Welcome back to our weekly #TrailTuesday Series! This edition summits the heights of the Detroit region's resident "high lands" - the rugged Mt. Kanzer Trail of Highland State Recreation Area. Join us as we explore one of Southeast Michigan's most unknown and highest points!
Why do we need trails?
If you're as passionate about the outdoors as I am, that question may seem laughable on its face. Ridiculous even. A gut reaction like that is to be expected when trails have become a central pillar of your lifestyle, akin to going to the gym, dropping in to your favorite brewery, or watching the Lions on Sunday afternoons.
Alright, now that you've had a laugh, please - actually entertain the question for the second. Try to answer it.
"We need trails because..."
Ahhhhh...now the question gets a little more complicated. I tried answering before I put pen to paper here, but ultimately bypassed the critical thinking exercise by Googling the question. Here's what the fine folks at the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy came up with:
Trails and greenways create healthy recreation and transportation opportunities by providing people of all ages with attractive, safe, accessible and low- or no-cost places to cycle, walk, hike, jog or skate. Trails help people of all ages incorporate exercise into their daily routines by connecting them with places they want or need to go. Communities that encourage physical activity by making use of the linear corridors can see a significant effect on public health and wellness.
"Connecting them with places they want or need to go." Ultimately, that's the core value of a trail - especially when built out of necessity or desire.
The Mt. Kanzer Trail was born out of such necessity and desire. That may sound surprising since Highland State Recreation Area is a world-class destination that has no shortage of trails. Our #TrailTuesday series has already covered Highland's two most famous trails, the historic Haven Hill Loop and the rigorous, "black-diamond" rated A-B-C-D Loops. We've even covered the segment of the Chief Pontiac Trail that navigates through the heart of the park.
So what makes the Mt. Kanzer Trail so special? First, it leads to the highest point in Highland State Recreation Area: Mt. Kanzer. While the debate continues whether Mt. Kanzer reaches 1,050 ft. or 1,060 ft. of elevation (we opt for the higher because, come on), it is undisputed that the peak constitutes one of the highest elevations in all of southeast Michigan. Extra points for being the highest point within a park literally named after its reputation as the "high lands."
Second, it provides a critical safety corridor between Downtown Milford and Highland Recreation Area for mountain bikers, hikers, and trail runners. For several years, mountain bikers looking to access Highland's A-B-C-D Loops from Milford had no choice but to navigate the tight turns, variable conditions, and unpredictable traffic of Weaver, Cooley Lake, and Beaumont Roads. The Mt. Kanzer Trail, which includes the MCMBA-built "Milford Connector Trail," safely guides trail users away from the vast majority of this traffic. The Connector has even become a staple route for riders participating in the annual "Milford Bike Fest" route.
Now that you're all caught up, allow us to reintroduce Highland State Recreation Area and the Mt. Kanzer Trail now.
MEET HIGHLAND STATE RECREATION AREA
The story of Highland State Recreation Area, as we recognize and recreate within it today, dates back to an unexpected union of lands once owned by fierce business rivals. In March of 1922, the Board of the Dodge Brothers Company authorized the spending of $350,000 to purchase lands across the northwestern perimeter of the Detroit region. These lands - now referred to as the "Dodge Parks" - were donated by Dodge to the State of Michigan for use as public parks in memory of the company's founders, John and Horace Dodge. One of these parks received the designation "Dodge Brothers State Park No. 10" in the northeast quarter of Highland Township.
Just a few miles east, another prominent automotive family was contemporaneously closing on vast land purchases. Starting in 1923, the Edsel and Eleanor Ford started to purchase thousands of acres in the same general region of western Oakland County, including a particular area consisting of a dramatic hill rising adjacent to a wooded lake. The Fords decided to construct their "nerve retreat" wilderness lodge on top of that hill, with construction lasting from 1924 through 1931. The world would come to know that lodge, and its foundational moraine, as "Haven Hill."
EXPLORE HIGHLAND'S HAVEN HILL LOOP WITH EXPEDITION DETROIT
Over the following 20 years, the Michigan Department of Conservation purchased several thousand additional acres of land to the east of Dodge Brothers State Park No. 10. The State of Michigan also acquired the area surrounding Haven Hill in 1943. The aggregation of the Dodge Brothers parcels with the Ford parcels would amount to the 5,900 acres now constituting Highland State Recreation Area, the Detroit region's fourth largest state park, which officially opened in 1945.
The Highland Recreation Area of 2024 consists of one of the most ecologically and recreationally diverse landscapes in the entire Great Lakes region. The park's Haven Hill Natural Area contains all of southern Michigan's principal forest types within its 721 acres, including swamp forest of tamarack, cedar, beech-maple forest, oak-hickory forest, and mixed hardwood forest. Beyond world-class hiking and mountain biking, Highland has also evolved into a recreational melting pot for our region's best equestrians, backpackers, kayakers, cross-country skiers, bird-watchers, anglers, and hunters.
Now - let's get to the trail.
HIT THE TRAIL
Total Distance: 3.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 272 feet
Trail Rating: Moderate
Route Orientation: "Lollipop Loop" from Milford Connector trailhead
Parking Specifics: Limited parking available at Milford Connector trailhead on west side of Weaver Road
Drive slowly down Weaver Road as you approach the Milford Connector trailhead - your launching point for the Mt. Kanzer Trail. There's several practical and logistical reasons for this, the first being that Weaver Road is a residential street that starts next to a local middle school within the Village of Milford and ends in the southern heart of Highland Recreation Area. Second, Weaver is teeming with wildlife, especially in the morning and late afternoon hours.
Last, the trailhead "parking lot" is small. Very small. As in two cars max. If you're driving too fast, you'll miss it.
If there isn't a lot of space at the trailhead, then you could also either utilize a pull off space along Weaver Rd., start your hike at the Cooley Lake Rd. crossing (ample parking spaces are typically available along Cooley Lake), or hike in reverse from the Beaumont Rd. terminus of the Milford Connector Trail.
For this #TrailTuesday, however, we'll assume that you were able to snag a spot at the Mt. Kanzer Trail's main Weaver Rd. trailhead.
The Mt. Kanzer Trail starts by heading north along the out-and-back Milford Connector Trail. In leafless "off-season conditions" you'll be treated to glimmering views of Moore Lake to your west. The initial 0.6 mile segment to the Cooley Lake Road crossing is quick and relatively flat, although a dramatic ravine and bridge crossing at the 0.3 mile marker does add some variety to the first chapter of this hike.
There's also a trail pup memorial right when Cooley Lake Road comes into view.
Always, always pay homage to the fallen trail pup.
Congrats - your crossing of Cooley Lake Road means that you have traversed the only section of Highland State Recreation Area that exists within Milford Township. The first 0.2 miles of hiking into Highland Township continues to follow the Milford Connector. Fading signage posted by our friends at the MCMBA will guide the way.
Your first navigational challenge arrives at a clearing located roughly at the 0.8 mile marker. You will turn north (left) to deviate away from the well-marked Milford Connector Trail and onto a barely-apparent equestrian trail. As poet Robert Frost would say, you will "take the trail less traveled by, and that will make all the difference" as you start your ascent towards Mt. Kanzer.
The next 0.8 miles of hiking along the Mt. Kanzer Trail consist of a narrow, consistent, and northward ascent towards the summit. If you're hiking this trail, then the gradual 77 ft. of ascent during this segment will come at a nice, consistent pace. If you're trail running, then you'll likely start to feel the 5-7% incline grades as you ascend through the "tunnel of trees."
Fair warning: this stretch of the Mt. Kanzer Trail can get very muddy during the wetter months of year, and is also rarely maintained by the Michigan DNR. We strongly recommend that you were waterproof hiking boots due largely to just this section of the trail.
Although there are several offshoot trails along this ascending segment of the Mt. Kanzer Trail, only one prominent trail dramatically bisects it at the 1.5 mile marker. This trail is your route - the formal, prominent, and 11% grade push to the summit of Mt. Kanzer. It will be abundantly obvious, but turn left to continue your final ascent of the trail.
The last 0.2 miles of hiking to the summit showcase the stark reality of Highland's wildest segments. On one hand, you have the dramatic ridge lines, drop-offs, and vistas that have cemented Highland as an adventure athlete's paradise. These are the same ridges that we once utilized to test our theory that Highland represents one of the Detroit region's best destinations for backcountry powder skiing. The theory held up - Highland remains undefeated for innovation in outdoor adventure sports.
On the other end of the spectrum, the views from the summit are virtually nonexistent due to the claustrophobic effect of invasive bittersweet vines. The summit is marked by a stone monument located to the left of the main trail (a small sidetrack leads right to it), which during the leafy summer months provides the only recognition that you've reached the pinnacle of Highland's high lands.
There's no dramatic, Instagram-ready vista like Mt. Katahdin or Uhuru Peak.
There's hardly room to pose by the monument due to the overreach of vines.
There's only a simple monument, with rolling forested views, to commemorate a unique southeast Michigan outdoor achievement.
We don't intend to put a negative spin on the Mt. Kanzer summit push. In fact, this is one of my go-to trails that I ran regularly during my training for summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro last August. And I'd be lying if I said that I still don't feel a little sense of pride every time that I reach the summit, because summiting is always an accomplishment.
Our critique here is intended solely as a reality check regarding the effects of generational neglect of our wildest places. Mt. Kanzer could - and should - be stunning. A destination for our regional outdoor athletes. And while it may never provide sweeping views due to its heavily-forested environs, Expedition Detroit absolutely advocates for prioritized forest maintenance efforts in the area surrounding the summit. Constructing a more prominent summit monument would also be a nice touch, but let's not get greedy.
After spending ample time at the summit, the Mt. Kanzer Trail then descends the full length of the "Summit Trail" back towards Beaumont Rd. If you're looking to add extra mileage to your hike, you can continue west on the Summit Trail past the peak until it ends at Pettibone Lake Rd. If you're sticking to our route however, you will descend 0.2 miles - past the equestrian trail that you completed earlier - until you reconnect with the prominent Milford Connector Trail before reaching the DNR parking area. Turn right at the signage post towards Milford.
The next 0.9 miles of hiking along the Milford Connector Trail is simply stunning. The trail building crew over at the MCMBA are experts not only in building beautiful trails, but also planning beautiful trails. The steady descent of the Milford Connector Trail provides sweeping, vine-less vistas of "kettle pool" ponds, wetlands, and dramatic forested ravines. This segment is especially gorgeous during the evening "golden hour."
You'll know that you've reached the "beginning of the end" when you pass through "deviation point" clearing at the 2.9 mile marker, thereby completing the Mt. Kanzer-Milford Connector Loop. From this point, you'll retrace your earlier boot prints over 0.9 miles, although this time with a steady incline over the last half mile.
EXPLORE THE HIGHLAND MT. KANZER TRAIL WITH EXPEDITION DETROIT
WEEKEND BONUS TIPS
While Highland represents a destination ready for outdoor enthusiasts of all experience levels and interests, let's call a spade a spade: Highland is best suited for our region's most professional, badass, adventurous, and conditions-be-damned recreationists. Men and women who smile when the "summit" of one hill only reveals another, or laugh when the rocks and roots start competing to see which can trip you up first. Hikers, runners, and backpackers looking to train on Highland's prime real estate of rigorous terrain. Hunters unafraid of dragging their prized game out of wild, inhospitable terrain.
And, especially, mountain bikers looking to conquer Highland's beloved yet infamous A-B-C-D Loops.
For the uninitiated, the singular term "Highland" in midwest MTB circles specifically refers to this trail system - one of only three "Black Diamond"-rated trails in the entire Detroit region. In fact, these combined loops constitute the single most challenging trail in the entirety of our corner of the Great Lakes. The route consists of varying sections with roots, rocky stretches, steep climbs, and manageable technical areas. While these loops are primarily intended for mountain bikers, these trails are also very popular for hikers, trail runners, bird watchers, cross-country skiers, snowshoers, and hunters.
CONQUER HIGHLAND'S A-B-C-D LOOPS WITH EXPEDITION DETROIT
Looking for something a slightly tamer? We don't blame you, and fortunately Highland's scenic "North Loop" trail is directly accessible from the same MTB Trailhead. The North Loop provides 2.2 miles of easy, flowing trail, complete with trekking or riding through the full spectrum of Highland's varied natural environment. The North Loop is also teeming with wildlife within its grasslands, pine forests, and marshlands, so stay on the lookout for wild turkeys, sandhill cranes, and deer.
EXPLORE HIGHLAND'S NORTH LOOP WITH EXPEDITION DETROIT
Outside of Highland, we have one simple piece of advice for you: travel south, preferably with a kayak. The Huron River and its endless supply of adventures wait for you along its idyllic banks at Proud Lake State Recreation Area, ripe for wildlife viewing and catch-and-release fishing opportunities. The best launch points at Proud Lake can be found at the Proud Lake Campground, Moss Lake Dam, and the boat launch parking lot just east of N Wixom Road.
Looking more for a "trail town" experience? May we interest you in Downtown Milford: our inaugural "Trail Town Spotlight" destination and a small town overflowing with outdoor recreation opportunities. From Highland, downtown is within walking distance from the recreation area's southern segments and easily reachable via bike from the main MTB Trailhead off of E Livingston Road. From Proud Lake, you can easily paddle the 2.6 miles downstream to Milford Central Park - or, as we like to do, pull off just before the Main Street Bridge for direct access to our friends at River's Edge Brewing Co.
We can't wait to see you out there.
The #TrailTuesday Series idea started as a recommendation from readers looking for a deeper analysis into the individual trails that define Detroit's vast network. One of our main goals for this platform is to produce content that reflects the outdoor interests and desires of our community, so please continue to provide us with your suggestions via our contact form or here in the comments!
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