We recently crossed off all the trails at Legg Park in Okemos, so I wanted to share a little bit about the trails here.
Legg Park is a portion of the larger Meridian Riverfront Park. Meridian Riverfront Park is a three-part park which includes Legg, Harris Nature Center, and Eastgate Parks. There are 103 acres across all three parks combined. Many people are familiar with Harris Nature Center, but don’t know the other two parks exist, and that they are all connected through a series of trails. See map below or save in your browser online HERE.
There are 5 marked trails at Legg Park. Two of them are very short- leading into three longer trails. All trails in this park are less than one mile each, so if you’re looking to get into nature, but don’t want to go a long distance, it’s a great little spot for short hikes.
During the winter time, the drive into the main area of the park is closed, making for a bit longer walk to trail heads, however, it’s not too far at all. There is an area to park right off of Van Atta Rd. You can also park at Harris Nature Center, and walk across the road if you’re doing multi trails in one day and want a bit of a longer walk.
Side Note: My feet look wet in the photo above, but I can assure you they are super dry and warm. I don’t know how they do it but LL Bean makes my favorite hikers and I love these so much. Find them here.
Trails in Legg park wind along the banks of the Red Cedar River. The orange trail is also at the foot of the railroad tracks, which makes for a great view of a train going by if you’re lucky enough to spot one while you’re out!
This park has ample opportunities for not only hiking, but biking, trail running, snow shoeing and cross country skiing as well.
Legg park has a couple of small bridges over wet areas, but watch for mud in the winter, as it can get a little slushy in some areas. I love how different trails look in the winter. We did a couple of these sections just one week apart and it all looks so different with snow.
We are participating in the #52hikechallenge this year, so these were hikes #2 and #3 for us! If you have little ones and are participating in the #1000hoursoutsidechallenge, Harris Nature Center is a great spot to log some hours. There is a pavilion, play area, as well as an opportunity to view some resident animals and bird watch!
I hope you’ll follow along as we cross off parks this year, and document them here! Have fun getting out there!
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