Lace Up, Grab Your Pack, and Hit the Trails in Ann Arbor and Detroit! Five-Star Trails: Ann Arbor and Detroit is a handy, concise, and inspiring guidebook that presents the very best hiking experiences in this part of Michigan. Each hike features an individual trail map, elevation profile, and at-a-glance information, helping readers quickly find the perfect trip. Sized to fit in a pocket, the book's detailed trail descriptions will help readers find their way on and off the trail. Driving directions and GPS trailhead coordinates will help readers get started. The trails covered range from those best suited to the novice, families, experienced hikers, or backpackers. Surrounding Ann Arbor and Detroit are state, regional, and local parks―all home to a network of trails that wind through hilly woodlands, around lakes and meandering rivers, and across expansive meadows and restored prairie remnants. With the expert guidance of local author Greg Tasker, you’ll enjoy 36 of the region’s best trails. "This new Michigan travel book makes us want to get up and go!" -- Detroit Free Press , September 2011 A Detroit-based journalist, Greg Tasker is currently the Assistant News Editor and Drive Editor at The Detroit News. He first became passionate about hiking while living in Pennsylvania and Maryland and has written hiking stories for Backpacker, AMC Outdoors, Scouting, France Today, Vermont Life, and other publications. He has hiked sections of the Appalachian Trail up and down the East Coast. He also has written winter sports stories―on topics that include cross-country and downhill skiing and snowshoeing―for the travel sections of The Baltimore Sun, Providence Journal Bulletin, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. While living on the East Coast, Tasker contributed to various editions (1995-2002) of Fodor's Virginia and Maryland, Random House. Tasker returned to Michigan in 2002 and was surprised by the extensive network of hiking trails in the Ann Arbor-Detroit urban area. Extensive exploration of the diverse trail system led to his desire to share it all in a new and much-needed book. Detroit RiverWalk Scenery: 5 stars Trail Condition: 5 stars Children: 5 stars Difficulty: 1 star Solitude: 1 star GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES: N42° 19.541' W83° 3.166' DISTANCE & CONFIGURATION: 2-mile out-and-back HIKING TIME: About 1 hour or less HIGHLIGHTS: Detroit River; skyline views of Windsor, Ontario, Canada; Hart Plaza; General Motors global headquarters ELEVATION: 583 feet at trailhead, with no significant rise ACCESS: Daily, 6 a.m.–10 p.m.; no fees or permits required MAPS: at detroitriverfront.org FACILITIES: Restrooms (seasonal), picnic areas, bike rentals, café WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes COMMENTS: The path can be very crowded during lunchtime and summer evenings. Watch out for bicyclists. CONTACTS: 313-566-8200; detroitriverfront.org Overview One of the newest developments in downtown, the Detroit RiverWalk opens up a vast stretch of the riverfront to the public. The well-maintained path offers panoramic views of the scenic Detroit River and the Windsor skyline, and it passes directly by the General Motors global headquarters at the Renaissance Center. Route Details Strolling along the Detroit RiverWalk, you may find it hard to believe that the city didn’t realize until very recently what a jewel the turquoise-shaded river is. Once home to industrial plants, silos, and other buildings, much of the riverfront is being converted into promenades, parks, and public spaces. The crown jewel, of course, is the Detroit RiverWalk, an expansive walkway that runs along the river and will eventually stretch 5.5 miles from the Ambassador Bridge on the city’s western edge to Belle Isle, an island park on the east. More than half of the walk has been completed, though portions remain separated by vacant remnants of the past. The best bet is to start the Detroit RiverWalk at its western edge near Joe Louis Arena, and you can park along the street running next to the stadium. The promenade parallels the Detroit River with separate lanes for walkers, hikers, bicyclists, and inline skaters. Expect to find plenty of people crowding the promenade during the warmer months, as well as fishermen lined along the rails, casting their nets into the fast-moving river. Heading east along the riverfront, the promenade passes below Philip A. Hart Plaza, an open, mostly hard-surfaced park. This is the approximate landing site of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who in 1701 founded the settlement that eventually became Detroit. Today the park is the site of festivals throughout the summer and is noteworthy for several sculptures, including a statue of Cadillac, as well as the Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain, designed by Isamu Noguchi. The Renaissance Center, the global home of General Motors, will catch your attention as you continue east. You’ll find plenty of people sitting along the concrete s