Heritage Park

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City: Farmington Hills
Mileage: 3.5 at largest loop
Terrain: Singletrack and doubletrack, dirt, woodchips, a splash of pavement near trailheads.
For Barefooters: Very little gravel, no litter, not many sharp tree stubs. Woodchips are the only technical obstacle, and they get ground down after a few weeks.
Note: No bikes allowed. No dogs allowed.

Essentially right in my backyard, Heritage Park is one of my favorite and most frequented trails. It doesn’t offer a huge amount of distance, but you can mix and match the trails and loops to keep it fresh. Despite its size, it’s still better than running the same sidewalks or (gasp) circles on a track over and over again. I’ve done over 10 miles worth of loops in one sitting and managed to stay happy – so you can, too.

There are more hills than you might think for being a small, suburban park. Make sure to take the ‘unofficial’ park trails for some of the better, higher points of the trail. Running back and fourth over the largest hill (at the northwest corner of the River Loop) adds up to a decent daily workout – and you’d have to make a trip to the Poto if you want anything steeper.

If you’re quiet there’s a good chance you’ll run into one of the several families of deer that live into the park. Please be respectful and don’t scare them, since this is one small pocket of refuge they have in the middle of our ever-expanding suburbia. Generally, I run the opposite way and let them be when I see them. But I digress.

Quick access for those of us in the area. Entry is free and parking is ample. Crowd tends to be older, with a few stoner kids hiding out every here and there.

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