Dog walking in Grass Lake Charter Twp

Lanewood

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This neighborhood in nearby Chelsea is home to Timbertown Park, an almost 20-acre swathe of land featuring hiking trails that are dog-friendly, plus a pavilion with picnic seating, a playground and lots of grassy lawn to play and relax on. Open year-round from dawn to dusk, it’s also a pawrfect place to practice your cross-country skiing technique with Fido in tow! This neighborhood also hosts Veteran’s Memorial Park, a small park adjacent to a stream with a lawn for walking and relaxing, paved walkways and picnic tables for a casual outdoor meal. Just down Main Street from these 2 parks is Pierce Park, a family-oriented and dog-friendly park with lots of room to run and play with a leashed pup, plus picnic tables and a pavilion. 

Sylvan Center/ Notten

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Chelsea’s Sylvan Center/ Notten neighborhood is where you’ll find the Waterloo State Recreation Area, which spreads its 20,000 acres west into Grass Lake and other communities. This furtastic dog-friendly park has it all, something for everyone! With 11 lakes, several campgrounds that range from rustic to modern, boat launches, several picnic areas, and almost 60 miles of trails that include 12 miles of interpretive nature trails, you and Fido will never run out of things to do! You might even run into some horses on your trail hikes! Dog-paddling in the lakes is okay as long as the spot isn’t designated as an off-limits area, and the 10-mile DTE Energy Foundation Trail is a cutting-edge biking and hiking trail you’ll want to put at the top of your list! Remember to keep your pup leashed.

Pleasant Lake

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A few miles north of Grass Lake is Pleasant Lake, home of the pup-friendly Phyllis Haehnle Memorial Sanctuary. The Sanctuary covers over 1,000 acres and is the habitat of various wildlife, but it is best known for its Sandhill Cranes, which nest here or stop as they migrate in the fall. The winter months are pawrfect for hiking with your leashed pup on the 2 looped and connected trails that traverse meadow, woodland, wetland, and that skirt Eagle Lake. You’ll likely see waterfowl, amphibians, songbirds, and small wildlife like raccoons, skunks, and squirrels, as well as deer. It’s a sensory smorgasbord for Fido! Or come in the fall, have a sit on one of the benches near Mud Lake Marsh where thousands of cranes gather and wait for the pawsome spectacle! Woofderful!

Hell/ Chalkerville

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This neighborhood in Pinckney, to the northeast of Grass Lake, is where you’ll find the dog-friendly Pinckney State Recreational Area, with over 11,000 acres featuring hiking as well as other year-round outdoor activities. The area contains forest as well as swampy wetlands, but much of it is open grassland, and you’ll also find more than 20 lakes here. Its 6 marked trails, most of which are used for hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing, total about 70 miles and provide a variety of difficulty levels and terrains. One of them, the 35-mile Waterloo-Pinckney Trail, runs through the Waterloo Recreation Area as well. The area is home to several pawsome campgrounds with varying degrees of service, including rustic campsites that are only accessible on foot. What a woofderful place for a prolonged adventure for you and Fido!