Kensington Metropark is a park in

Oakland County Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its seat of government is Pontiac, and its largest city is Troy. As of the ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, USA. Located between the towns of

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

and

South Lyon South Lyon is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 11,746 at the 2020 census, up from 11,327 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of wh ...

, the park is part of the

Huron–Clinton Metroparks The Huron–Clinton Metroparks system is a regional park system in Metro Detroit in the United States, U.S. state of Michigan. The park system includes 13 parks totaling more than arranged along the Huron River (Michigan), Huron River and Clinto ...

system. Surrounding Kent Lake, the park covers 4,543 acres (18.13 km²). It has wooded hilly terrain and surrounds Kent Lake (a dammed section of the

Huron River The Huron River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed November 7, 2011 river in southeast Michigan, southeastern Michigan, rising out of the Huron Swamp in Springfie ...

). The park has an 18-hole regulation

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

, 3 disc golf courses, a

toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled used in snowy winter recreation. It is also a traditional form of cargo transport used by the Innu, Cree and Ojibwe of North America, sometimes part of a dog train. It is used on snow to carry one or more people (o ...

hill, a nature center, a farm learning center, picnic areas, beaches, a

splash pad A splash pad or spray pool is a recreation area, often in a public park, for water play that has little or no standing water. This is said to eliminate the need for lifeguards or other supervision, as there is little risk of drowning. Typically ...

with a

water slide A water slide (also referred to as a flume, water chute, or hydroslide) is a type of Playground slide, slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at swimming pools or water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and ...

, and boat rentals. An paved hike-bike trail, of horse trails and of hiking-only trails are available as well as connecting trails to other nearby parks. Camping is permitted in organized group camping or canoe-in sites. Kensington Metropark opened in 1947. The area now occupied by the park was once home to the village of

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

which turned into a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

after a railroad line that went through the village was diverted to neighboring South Lyon. The park receives 2.5 million visitors per year.

Gallery

Image:kensington_metropark_martindale_beach.JPG, Martindale Beach Splash 'n' Bash Image:kensington_metropark_farm_center.JPG, Farm Center Image:kensington_metropark_east_boat_launch.JPG, East boat launch File:Kensington MetroPark by Joshua Young.png, Kensington MetroPark File:Kensington Splash by Joshua Young.png, Kensington Splash

References

External links

Huron-Clinton Metroparks
Huron–Clinton Metroparks Huron River (Michigan) Protected areas of Oakland County, Michigan Nature centers in Michigan Museums in Oakland County, Michigan Farm museums in Michigan {{OaklandCountyMI-geo-stub