A great nature area in our backyard

A great nature area in our backyard

Dolph Park boasts ponds, trails, marshes and overlooks

By JIM DuFRESNE
ANN ARBOR NEWS BUREAU

DOLPH PARK NATURE AREA
Nature: The 44-acre park has a little more than half a mile of trail that passes several overlooks.
Difficulty: Easy, flat trails pass by Ann Arbor's only two naturally formed lakes.
Hours: Open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Fees: None
Information: Call the Ann Arbor Department of Parks and Recreation at (313) 994-2780.
Just west of Ann Arbor, leave I-94 at exit 172 and head west on Jackson Road. Within a mile turn south on Wagner Road. The park entrance is on the left.
NEWS SERVICE GRAPHIC • JEF MALLETT

Kidventures

A day in this university town can be busy for a family, with visits to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, U-M’s Exhibit Museum to look at dinosaurs, or Matthaei Botanical Gardens.

But in December, our first stop is always Dolph Park Nature Area. This time we were lucky.

A thick layer of snow covered the ground.

Dolph Park began as a 26-acre gift from Ralph Dolph to the city in 1962, and over the years has been enlarged to a 44-acre preserve that protects the only two natural lakes in the area.

It’s a rather amazing spot. Within the city limits of Ann Arbor you have this natural hideaway complete with bridges, overlooks and trails that wind around lakes, ponds, streams and marshes.

You also have wildlife, and that’s why we were there. Not to see the animals themselves, though if you come in spring you’ll be charmed at what bounces across the trail in front of you or what you spot among the cattails.

We came to see their tracks.

Late November through early December is an ideal time for a lesson in the footprints of wildlife.

At this time of year, many species are still scurrying around, preparing for the long winter ahead. With a light dusting of snow, you can see where they’re scurrying to and even follow their trail of prints.

And Dolph is the perfect spot to go tracking. Make it your first stop of the day, while the snow is still on the ground and the prints have a sharp, crisp form to them, and begin at the outdoor interpretive area.

There are eight panels on display, with some explaining the importance of the wetlands, others detailing the upland communities or explaining how glaciers formed both First Sister Lake and Second Sister Lake.

But one display features tracks. It not only shows you the prints you might encounter — ringneck pheasants, red squirrels, cottontail rabbits, raccoons and even weasels — it also tells you what you can learn about the animal from its walking pattern.

Armed with this information, we headed out on the trails, and at this time of year we’re staring down, not up.

There is a half-mile path that extends from the parking area, around the lakes and ponds to the North Slope Overlook. A walk there and back along a few extra loops might cover a mile.

But it’s amazing how much habitat is compacted along this short trail. There’s a Lake Overlook and a Pond Overlook, each allowing you a glimpse of the waterfowl without being too noticeable.

You cross an island bridge and end up at the North Slope Overlook, where from a low bluff you have a good view of First Sister Lake and Dead Forested Wetland, which is slowly filling it in.

OK, so you can also see the backside of Weber’s Inn here (from this angle the sign reads “s’rebeW”). That’s but a small obtrusion into the overview of wetlands, forest and lakes.

The highlight of the morning was not this view, but what we saw looping back to the parking lot. There in the middle of the trail were those telltale half pears in the snow.

“Deer,” I said, but it really wasn’t necessary to tell my young tracksters that. They already knew it from the display.