When people think of camping, they usually imagine western mountains and remote rivers. They dream of Denali, not Detroit. But many youth in urban areas don’t see the greater outdoors as a place for them. Organizations that provide outdoor experiences in cities open up more accessible opportunities and give youth groups a chance to be stewards of their own backyards.

Wheelchair-accessible paths and boardwalks, ADA-compliant restroom facilities, and universally accessible kayak launches are just a few development projects that can bring new visitors to parks. Since it was established in 1976, the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) has distributed more than $1 billion to state agencies and local, county, and regional governments to purchase land for preservation and park development.

Throughout most of the Upper Peninsula, white-tailed deer migrate every winter to find sheltered areas to survive months of extreme cold and scarce food. When snow accumulates to depths between 12 and 18 inches, they begin moving to their winter homes, known as winter ranges, where they stay until the snow melts, sometimes more than 100 days later.

On a frigid mid-February Saturday, a small crowd gathers in a silent, snow-covered clearing in the woods. The atmosphere was more reminiscent of a far-off forest in northern Michigan than urban Detroit’s Rouge Park.

When invasive species and development overtake prairies, forests, and marshlands in the Detroit area, biodiversity is threatened. But conservation groups are fighting, project by project, to restore some of the region’s natural biodiversity. It’s an effort that requires constant vigilance and takes decades.

Groups and businesses agree that open and accessible outdoor space is important for all residents, and they are creating new spaces for the community, from art parks, to municipal parks, to safe spaces to wait for buses.

With winter’s short, frigid days, it is easy for metro Detroiters to bundle up in the comfort of their homes and ignore the abundant opportunities for outdoor adventure in their own backyards. However, there are groups in the Detroit area that provide opportunities for locals to explore the outdoors in the winter and year-round.

At 6,113 feet above sea level, the morning air is crisp at Camp Davis. Early risers rely on the August sun, not yet visible above the mountains, to light their path to the mess hall. A bald eagle’s screech echoes across Wyoming’s Hoback River Valley; the only other sound is the occasional rumble of a car on Highway 191. Eventually, the sun appears, gilding the camp buildings in a warm sheen.

With five Great Lakes, thousands of inland lakes, forests, rivers, and a growing number of running groups in larger cities, Michigan is a great state for running. From Lexington to Marine City, the Blue Water area is no exception, providing local runners with plenty of trails and running routes.