Pigeon Creek Park — Attraction in Olive Township

-=update=- This winter already brought southwest Michigan lots of snow, and with it lots of people looking for snowy entertainment. The Nordic (cross-country) ski rental here, which we used so our son could try it before we buy him a set, was busy, but everyone was friendly... Except the couple of kinda self absorbed people that kept cutting back on line for little things, but that's not important. Just be sure to take a number if it's busy. The staff were very helpful, and we didn't wait long once we spoke to them.

The ski trails themselves are fantastic, groomed, and just wide enough for us to step aside so faster skiers could pass our little guy. They are mostly wooded and vary in groom style (tracked or flat) and noted trails are lit for evening skiing. There is only one big downhill, with a few small hills scattered around. It seems like mostly families go here, with a few "sport enthusiasts" thrown in, and everyone seems to have a good time.

They also have snowshoeing and a sledding hill, a lodge with hot chocolate, and free parking. Be aware, on the weekends the parking gets crazy. Still, this is a wonderful community park, and I am glad it is free for everyone (not rental, of course).

I saw signs for no bikes, so I'm guessing they had trouble with fat-tire riders messing up the trails, and they're now prohibited, which is unfortunate but understandable.

-Original post - Nice trails for a walk, winter offers excellent cross country skiing and a sledding get hill. Ski...

Very well marked and well kept, spacious trails! Visited for the mountain biking and while there’s not too much to remark on here outside of two decent hill descents, it’s still a nice ride, excellent for beginners. It’s mostly flat, nice and wide with virtually zero narrow passes (trail is probably 4’-6’ wide the entire time), and surface makeup is a mix of sand, gravel, and loose dirt. It had rained this AM and I was hoping for some harder packed ground but I’d say easily half+ is pretty loose terrain. My first lap (on the full SOUTH trail) was spent learning the lay of the land and occasionally stopping to check the signs to know what markers I was looking for ahead, and clocked it at about ~15min30sec (for those interested in know travel time (note: I’m a novice)). Additionally the trails are marked very clearly to let you which mode of transportation is allowed wherever you are (between hiking, MTB, and equestrian) which I’ve not seen at other parks around here I’ve been to and found extremely convenient. My final lap came in at 12min flat (again, I’m novice but good point of reference for those interested in visiting) having memorized the trail and not needing to stop for orienting. Well groomed, excellently marked, not technical, and while I didn’t find there was much room for experiencing flow, I still had...

The first time I came here there were a ton of cars in the lot so we decided to explore the paths across the street. The trees are more sparse and it looks like there's work being done on the north side of the street - there are loads of beautiful fungus and mosses. The second time there we explored the South side and what appears to be the main trails (because there was hardly anyone there). There is a beautiful rental building for April-October and a sledding hill complete with a roped off walkway. The trails were mixed gravel and sand (and some sandy mud) and traversed several different areas of the park. We walked through boardwalked wetlands and by the creek, then into a pine forest and back through a more traditional woodland. It was obvious that there had been some fat tire bikes and horses there and the trails are all very well marked. We will...