Dow Gardens and the treetop walk

When Herbert Dow wasn’t running his chemical company, he was gardening. The garden he started around his Midland home in the early 1900s grew into Dow Gardens — today a 110-acre public garden full of flowers, ponds, winding paths, and little bridges, with tens of thousands of fresh annuals planted every summer. His old house, “The Pines,” still sits in the gardens and is a national landmark.

Right next door, and part of the same place, is Whiting Forest — and its star attraction is a canopy walk billed as the longest in the country. It’s an elevated wooden walkway that carries you up into the treetops, dozens of feet off the ground, for a stroll through the branches. There’s a small admission for the gardens and canopy walk, but it’s one of the nicest ways to spend an afternoon in Midland, in any season. The Dow Gardens website lists hours and current admission.