By JONATHAN SCHECHTER
Special To The Oakland Press/JONATHAN SCHECHTER
A trail view from the Civic Center Drive access is steps east of Telegraph Road.
You will not find a dedicated parking lot. Nor a welcoming sign. Nor crowds of hikers. Or a trail brochure.
Yet nestled away in one of the heaviest-traveled sections of Oakland County, in the City of Southfield, is a riverside trail that quietly meanders just out of view of the endless flow of congested traffic on Telegraph Road. This secluded trail is a haven of peaceful riverside solitude for nearby residents and a refuge and travel corridor for more than a smattering of wildlife.
On the sunny weekday afternoon I explored Valley Woods Nature Preserve my sole trail companion was unexpected. An elderly chain-smoking man in a long leather coat and a faded cap rose from a trailside bench as I approached, greeted me with a knuckle-crushing handshake and then accompanied me part of the way, speaking only Russian. His gestures told me that this trail made him happy — and he wanted to fish.
When we reached a trail section where spring mud threatened to swallow his spotlessly polished shoes, he pointed down to his feet, smiled, waved goodbye and wandered back to the bench.
Valley Woods is managed by the City of Southfield Parks and Recreation Department and is part of the Rouge Green Corridor, an area under environmental study that meanders through the southeast corner of Oakland County. It's more than a watershed that connects Birmingham, Beverly Hills and Southfield.
The Southfield section can be hiked for about a half-mile, but the city owns almost two miles of green habitat from 10 Mile Road to 12 Mile Road, paralleling the river. Fast forward a few years and I see a bustling trail and a place of riverside lunch break escapes for nearby office workers.
In the words of Oakland County Planning and Economic Development, this urban river "paints a green band through neighborhoods and business districts" and "has changed since the time of European settlement, but still provides a haven for wildlife and people to enjoy."
I could not agree more. I was not surprised to see a cornucopia of birds in the shrubbery and among the cattail marsh. Raccoon tracks along muddy river banks are the norm: no exception here, there were plenty of paw prints.
But I did not expect to see deer tracks or the clear tracks of a lone coyote. Yet I did.
As I followed the coyote's tracks as far as I could — it vanished into a thick tangle of shrubs and boot-devouring mud — I realized what a perfect haven this wild canid has; a diverse habitat sheltered away in the woods of the valley with an abundance of small creatures to eat. And a word of my advice to any rats or mice: Beware; you are on the dinner menu!
For the coyote, this was a Garden of Eden. For my Russian trail companion and other residents from the adjacent McDonnell Towers, it's a wondrous place to walk or rest on a bench away from city bustle.
When I hike a trail for this column, I do not give agencies a heads-up call. I want my treks to be what you will find, not what I might be told to see — or write. But in this case, as I approached the area where I knew the trail to be, I could not find it. So I called without full disclosure of purpose: "I can't find Valley Woods Nature Preserve."
They explained that there is at this time no trail parking lot and most folks gain access from the nearby businesses and high-rise complexes. I quickly found sturdy wooden stairs descending on the south side of Civic Center Drive just east of Telegraph that gave me easy trail access. I won't tell you where you to park, but make certain you do not park in a lot that has posted restrictions.
Initially, I headed south along a concrete path that took me past the Raymond James building and under Telegraph Road. Passing under Telegraph reminded me that this is an urban trail. Sadly, graffiti told that tale.
A few hundred feet farther south, the trail climbs a hill and connects to a sidewalk on the west side of Telegraph just north of Meriwether's Restaurant. Here is what I suggest: Head north on the mostly natural surface trail that starts on the east side of the river bank at Civic Center Drive and then crosses a foot bridge to the west side. Walk slowly and you will find yourself immersed in the wonders of spring emergence in the city along this trailside ark of biodiversity, an exciting environmentally sound work in progress.
Jonathan Schechter's column on hiking in Oakland County appears on Sundays in the Oakland Press. Look for his Earth's Almanacs blog at theoaklandpress.com. E-mail him at oaknature@aol.com.
FYI
Valley Woods Nature Preserve is east of Telegraph Road at Civic Center Drive, immediately west of the McDonnell Towers. Southfield Parks and Recreation manages 780 acres of preserves and public lands. Call 248-796-4630. City Web site www.cityofsouthfield.com has park locations and map link.
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