Nichols Arboretum

Credit: Jen Bizzotto

Distance

.75-2.0 miles on Arboretum trails; about .5-1.0 miles to an entrance, of which there are several, all delineated on the map.

General Attributes

This route - or these paths, rather - is a popular destination for students, making the Arboretum one of the more populated parks in Ann Arbor. Trails mostly consist of bark or dirt; the terrain is variable, crossing from peony gardens to meadows, meadows to woods, woods to riverfront, riverfront to lawns - et cetera. It's a diverse terrain. The trails in the Arb are mostly hilly, but they can range from being long and slight to short and steep, and that's largely something you can control: the shorter, steeper ones will tend to get you through the wooded areas, where you can also spend a fair amount of time on a basically flat ridge line.

Navigation

The Arb can be approached from Geddes Avenue, Washington Heights Road (near the University of Michigan Medical School Building and Markley Dormitory), a University of Michigan Hospital parking lot that opens into a long staircase, and Gallup Park. All entrances (excepting the last, which crosses railroad tracks) are well-marked and easy to find, particularly with the help of a map.

Amenities

Nichols Arboretum offers not only water but also a portable outhouse by the Huron River. If the Environmental Education Center (positioned at the Washington Heights entrance) is open, bathrooms are available inside; outside, there will be a drinking fountain and an information board with a map. Note: access to portable outhouse and drinking fountain during winter months is unconfirmed.

During the Winter

I wouldn't advise visiting the Arb during the winter. Snow will likely have not been plowed or pressed down by others' traveling; it tends to get very deep, especially on the smaller (more interesting) trails because it builds up without ever melting down. Furthermore, it's difficult to get very far into the Arb without finding a hill (unless you enter from the hospital parking lot and continue running by the river), making it a complicated and dangerous endeavor to find a foothold.

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