Oakwoods Metropark: Long Bark Trail (Blog Hike #654)

Trail: Long Bark Trail

Hike Location: Oakwoods Metropark

Geographic Location: west of Flat Rock, MI (42.10535, -83.31923)

Length: 2 miles

Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)

Date Hiked: August 2017

Overview: A loop hike through forest along the Huron River.

Park Information: http://www.metroparks.com/parks/oakwoods-metropark/

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=733357
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: On the west side of Detroit, take I-275 to Huron Road (exit 11).  Exit and go east on Huron Rd.  Drive Huron Rd. east 0.2 miles to Willow Metropark (NOT Oakwoods Metropark), and turn right to enter Willow Metropark.  Pay the entrance fee (a single daily entrance fee gets you into every Huron-Clinton Metropark for that day), and drive all of the way through Willow Metropark to Willow Road.  Turn left on Willow Rd.  Drive Willow Rd. east 0.6 miles to the Oakwoods Metropark entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter Oakwoods Metropark, and follow the main park road to its end in 2.7 miles at the Nature Center where this hike begins.

The hike: Established in 1942, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks consist of 13 parks that form a semicircle around the north, west, and southwest sides of Detroit.  The park system gets its name from the Huron and Clinton Rivers on the south and north sides of Detroit, respectively.  The parks feature some fine amenities: almost every park has a golf course, some picnic shelters, and paved bike trails.  Also, while the $10 daily entrance fee seems high by metropark standards, a single daily entrance fee gets you into every Huron-Clinton Metropark for that day.  It is fun to see how many metroparks you can visit in a single day and therefore how much bang you can get for your $10.

            Helping you to binge metropark visit is the trio of adjacent metroparks that line the Huron River near I-275: Lower Huron, Willow, and Oakwoods.  While all three metroparks offer canoe/kayak access to the Huron River, only 1756 acre Oakwoods Metropark has a well-developed system of hiker-only trails.  This hike describes the park’s longest unpaved trail, the 2 mile Long Bark Trail, which offers a nearly flat loop through the wet woods that comprise the park’s southeast corner.  Be advised that bugs were plentiful here on my visit, so wear good bug spray during the summer.

Nature Center's Huron River overlook

            Before starting the hike, stop in the Nature Center to view some interesting exhibits about the area’s fauna.  Also, ask for a trail brochure that corresponds to numbered posts you will pass on the Long Bark Trail.  Then step outside to the Nature Center’s Huron River overlook.  This wooden platform overlooks a wide, slow section of the river featuring several islands that make the river look narrower and shallower than it is.

Start of asphalt trail

            To get to the Long Bark Trail, head downstream along the asphalt path that starts at the overlook and parallels the river.  After only a few hundred feet, the wheelchair-accessible asphalt trail curves sharply right.  Continue straight and left to leave the pavement and begin a clockwise journey around the Long Bark Trail.

Second Huron River overlook

            0.3 miles from the parking lot, you reach a bench that provides a second overlook of the Huron River thanks to a pipeline buried underground here.  The trail curves right and heads back into the forest still parallel to the river.  As the park’s name suggests, the most common tree in this forest is oak, but hickory, maple, and black walnut also appear in significant quantity.  Black walnut trees are identified by their compound leaves, large black nuts with green shells, and treeless surroundings: the roots of black walnut trees secrete an herbicide that prevents other trees from growing nearby.

            Ignore two short cut trails that exit right and continue southeast on the wide dirt Long Bark Trail.  The terrain seems completely flat, but in fact you are descending on an imperceptible grade.  At 0.9 miles, you reach the lowest elevation on this hike before curving right and climbing slightly.  The difference between the maximum and minimum elevations on this hike is only 20 vertical feet, so the climb is short-lived.

Hiking the Long Bark Trail

            Now in the very southern end of Oakwoods Metropark, two more curves to the right bring you on a northwest heading.  At 1.5 miles, you pass a deer exclosure.  Park managers use these fenced-in areas to estimate the deer population by comparing plant growth inside and outside the exclosure.  At 1.7 miles, the Sky-Come-Down Trail exits left.  The Sky-Come-Down Trail could be used to add almost another mile to this hike, but the sunny fields that trail passes through did not appeal to me on the hot muggy morning I hiked here.

            The Big Tree Trail soon enters from the right; it offers a short loop through scenery similar to what you see on this hike.  1.9 miles into the hike, you reach a major intersection where you need to angle right and then left to return to the asphalt path that connects the parking lot to the Nature Center.  Turning right will take you back to the Nature Center, while turning left will take you back to your car in the parking lot.