An "up north" weekend without leaving the county: Livingston's big parks and trails

For an exurban county an hour from Detroit, Livingston has a remarkable amount of public land to roam. Three large state recreation areas sit within or along its borders. Island Lake Recreation Area, near Brighton, spreads across about 4,000 acres with the Huron River winding through it, lakes and a spring-fed swimming pond, miles of mountain-bike and hiking trails, and a modern shooting range — it’s even the only state park in Michigan with a hot-air-balloon launch port. Just to the west, the Brighton Recreation Area covers nearly 5,000 acres of rolling, glacier-carved hills with about 39 miles of trails, several lakes, and campgrounds. And to the south, the Pinckney Recreation Area sprawls over roughly 11,000 acres into neighboring Washtenaw County, home to the well-known Potawatomi Trail that draws mountain bikers from all over.

Tying much of it together is the Mike Levine Lakelands Trail, a roughly 40-mile rail-trail for biking, walking, running, and horseback riding that crosses Livingston end to end and links up with the Pinckney area. All told, the Brighton–Howell area counts something like 50,000 acres of parks and well over 100 miles of trails — genuinely an “up north” experience without the long drive.

These are Michigan state parks, so a Recreation Passport (added to your license plate) covers vehicle entry; you can find maps, campground reservations, and details through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources at michigan.gov/dnr.