Sign up! for our OCM newsletter. Absolutely FREE.

Independence Oaks County Park Review & Pics

Independence Oaks County Park review, pics, and info. Independence Oaks occupies 1200+ acres off of Sashabaw Road in Clarkson, Michigan. The park features a beach, many picnic areas, modern playground equipment, 12 miles of trails (some paved), Wint Nature Center and much more!

Independence Oaks County Park Features

Independence Oaks reminds me a great deal of Stony Creek Metropark, only the features at Independence Oaks are a bit easier to get to because it isn’t quite so sprawling. The various picnic areas, trails, and beach is easily accessible from the entrance off of Sashabaw Road just east of DTE Energy Music Theatre.

Maintained by Oakland County Parks and Recreation, Independence Oaks has over 12 miles of marked trails for hiking and cross-country skiing. The River Loop Trail is 2.5 miles long and is paved for biking and rollerblading. The trails are easily accessed by the numerous picnic area shelter parking lots. I highly recommend the Trailside picnic area for the easiest access to the paved trails.

Independence Oaks Park has several picnic shelters available to rent. Each picnic area shelter features a stone or covered shelter, sand volleyball court(s), semi-modern playground equipment, horseshoe pits, attached restrooms, and easy access to trails and parking. Some shelters even have easy access to the many handicap-accessible fishing piers and docks. Twin Chimneys is the most elegant of the shelters. You can rent Twin Chimneys for outdoor wedding ceremonies.

Park picnic shelters include: Pine Grove, Lakeview or Water’s Edge, Lake Point, Beach Cove Shelter, Twin Chimneys, Trailside, Morraine Knoll.

You can event rent the Cohn Amphitheater, a recently built structure that seats 150 and features a sound system. The acoustics sound fantastic with the dense woods as a backdrop.

Independence Oaks County Park Pics

The Lake Point Area has a boat launch for you to explore Crooked Lake on a non-motorized boat. There is a boat rental area for paddle (pedal) boats, row boats, and kayaks. Boat rentals are affordable. There are several fishing piers to dock your boat throughout the 68 acre Crooked Lake.

Independence Oaks has Hidden Springs Beach for swimming. The Independence Oaks beach has clearly marked, roped areas for swimming and are guarded by Oakland County Parks lifeguards. The water reaches depths of 5 feet.

The park is also home to the Wint Nature Center. Wint Nature Center is open for walk-in visits Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

wint nature center

In the winter, Independence Oaks has ice fishing, cross-country skiing, and ice skating. There are warming shelters at some of the picnic areas around Crooked Lake and you can even rent cross-country skis. Independence Oaks was home to Oakland County Ski School, Oakland County Parks and Recreation’s annual lessons for newbies to cross-country skiing. I hope they bring this back as my family truly enjoyed these low-cost lessons.

Independence Oaks County Park Hours are from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset daily year-round (closed Christmas Day).

Advanced permits and yearly passes can be purchased at www.OaklandCountyParks.com.

FEATURE IMAGE PHOTO CREDIT – OCM Reader Bill Richardson took this Fall Foliage shot at Independence Oaks County Park and submitted it to us for our FALL FOLIAGE PAGE

Photo Credit – Bill Richardson Taken at Independence Oaks County Park

Independence Oaks County Park
9501 Sashabaw Road
Clarkston, MI 48348
www.OaklandCountyParks.com
248-625-0877

See our Oakland County Parks Tab for more Oakland County and Metro Detroit, Michigan park reviews and pics

For more info on Independence Oaks County Park, visit www.OaklandCountyParks.com

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.