Fall Colors

NORTHVILLIANS,

Over the past weeks, I’ve written about our Victorian Festival, the “Skeletons Are Alive” event and the Cider Mills amongst other Fall topics. This week, we’ll look at the spectacular colors we’re starting to experience as our local foliage starts changing into vibrant shades of red, yellow and orange. Our beautiful heritage trees are just one reason Northville is designated a TREE CITY USA.

I saw many of you at our special events last week, including the Oakwood Cemetery Walk and the opening of the Toll Brothers’ Sales Office at the Downs with horse and buggy rides around the River Park.  Additionally, we exposed the last section of the river stream to sunlight and placed the log cabin Welcome Center on its new foundation down by Custard Time and the Farmers’ Market.  The pathways will be poured soon and this 10-acre bioswale park with its 1400 hardwood trees will be completed by late fall and dedicated in the Spring… exciting times!

Let’s look at where the brilliant COLORS are starting to reveal themselves in the Ville…

Fall is definitely here with the trees starting to change to spectacular hues, the aroma of bonfires and the sweet smell of cider in the air. If you want to enjoy the fall colors around Northville, I suggest you visit the following locations:

• NORTHVILLE’S PARMENTER’S CIDER MILL – Start your color tour by stopping by one of Michigan’s oldest (1873) cider mills on the Rouge River surrounded by a canopy of trees (714 Baseline Road). Parmenter’s is ranked as one of the top cider mills in Metro Detroit. Watch them make that sweet-smelling nectar using local apples while enjoying the colors of the trees that surround the Mill.
   
• MILL RACE VILLAGE – Just down the road from Parmenter’s, experience our historic Mill Race Village (215 Griswold St) where you can take in the local colors and admire the brilliant fall reflections off the Mill Pond & the Middle Rouge River… Take in additional views of our connected Ford Field, where a new Vista is being constructed where you can watch the sunrise daily over its eastern horizon.
   
• VICTORIAN HOMES AND THEIR LEGACY TREES – Walk down Dunlap St. with its historic Victorian homes and legacy trees dating back to the mid-1800’s. Continue your stroll from the Historic District in the Ville through the various traditional burgs experiencing the old-growth trees in Cabbagetown, Bealtown, and Orchard Heights, along with some spectacular hardwoods in the Northville Estates area.
   
• NORTHVILLE TREE CHAMPIONS MAJESTIC TREE TOUR – Walk or drive by some of our most striking trees sporting their fall colors (Link).
• WAYNE COUNTY’S CASS BENTON PARK – Traverse through Wayne County’s Cass Benton Park on Hines Drive that runs between Northville and Dearborn. In the park is the State’s oldest Arboretum, right here in your own community.  Remember, it’s not the destination that’s important in life but the journey itself … so enjoy the colors while you go down the Parkway.

• MAYBURY STATE PARK – Another great area to visit, with entry off Beck or 8 Mile. The Park includes close to 1000 acres of gently rolling terrain, open meadows and mature forests, giving spectacular fall bursts of colors next to their trails and ponds.
   
• FISH HATCHERY PARK – Take a scenic walk down by the river or the pond on its pathways (635 Fairbrook-7 Mile/Orchard Dr.). 

• RURAL HILL CEMETERY – A hot spot for colors where you will find some of the oldest and most colorful trees in the area. Rural Hill Cemetery is truly spectacular and peaceful this time of year (215 W. 7 Mile/Rogers). Also check out Oakwood Cemetery with its over 200-year-old oaks.
   
• LEGACY PARK (a 350-acre gem) is part of the Parks & Recreation 750-acre portfolio of greenspaces for placemaking in the community. This park will connect to the Farmers’ Market through a new pathway system and presently can be entered off of Haggerty on Wayne Road. 

THIS GOES TO SHOW YOU – to see some of the state’s most fantastic bursts of colors, you don’t have to go much farther than our own back yards.

Keep that Northville Fall Color Faith!

Brian Turnbull
Mayor – Northville
BTurnbull@ci.northville.mi.us / 248.505.6849

(Reach out to me anytime or forward this communication to others interested.)

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