Get out and play
Aspen Park
Aspen Park is a year-round park featuring 100 acres of woods, with plentiful wildlife, paved and unpaved trails, tennis courts, and some of the best scenery in Northern Michigan.
Aspen Park, with its nearly two miles of paved trails, is used in the summer by bikers, hikers, and skaters enjoying the natural wonders of this gently rolling wooded terrain. In the winter, expertly groomed cross-country ski trails that range in degree of difficulty from beginner to intermediate provide the cross-country ski enthusiast an opportunity to journey through both hilly and wooded areas with two miles of trails lighted for night skiing.
The Northern Michigan Chapter of the Michigan Mountain Bike Association constructed the Aspen Park Mountain Bike Trail, which consists of over 6.0 miles of beginner to intermediate level singletrack, within Aspen Park. The singletrack winds through stands of pine, hemlock, and maple and is a fast trail with hill climbs and switchbacks.
Hours: Open 6:00 am — 11:00 pm, everyday (including weekends and holidays)
Location: Commerce Blvd, Gaylord, MI 49735
Amenities: Paved parking is available at the park entrance. Other amenities include picnic tables and benches.
On the Trail: Aspen Park; no hunting and a chance to see elk
Looking for a new place to hike and mountain bike safely during firearms deer hunting season? In past columns I’ve listed several areas around the Grand Traverse region…
City to start paving western portion of Aspen Park trail
“It really makes it much easier to visit and we really wanted to access the Scott Pond area as well. We feel that’s a cool feature with the water down there,” Duff said about…
How to spend a Michigan’s Best Day in Gaylord
We love the variety of restaurants, vibrant business community, lively nightlife (yes, there is a nightlife), local breweries and long list of activities to experience “all outdoors”!
Elk Park
Home to the largest elk population in Michigan this very spacious, fenced refuge allows you to view these beautiful creatures within their natural habitat.
With multiple viewing areas, you can get up close and personal or enjoy the view at a distance from the comfort of your car. During mating season you can see some antler play by the young bucks and hear the bellowing of huge male Elk looking to mate.
Fallow and Sika Deer also call Elk Park home.
Hours: Open 24 hours
Location: 116 Grandview Blvd, Gaylord, MI 49735
Amenities: Free Parking available
Elk Viewing In The Gaylord Area
Elk inhabit this site year-round, but certain times are better for viewing than others. Generally, the best months are September and October when the males (bulls) are trying to establish dominance for mating rights with the females (cows). They are extremely active during this time, making loud vocalizations…
A Guide to Elk Viewing in Michigan
They’re one of Michigan’s best kept secrets and they roam in an area most people can go and see every day! Pure Michigan’s wild elk herd is flourishing, with over 1,000 elk living in an 105,000-acre area in the northeast Lower Peninsula.
Gaylord’s winter wonderland serves up elk watching
“We’ve got the only Elks Club in the United States that has elk in their backyard,” Tholl says of the herd, which currently numbers 38. The largest bull stands about 6 feet tall and weighs upward of 750 pounds, with a huge antler rack that will drop in March or April.
Pavilion On Court
In 2003, the Downtown Development Authority received the "Superior Innovation Award" from the Michigan Municipal League.
The Pavilion On Court hosts many events and activities in downtown Gaylord. Annual Antique shows, farmers markets, and local festivals are just a few of the happenings under this beautiful Alpine-styled pavilion.
Hours: Specific to Seasonal Events
Location: 162-198 S Court Ave, Gaylord, MI 49735
Downtown Gaylord Farmer’s Market
Vegetables, herbs, meats, fruit, breads, eggs, honey, syrup, baked goods, crafts and more! Come on out! We are located under the Pavilion on Court in Downtown Gaylord Saturday’s, May through November 18th 2017. Wednesdays July through October.
Gaylord farmers market set to open May 23
Due to COVID-19, the market is taking all precautions deemed necessary by national and state guidelines to ensure the safety of both customers and vendors. Because of the guidelines, this market season will be a different one, but the ability to purchase quality food products from familiar producers remains unchanged.
Northern Express Calendar Events
Each week we serve the region with investigative features, news, food, drink and restaurant coverage, opinion, and the region’s most comprehensive entertainment calendar.
Ramp Park
For skateboarders, inline skaters and BMX bicyclists.
While this park is ideal for beginners, a variety of ramps and obstacles challenge all levels of experience, including a seven foot half pipe, a wave, a small table top, and a funbox.
Hours: 8 AM – 10:30 PM, No persons permitted after 11 PM
Location: 1250 Gornick Ave, Gaylord, MI 49735 (At the Otsego County Sportsplex)
Amenities: Free entry. Helmets are required.
Group plans to ‘Save the Skatepark’
“The skate park has been a safe haven, as with anything action-sports related with our group of friends,” said Christopher Gibson, 26, Gaylord resident and one of the spokesmen for the group. “Between the skate park and ski hills, as a youth we found a community that had substance behind it that we could get involved with.”
Public Skate Park Development Guide
Public skateparks all start the same way; community interest in a new place to skate grows until some people do something about it. The skatepark team considers the most viable path to a new skatepark.
Gaylord MI Skateboard Lessons!
Is the fear of falling keeping you from progressing? Understand all of the basic principles of skateboarding fast in a one-week camp. We will teach you the principles of skateboarding such as how to balance, push, turn, proper foot placement, and how to stop.
Doumas Park
A wonderful family-friendly park with a new picnic gazebo, playground equipment, paved parking, rest rooms, picnic tables and benches to relax on.
Hours: Open Daily 6:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Location: 412 E 4th St, Gaylord, MI 49735
Amenities: Parking, Rest Rooms, Picnic Tables and Benches.
Pair of city parks receive upgrades
Familes and children will notice some fall improvements to a pair of Gaylord parks.
The City is Gaylord is spending upward of $21,000 to make improvements to the George Doumas Memorial Park, 412 E. Fourth St., and Freel Memorial Park, 323 Huron St.
South Maple creates new after-school pickup option
In early September, parents could be seen waiting on Fifth Street and Maple Avenue to pick up students in a line that extended to Doumas Park and beyond, blocking intersections as some parents showed up an hour before school dismissed.
City of Gaylord, Community Recreation Plan 2016-2020
Year-round recreational opportunities abound in the area. The City of Gaylord is dedicated to create and maintain a vital recreational system. Planning for these resources is vital for the City’s future.
Freel Park
Located on Huron Street, between Oak and Hazel Streets, this park features a wonderful playground with room to picnic and relax.
Hours: Open Daily 6:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Location: 323 Huron Street
Community Playgroup
Open to children 0-5 and their caring adult. Toys, crafts, snacks available. If Gaylord Schools is cancelled for any reason, playgroup does not meet.
Kids ‘just wanna have fun’
There is no reason for parents to hear the lament, “I’m sooo bored — I have nothing to do,” from their children this summer.
Here are just a few of the many activities available for children, youth and families in the area.
Pair of city parks receive upgrades
Freel, at 1.2 acres, and Doumas park each received upgrades in 2005 that included “a restroom, gazebo, play structure accommodating all ages, paved pathways and parking area with signed handicap spaces, irrigation, landscaping, picnic tables, and drinking fountains,” the city recreation plan said.
