Hickory Woods Park

This profile of Hickory Woods Park is part of our Summer Series: Tuesday Playground Profiles

Each week Ann Arbor with Kids is profiling a different playground in the Ann Arbor area. Playgrounds will be selected from Ann Arbor, Saline, Ypsilanti, Dexter, etc. Today we are exploring Pittsfield Township’s Hickory Woods Park.

Hickory Woods Park is located off of Crane Rd in Pittsfield Township. It is located south of Michigan Avenue on the east side of the township.

Location: 5415 Crane Rd
Unique Features: “Rock Arch”, lots of monkey bars

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Swings: Yes, 2 regular, 2 buckets
Surface: Woodchips
Bathrooms: Yes, they are open seasonally
Shade: The playground is fairly sunny. There are picnic tables under a small pavilion.
Pavilion: Yes, a small pavilion
Sports Fields: No
Walking Trails: There are paved walking paths through the woods and through the prairie. There are mowed paths through the prairie and a gravel trail around a pond (the pond is great for finding tadpoles in spring). There are also a few trails that have been blazed through the woods, although you should be on the lookout for poison ivy if you leave the paved trail.

Parking: There is a parking lot off of Crane Rd.
Pokémon Go: There are five Pokéstops at Hickory Woods Park and a Gym. The five stops are located near the playground loop and parking lot while the gym is in the prairie loop.

Hickory Woods Park Playground Review

Pittsfield Township’s Hickory Woods Park was opened a few years ago after being converted from a golf course. It is the closest park to our house, so we visit quite often.

The playground at Hickory Woods Park is great for small kids with a few attractions for older kids too. The play structure offers small slides, a crawl through tunnel (that is level), and drums.

The rock arch is a nice climbing structure for older kids. I have memories of the day my 5 year old decided to jump off the top, and I was sure we were going to be heading to the hospital before she managed to land on her feet. Older kids will also appreciate the monkey bars and other hanging bars to navigate across (or climb on top of like my daughter).

With several neighborhoods in walking distance and a plethora of Pokéstops and a Gym, the park is often crowded with Pokémon players. Almost every time we have visited in the last month, there have been lures on the Pokéstops, so it is also a great place to catch Pokémon. There is even a sign-in by the Gym for you to register your Pokemon username for your team. The Gym is regularly passed around between locals for all 3 teams.