So, what did you do during the Pandemic Summer (...and Fall and...) of 2020?
When the stay-at-home orders came down, there was not much we were allowed to do outside besides shop for groceries and get socially-distanced exercise. As a result, finding interesting places to hike in Washtenaw County quickly became my new favorite hobby.
While I had hiked in places like Bird Hills [Hike C11],
the Arboretum [Hike C13], and the
Waterloo State Recreation Area 
[see Hike S2]
in the 1990s, I have to say I was gobsmacked by how much more there is
to choose from now. Many of the hikes documented here are on lands
acquired for public use only within the last 10 or 20 years. Yay us for
having found room in our budget for this public good.
I should have started this hobby years earlier, but it took a pandemic to help me overcome a bit of hike snobbery. As a native Californian who grew up hiking and backpacking in the Sierra Nevada, I was conditioned into thinking that a hike has to involve mountains and serious changes in elevation. Such things do not exist here in southern Michigan. Instead what we have is what my former self would have called nature walks. And what the Pandemic Summer taught me is vive la différence. We don't have mountains, but what we do have in this region is an amazing level of biodiversity and more than our fair share of natural beauty.
In the Fall of 2020, I began building what I now call "List C" -- a set of web pages that document hiking options at various locations in Washtenaw County. The 'C' refers to the fact that these locations -- now 21 in number -- primarily involve county and city parks and preserves, as well as a few nature conservancies. Five of the locations involve University of Michigan properties that are open to the public, so there is arguably another 'C' involved: colleges.
The ordering of List C is roughly west-to-east across the county. In each case, you will find photos, links to trail maps and websites, tips and suggestions, and directions for those driving from Ann Arbor.
Most of these sites offer a network of trails where one has many options and side trips to choose from. However, in a few cases, the variations are a bit more substantial. For example, Hike C2 is really several distinct hikes originating from one location. Hike C13 and Hike C14 have similar multiplicities. The practical reality is that you have more than 25 hikes to choose from here.
So for example, the
B2B Trail
(a fantastic recreational resource for the entire county) is not
on the list, although I do make use of it and other asphalt paths as
connectors between unpaved trails in several of the hikes,
such as Hike C12 and
Hike C13.
A number of hikes on the list also fall short of the guidelines in various
other ways. For example, Hike C21 is in Wayne County.
In 2021, I began building "List S": a guide to mostly longer hikes -- currently 29 of them -- spread across 8 state parks and recreation areas in Washtenaw and four neighboring counties (Jackson, Livingston, Oakland, and Wayne). All of them are within a 45 minute drive from Ann Arbor.
For parking at these sites your vehicle will need a Michigan Recreation
Passport, so they fail the "free parking/no entrance fee" standard
I imposed for List C. The easiest way to get a Rec Passport is to check
the box and pay an extra $15 when you renew your registration.
For other options, visit the
Michigan DNR website .
Also note that many of the List S hikes involve trails where mountain bikes or equestrians are allowed. For these you do need to stay more alert than you would on a hiker-only trail, but in exchange, you'll get access to some fantastic hiking opportunities!