Lake Erie Metropark is a park in the Huron-Clinton system of metro parks. The park is a 1,607-acre (6.50 km2) recreational facility located between the mouth of the Huron River on Lake Erie to the south and the City of Gibraltar to the north, and consists of natural marshes and ponds, hike and bike trails, nature trails, a marina, and a boat launch. The park also has a wave action swimming pool, an 18-hole regulation golf course, and the Marshlands Museum and Nature Center. It has a three-mile (5 km) shoreline along Lake Erie and is a popular bird-watching site. The children's play area, located near the Wave Pool, previously consisted of a child-size city before being reconstructed into a modernized playground.[1][2]
Bike and Nature Trails
Hike/Bike Trails
As part of the Downriver Linked Greenways trail system, a 3-mile segment of the trail runs through the park, with one branch of the trail terminating at Lee Road on the south end of the park, with the trail leaving the park at South Gibraltar Road on the north end. From here, one branch of the trail continues north through Gibraltar and Trenton, while a separate one continues to the north and west through Rockwood and Flat Rock, as well as Oakwoods, Willow, and Lower Huron Metroparks. Within the park, a 3/4-mile trail extends north from the wave pool towards the Marshlands Museum and Nature Center.[3]
Nature Trails
The park also contains approximately 2.75 miles of nature trails in the northeast portion along Lake Erie. One pathway runs in a loop primarily through forests and alongside marsh and canals, while a second path begins down a boardwalk through marshes, transitioning into scattered wooded areas along the Lake Erie coast.[4]
Boating, Kayaking, and Canoeing
Launches
The park offers several different options for launching large and small crafts. On the south side of the park is the Lake Erie Metropark Marina, located at the end of Lee Road, which serves primarily larger boats. On the opposite side of the park near the nature trails, a boat ramp serves smaller boats and includes spaces to launch canoes and kayaks.
Waterways
In addition to Lake Erie, a number of smaller waterways surround the park.
To the north and northeast, various canals and waterways wind through both nearby marshes and residential areas in the City of Gibraltar.
Slightly to the northeast, Lake Erie narrows into the Detroit River, which continues northward on the east and west sides of Grosse Ile.