The university's gardens are in the township: Matthaei

One of Ann Arbor’s best-loved green spaces isn’t in Ann Arbor at all — it’s in Ann Arbor Township. The University of Michigan’s Matthaei Botanical Gardens spreads across hundreds of acres along Fleming Creek on Dixboro Road, with a tropical conservatory, one of the Midwest’s notable bonsai and penjing collections, display gardens, a children’s garden, and miles of nature trails through prairie, woods, and wetland.

The everyday details make it a neighborhood treasure: the outdoor gardens and trails are free and open daily, the conservatory warms up nicely in January when you need it most, and the whole place connects to a growing network of paths along the creek. Township residents get a world-class university amenity functioning as their local park — a pretty good trade for living just outside the city line.