This begins the first of a series of several articles about my neck of the woods - Macomb County  Michigan.

Macomb County, besides being less crowded than its neighboring counties, is most often noted for its lakes and recreational opportunities. Lake St. Clair, spanning three counties, is large enough to aspire to be one of the Great Lakes.  Lake St. Clair offers swimming beaches, boating, fishing and sailing among its many features, and taking a boat ride down the Detroit River never fails to delight our guests - they are able to view the beautiful waterfront homes and the majestic skyline of downtown Detroit and the Renassaince Center on one side and the scenic waterfront of Ontario Canada on the other. Large freighters are a common sight, as Lake St. Clair is part of the international shipping channel from Michigan through the Great Lakes and Canada - but there is so much interesting information about Lake St. Clair that it deserves an entire article of its own, coming soon.

One of my personal favorites of the four major Macomb County Parks is Stony Creek Metropark (586) 781-4242.  I must admit Stony Creek has the advantage of being within 10 miles of my home and I take my grandchildren there often in the summer months.  For a nominal charge - even less if purchasing a season pass, you can enjoy over 4400 acres of recreational fun - there are nine spacious picnic areas, and 18-hole championship golf course, a nature center, two swimming beaches - one of which almost always has a lifeguard on duty, and a 24-hole disc golf course.  Other amenities of this metropolitan park include numerous play areas, basketball courts, a boat launch and boat rentals. While swimming, we often see canoes and kayaks out on the water. Ten miles of paved roads and over six miles of hiking and biking trails offer residents opportunities for exercising while enjoying nature.  Not just for summer sports, Stony Creek also offers cross-country skiing, sledding and ice-skating, weather permitting.

Of the other four major parks, Metro Beach Metropark (586) 463-4581, is probably the most popular since it is located right on Lake St. Clair.  This park of 770 acres offers one and a quarter miles of Lake St. Clair frontage, and has a large sandy beach area, a swimming pool with water slides, a "Squirt Zone" spray park that kids absolutely love, three marinas, several picnic areas, a day sail area, nature center, a paved hiking and biking trail, boat launch, and 18 hole par 3 golf course and an 18-hole adventure golf course.  Metro Beach Metropolitan Park is also well known for it's annual boat shows, its open-air pavilion offering day and evening concerts during the summer, and winter sports such as ice-fishing, ice skating and cross-country skiing.

Next summer, I hope to visit the other two parks -  Freedom Hill County Park (596) 979-7010 located in Sterling Heights and home to many special events such as outdoor festivals, car shows, markets and much more, and Macomb County's new linear park - Macomb Orchard Trail (586) 979-7010, which is a 24-mile linear park starting at 24 Mile Road and Dequindre in Shelby Township, continuing north to the City of Richmond. The first phase of 7.5 miles through Shelby and Washington Township is now open, and the entire project, once completed, will link to 180 miles of trails in Southeastern Michigan!

To read more about Macomb County Attractions, click here

There is so much more to tell you about Macomb County, Michigan! Stay tuned...