A proud moment: my son's first visit to a Michigan state park

The kiddo enjoying the great outdoors during his first trip to a Michigan state park. 

Today's a day I've waited a long time to experience.

With the world in a seeming freefall because of the coronavirus, my wife and I have found some additional freetime this week between being furloughed. With the weather in southeast Michigan finally starting to break and spring feeling like it's going to stick around, we decided to take our little one out to experience his first state park outing.

The map at a trailhead nearby a parking
lot.

The location selected was Maybury State Park, a 944-acre park in Northville Township. Despite living just a few miles from the park, it's one I've never actually visited; we took our son to see Santa Claus at the nearby Maybury Farm last December, but have never entered the state park area.

Arriving felt like any other state park experience. An empty tollbooth greeted us as we drove in and began looking for the best place to begin walking, preferably on trails that were stroller-friendly. It's a simple parking lot that overlooks the farms, but easy to find. Plenty of signage led us to a trailhead that took us right into the woods.

Green everywhere. A welcome sight.

Perhaps the winter just felt like it would never end, but it felt incredible to be surrounded by nothing but foliage. From the wildflowers to the canopy of leaves, it was amazing to be engulfed with nature again for the first time in months. The trailhead leads to several options, with us deciding on a 1-mile loop along a dirt path.

Unlike some trails at other parks, the ones right at the trailhead at Maybury State Park are made to be accessible. You can access the dirt path, which is about six feet wide, from the paved bicycle trail that continues farther along. The short hike we went on was well marked and there were maps when you arrived at forks. It's definitely designed for ease-of-access, especially to those not well versed in following such trails. Plenty of flowers lined the trail, including a few trillium, a springtime favorite of mine. I've seen photos that report jack-in-the-pulpit can be found in the park, but I was unable to locate any this time around.

Trillium flower.

Even with the trail being wider and not a more-narrow trail that I'm used to, it was a great experience to take our son out to try the woods out. He's really enjoyed wandering outside, and really wanted out of his stroller to walk around on his own. Wide trails gave him plenty of space to pace back and forth, looking at the birds (one of his favorite things right now), the trees and the flowers. Some varying terrain was great to have as well, as he got some practice walking up and down hills, which, considering he's only been walking for less than three months, is an important feature. Pacing back and forth along trails was an awesome experience for him, even though he got hungry midway through and he's definitely not himself when he's hungry.

As for the park, we're hoping to spend a little more time exploring next time. Kiddo's hangry-ness prevented us from doing so, but it's definitely the perfect park to introduce him to the woods. Those with children or just looking for a simple outdoor experience hiking, biking or even horseback riding will find the park the perfect place to do so.

The dirt pathway in the 1-mile loop my family went on May 20, 2020.