope you enjoy!

February 10-Day 1: The Challenge Starts

February 11-Day 2: Unintentionally Making Progress

Although today was cloudy and cold, we decided to formally start our journey to visit every park in Ann Arbor by visiting those close to UofM campus. We headed to campus with the intention of visiting some of the parks south of Ann Arbor, close to the Big House. However, after we stopped by Bon Bon Bon - Cassie's favorite chocolate shop in Ann Arbor that also happens to sell artisan dog treats - we decided to just walk around in Ann Arbor and enjoy the cloudy day (which sounds ironic in hindsight but after weeks of snow and below freezing weather you take what you can). 

This actually turned out to be a good choice as we stumbled upon Waterworks Park, followed by West Park, Hunt Park, and a brief snippet of Bluffs Nature Area. These were just the places we stumbled upon without even looking up parks on the map. After Bluffs Nature Area, on the way back to the car, we decided to make slightly more conscious effort to visit parks, visiting Wheeler Park and Hanover Square Park (which we were surprised by how inconspicuous it was) .

Overall we completed a 11.6 KM walk and visited the following parks:

1. Waterworks

2. West Park

3. Hunt Park

4. Bluffs Nature Area

5. Wheeler Park

6. Hanover Square Park

Status: 6 parks visited today, 7 cumulatively, 155 left.

February 24-Day 3: Return to Gallup

We decided to take advantage of a sunny day to get some quick exercise for Cassie and get some steps in ourselves. Our initial plan was to do a simple 10K in Gallup, but during our walk we found the small connecting road between Gallup and Parker Mill Park and decided to explore it as well. As I am writing this I realized Parker Mill is under the jurisdiction of Washtenaw County Parks and Rec, not Ann Arbor. Alas, we had a nice hike at Parker Mill and even attempted to venture to Forest Nature Area, but did not know if we could cross through the train tracks to get to it and did not want to risk it with Cassie, so we headed back. 

Overall, we completed a 11.6 KM walk and visited the following parks:

1. Gallup Park (repeat)

2. Parker Mill (Not in the challenge)

3. Forest Nature Area (TBD whether it counts or not)

Status: 1 park visited (subject to change), 8 cumulatively,154 left

February 25-Day 4: First Explicit Effort to Visit Parks Almost Thwarted by Mud

After seeing that the temperatures were going to approach double digits (in Celsius), Amanda and I planned out a day to explicitly visit parks. Our initial goal was to start at County Farm Park (again, as I write this I realize that it is a Washtenaw County Parks and Rec park not Ann Arbor) and make all the way down to Swift Run Park. The planned seemed simple; however, after we got to County Farm Park we realized how muddy it was in the walking trails and how difficult it might be to found our way out towards the southern end of the park. As such, we decided to just walk around the walking trails in the park until we hit 10 KM. 

Around halfway into our walk we found a secondary entrance that let us out of County Farm Park, right next to Buhr Park as we had initially planned. We used the opportunity to go back to our initial plan. From Buhr we made our way down to Cobblestone Park (which I realized was a unique park as I was writing this) and then to Rose Park. After Rose Park we decided not to push Cassie any further, as she is approaching 11, and decided visiting Mary Beth Doyle, Bicentennial, and Swift Run and other nearby parks another time. On the way back we decided to take a slight detour to cross Manchester Park off the list

March 2- Day 5: (10 Miles is) Not Exactly a Walk in the Park

To start March on the right note we decided to do a long walk and visit some of the parks that are further off the University of Michigan campus and Downtown Ann Arbor, where we do most of our walks. Once again, we decided to start off by visiting Cassie's favorite chocolatier, Bon Bon Bon. After getting out of Bon Bon Bon and making our way to Downtown Ann Arbor, we realized our first hurdle was going to be finding a reference park to guide us through outlying suburban districts of Ann Arbor. We initially set our sights on Miller Nature Area (given its larger footprint on map). 

On our way to Miller Park, we realized we were right next to West Park, which we had already been to, but decided to visit once again given how much we loved it. Afterwards we made our way towards Miller Nature Area, with Cassie making new friends on the way. Right as we approached Miller Nature Area, we realized we can take a quick detour and visit Maryfield Wildwood Park. Since the leaves had not budded yet, the trek and the Maryfield Wildwood park were pretty straightforward.

After Maryfield Wildwood Park, we quickly made our way to Miller Nature Area a block away. We were blown by the size of Miller Nature Area and its extensive treks. Once again, the lack of budded leaves on the trees made the trek much easier; however, we were still unable to find the exit towards Wellington Park and decided to take the first exit we can after making our way through. 

March 12- Day 6: Taking Advantage of Daylight Savings 

Daylight Savings Time was implemented on March 10 this year and the first week with even later sunsets (7:30PM and later) coincided with lovely weather. After spending Monday night walking around Downtown Ann Arbor and UofM campus, we decided to take advantage of Daylight Savings and quickly cross of a handful of parks close to the Big House (i.e., the ones we meant to visit on Day 2). 

We started first started off with Wurster Park, and afterwards made our way through Allmendinger Park and Fritz Park. From Fritz Park we followed the path to Eberwhite Nature Area and Eberwhite Woods. Crossing through Eberwhite Nature Area, we made our way to Virginia Park. From Virginia Park, we searched for and found Zion Park, which shows up as a Park on Apple (also Google) Maps but is not a Ann Arbor Parks and Rec Park on the list. 

After Zion Park, we started making our way to Downtown Ann Arbor as it was getting late. While we made a quick lap around Kerrytown, Amanda again made the discovery that two other places we frequent, Farmer's Market and Sculpture Plaza, are on the list so we crossed them off too. 

March 13- Day 7: Going Up North (Campus)

After starting the week with back-to-back days of 10+ KM walks after work, we decided to continue the trend to a 3-peat (like Michigan in B1G Titles!) and cross more parks off our list. This time around we decided to go to parks around North Campus of UofM, a place that we do not go towards that much

March 24- Day 8: Going Outside of Downtown Ann Arbor: Parks to the West

Although the week March 11-17, right after Daylight Savings Time was implemented, had amazing weather and we already went out on 2 park hopping excursions, Amanda had to leave for a couple days to visit her sister so our park hopping adventures were cut short. After she came back, we had a couple days of extremely cold weather (and even snow on March 22!) so we couldn't go out on any excursions for a while. Finally on Sunday, despite the temperatures being slightly above freezing, we decided to go to some of the parks west of Ann Arbor. 

We started out by driving to Veterans Memorial Park and using it as our base of operations for the day. From Veterans Memorial Park we made our way to Hollywood Park. We were not able to go through the walking trail as the melting snow made the mud too difficult and risky (for our clothes) to walk through. From Hollywood Park we made our way south to the Evergreen Park. 

From Evergreen Park we decided to make our way down to Dolph Nature Area; however, the I-94 and the lack of sidewalk on Dexter Road required us to take a long detour, at which point we decided to head back and visit other parks south of Veterans Memorial Park. While retracing our steps (mostly due to the lack of walking trails across Dexter road once again), we once again passed by Unnamed Park #1. After making our way back to Veterans Memorial Park we headed towards Winewood Thaler Park and afterwards to South Maple Park before starting to head back.

Overall we walked 11.2 KM and visited the following parks:

1. Veterans Memorial Park

2. Hollywood Park

3. Evergreen Park

4. Unnamed Park #1

5. Winewood Thaler Park

6. South Maple Park

Status: 6 visited today, 43 cumulative, 119 left

March 25- Day 9: Optimized Park Hopping After Work

After getting back into the habit of park hopping, we decided to start the final week of March by finally visiting some of the parks near Washtenaw that we pass by every day. For the first time, we started off our park hopping journey with a concrete plan and list of parks to visit (even though we ended up not adhering to it strictly, having a concrete plan helped us more efficiently cross out parks in the vicinity).

After getting dinner in Downtown Ann Arbor (shoutout to Grizzly Peak for their dog friendly patio!), we started off our journey by getting to parks south of UofM campus, near Packard Street. After re-visiting Hanover Square park yet again, we made our journey south to Forsythe Park. From Frosythe, we made our way south through Graydon Park, Frisinger Park, and Woodbury Park. From Woodbury, we had to make our way back to Frisinger to finally head towards Iroquois Park, which is really close in terms of aerial distance but much farther due to the layout of the streets.

After Iroquois, we started slowly making our way back, but trying to stop by parks near Washtenaw on the way back. First, we headed towards Eberbach Cultural Arts Building, and later to Burns Park and Ann Arbor Senior Center. As we were walking by the Senior Center, Cassie befriended Otis, a 13 year old black Labrador.

Finally, as it was getting dark, we decided to visit the parks right by Washtenaw, Douglas Park and Crary Park, that we pass by every day, before heading up the street to see Postmans Rest. Finally, we ended the night by visiting the George Washington Park, which UofM students better know as the Rock. Honestly, we had no idea that the Rock was a park before starting this challenge! 

Overall we walked 10.25 KM and visited the following parks:

1. Hanover Square Park (Repeat)

2. Forsythe Park

3. Graydon Park

4. Frisinger Park

5. Woodbury Park

6. Iroquois Park

7. Eberbach Cultural Arts Building

8. Burns Park

9. Ann Arbor Senior Center (Next to Burns Park)

10. Douglas Park

11. Crary Park

12. Postmans Rest

13. George Washington Park (The Rock)

Status: 12 visited today, 55 cumulative, 107 remaining

April 6- Day 10: The Southeasternmost Parks

As mentioned on February 25-Day 4 we initially wanted to visit Mary Beth Doyle and its surrounding parks when we visited County Farm Park; however, we were initially discouraged by the mud and did not have time & energy to extend our walk. With the Ann Arbor weather warming up for good, we finally decided to return to South of Eisenhower Parkway and visit the parks surrounding Mary Beth Doyle Park. Learning from our lessons from the previous 9 days, with our last park hopping adventure going more smoothly with a set list of parks, we decided to mark the parks we can potentially visit ahead of time in case they did not show up Google/Apple Maps (which some did not).

We started our journey by parking at and taking a lap around Mary Beth Doyle Park, the wetland preserve area of the park was gorgeous as with the designated hiking and walking routes. The walking routes came in especially handy as were able to use the walking overpass from Mary Beth Doyle to cross over I-94 easily. Once we got south of I-94, we were able to easily get to the Arbor Oaks Park. From the Arbor Oaks park we took a quick detour to stop by Bryant Community Center and then made our way to Ellsworth Park. After Ellsworth Park, we made followed the East Ellseworth Road to the Bicentennial Park (formerly Southeast Area Park) and later road to the Swift Run (Dog) Park. Unfortunately, Swift Run Dog Park had a sign stating a permit was required as such we turned around to make our north towards Scarlett Mitchell Nature Area. 

The Scarlett Mitchel Nature Area was by far the best part of our walk. The combined area of Scarlett Mitchel Nature Area, Scarlet Mitchell Woods, and Turnberry Park made up for an amazing hiking ground. Taking advantage of this nature area we hiked for a good while, making our way towards Turnberry Park. Just as we reached Turnberry Park's nature area, we had to turn back and take the side-walk due to the extensive mud in the trails; however, we were still able to get to the park component of Turnberry Park.

After a long hike at from Scarlet Mitchell to Turnberry, we decided to head back. On our way back we took a quick detour to stop by Redwood Park and finally made our way to Pilgrim Park, from which we made our way back to Mary Beth Doyle Park and back to the car.

Todays walk had us cross out the parks in the southeast edge of the City of Ann Arbor. Honestly, it was fascinating to see the extensive nature areas at the Southeast Ann Arbor, surrounding (and blocking out views and noise pollution from) I-94 and US-23! Although we could have easily crossed out ___ and ____ parks off the list, we still had a productive park hopping day and a nice walk!

Overall we walked for 11.4 KM and visited the following parks:

1. Mary Beth Doyle Park

2. Arbor Oaks Park

3. Bryant Community Center

4. Ellsworth Park

5. Bicentennial Park (Southeast Area Park)

6. Swift Run (Dog) Park

7. Scarlett Mitchel Nature Area

8. Turnberry Park

9. Redwood Park

10. Pilgrim Park

Status: 10 parks visited today, 65 visited cumulatively.97 left!

April 7- Day 11: All the Parks We Could Have Visited [But Couldn't] 

As with the previous day, we decided to take advantage of a lovely day and cross off some of the nature areas north of the UofM campus before the vegetation in these areas gets too thick

We started off by searching for a nice desert to have, which proved to be difficult with Bon Bon Bon not opening till noon. After trying our other favorite desert shops we finally managed to find one that was open. After getting our dose of sweet treats, we finally fully started our walk. First, we made our way towards the Argo Nature Area, crossing Sculpture Plaza Park, the Farmers Market, and finally Broadway (Dog) Park on the way. After a brief walk through Argo, we crossed a small dam over the Huron river to make our way to our first new park of the day: Bandemer Park.

After a nice walk through Bandemer we tried to make our way to our main target of the day: Barton and its surrounding nature areas. However, due to GPS mishaps we were not able to locate the route connecting Bandemer to Barton (which still appears to be across the train tracks but we are not sure if is a legitimate route). After failing to make our way to Barton, we decided to walk back to Downtown Ann Arbor and discuss our next moves.

With our walk approaching 2 hours, we decided to take a break and grab a bite to eat at Cassie's favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor: Grizzly Peak, known for its pet-friendly patio and amazing beer. By the time we reached Grizzly Peak we had done a 10.6 KM walk, so we rewarded ourselves with a nice meal, even including a Pup-ger (pup patty) for Cassie! After our meal we decided to go for a second walk (or a second leg to our walk more specifically), by covering some of the parks we intended to cover the next day. 

As such we made our way back to Argo and to Riverside Park, the park that we crossed only the corner of the last time. It was surprising to see how huge Riverside Park was with an amazing riverside (pun intended) walkway. From Riverside, we made our way towards 

As such we decided to skip and head straight to Island Park, which is an wonderful small island located on the Huron River. From Island Park, we utilized the bridge crossing to Fuller Park, which was mostly sports and other non-nature facilities. From Fuller we made our way back to campus to finally get Cassie her pre-birthday Bone-eat-o's and then made our way back home.

The second leg of our walk was almost 7.4 KMs, bringing the grand total to 17.9 KMs. 

Overall we walked 17.9 KMs and visited the following parks

• Sculpture Plaza Park (repeat)

• Farmers Market (repeat)

• Broadway Dog Park (repeat)

• Argo Nature Area (repeat)

• Bandemer Park

• Riverside Park (repeat)

• Island Park

• Fuller Park

Status: 3 parks visited today, 68 visited cumulatively.94 left!

April 16- Day 12: The Westernmost Parks

On April 7th we had tried to visit Dolph Nature Area, but we weren't able to get to it due to lack of sidewalks accommodating pedestrians. So after a long day at work we decided to get around to visiting Dolph Nature Area and its surrounding parks.

Finding parking area for Dolph Nature Area was the first major challange as Apple Maps usually doesn't sometimes fails to direct you to parking. After finding the parking, we started our walk by doing a lap around Dolph Nature Area

After digesting the beutiful views, we decided to make our way to the Lakewood Nature Area. With sun starting to set, we decided to do a quick stop at Burr Oak Park and return to the car instead of venturing too deep into Lakewood Nature Area.

 Overall we walked 3.1 KMs and visited the following parks:

1. Dolph Nature Area

2. Lakewood Nature Area

3. Burr Oak Park

Status: 3 parks visited today, 71 visited cumulatively.92 left!

May 12th- Day 13: Brief Return to Park Hopping

After our last outing, we were unable to go park hopping due to bad weather, busy work schedules (especially for post-work park hopping), as well as other personal reasons (family visits etc.). After a brief pause, we were able to briefly return to back to park hopping with a short outing before most likely having another long break due to an upcoming vacation.

Although our initial goal was to go back to Gallup once again and do a lap or two, we were unable to find parking and ended up pivoting and trying to be spontaneous. Trying our luck at Furstenberg Nature Area, right around the corner, we were able to a lap around Furstenberg, which had the added benefit of providing plenty of shade for Cassie. 

After a lap around Furstenberg, we tried to visit a second nature area and made our way towards South Pond Nature Area. Given that we did not scout ahead, we were shocked when we realized South Pond Nature Area did not have any walking paths. As such, we decided to make our way to County Farm Park (again, a Washtenaw County park not a Ann Arbor Parks and Rec park) to make a quick lap. 

Overall, we walked 5.3 KMs across two walks and visited the following parks:

1. Furstenberg Nature Area

2. South Pond Nature Area

3. County Farm Park (Not in the challenge) 

Status: 2 parks visited today, 73 visited cumulatively.90 left!