Bring the Passport: How Lost Lake's Year of Open Houses Ends in Oakland Township

Since August, the nature center at Lost Lake Nature Park has hosted one free Saturday open house each month, and each one stood in for a different habitat. It started with the Mississippi and the Nile, then moved to Michigan wetlands and the Everglades, then the Sahara and Death Valley. Each visitor gets a passport booklet and a stamp at every open house. The township has said all year that anyone who shows the passport at the December open house gets a special prize.

That December open house is Saturday, Dec. 12, from noon to 3 p.m. Oakland Township Parks and Recreation built a year-long series to pay off on that one afternoon, and most of the season's other programs in the parks fall in the weeks around it.

Two Saturdays left on the passport

One stamp remains before the finale. The November open house, "Rainforests II (Africa and Asia)," runs Saturday, Nov. 14, from noon to 3 p.m. at the nature center. December's theme is "Arctic A-L."

The format stays the same each month. According to the township's Fall 2026 Parks and Recreation newsletter, every open house includes a craft, outdoor games, and indoor models and biofacts from the featured place. The Arctic open house listing puts it at Lost Lake Park, 846 Lost Lake Trail. The program is open to all ages and needs no registration.

The booklet is handed to every visitor, not only the ones who have come since August. A family that missed the first four months can start a passport on Nov. 14 and bring it back four weeks later.

Dec. 12 fills the whole day at Lost Lake

The prize afternoon begins as a morning program in the same building finishes. "Michigan's Winter Animals," led by a naturalist from Seven Ponds Nature Center, runs from 10 a.m. to noon at the Lost Lake Nature Center. It's for all ages and costs $5 for residents and $7 for nonresidents. The newsletter describes an indoor session with real taxidermy and a look at how Michigan animals adapt to winter. After that comes a short hike to look for tracks and signs, weather permitting.

That Saturday at Lost Lake breaks down like this:

1. 10 a.m. to noon: Michigan's Winter Animals. Paid program, registration through the township.
2. Noon: The Arctic open house opens as the winter animals program ends.
3. Noon to 3 p.m.: Arctic A-L open house, free and drop-in. Bring the passport for the prize.

The morning program covers how Michigan animals get through the winter, and the afternoon features the Arctic. The two themes fit together well, so the day works as a single outing.

The rest of December runs through two buildings

Away from the open houses, the township's December calendar mostly runs out of two buildings. One is the Lost Lake Nature Center and its warming shelter. The other is the Paint Creek Cider Mill, where the parks office is now located.

Dec. 5 runs on the same plan as Dec. 12 but splits between the two buildings. "Pining Over Yew" for adults 50 and older fills the morning at Lost Lake, and "Christmas Chemistry" for kids fills the afternoon at the cider mill. Frosty Fun Crafts on Dec. 1 is for adult and child pairs. They make a tabletop snowman, a snowflake and one surprise craft to take home. The Bob Ross session on Dec. 22 is the last of the series. The November session, "Spectacular Sunset," is Tuesday, Nov. 24.

The cider mill building has a second draw on the same visits. MK Cannelle, the French pastry shop that ClickOnDetroit reported in February would open in the former Paint Creek Cider Mill, lists 4480 Orion Road as its Rochester location. Its posted hours are 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. If you're dropping off for Christmas Chemistry on Dec. 5, the bakery is in the same building for the three hours in between.

November's calendar around the Nov. 14 stamp

November has a calendar of its own around the Nov. 14 stamp, spread across more of the township's parks.

This Saturday, Nov. 7: "Meander the Milky Way and More!" runs from 7 to 9 p.m. at the historic Cranberry Lake Farmhouse for ages 8 and up, at $5 for residents and $7 for nonresidents. The program starts with an orientation to the autumn night sky. Then, weather permitting, participants look at Saturn, the Milky Way, globular clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy through the Oakland Astronomy Club's telescopes. Registration is online through the township.

The last two Wednesday bird walks are free and need no registration. Both run from 8 to 10 a.m.:

• Nov. 11 at Watershed Ridge Park
• Nov. 18 at Fox Nature Preserve

Thursday, Nov. 19: Seed Cleaning and Mixing runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Watershed Ridge Park and is free. Volunteers sort seed collected in the township's natural areas into mixes for habitat restoration. Participants are invited to bring a dish for a potluck.

Where that seed goes in December

The November seed work and the December workdays are two halves of the same job. On three Tuesdays, Dec. 1, 8 and 15, volunteers meet from 9 a.m. to noon at the Snell Road parking lot of Bear Creek Nature Park. They remove invasive shrubs and spread seed. The township supplies tools and training. No online registration is required, and bad weather can cancel a session.

The stewardship season ends indoors on Dec. 16 with the Stewardship Holiday Coffee Hour at the Paint Creek Cider Mill. It runs from 10 to 11:30 a.m., is free, and is an informal social hour for people interested in nature. That puts the last seed-spreading Tuesday and the coffee hour one day apart.

The new trailhead on Snell Road

The Bear Creek workdays meet on Snell Road, and so will the next big change to the township's parks. At Stony Creek Ravine Nature Park, the township's fall newsletter describes a project by The Alan Group with three parts:

• A new parking lot and trailhead off Snell Road
• A universally accessible crushed-limestone trail through oak forest to an overlook above the West Branch of Stony Creek
• A trail connection south into Stony Creek Metropark

The newsletter set completion for November. The project is funded by a federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant and the township's land preservation millage. The township's Stony Creek Ravine park page lists the park's seasonal closure days. Under Huron-Clinton Metroparks policy, visitors entering the Metropark on foot or by bike on its trails get in free. Visitors who drive in need a vehicle pass.

To plan a route before heading out, the township's new Trail Guide is online. Printed copies are available at Parks and Recreation events, at Township Hall and at the parks office inside the Paint Creek Cider Mill. If you're bringing the passport to Lost Lake on Dec. 12, you can pick up the guide at the same event.

Living near Lost Lake, Bear Creek or the Paint Creek Trail shapes how a family spends its weekends, and it's part of what a home here is worth. If you'd like to know what that means for your property this winter, Realty Solutions of Michigan is glad to help. Request a Free Home Valuation, and Saba Katto will give you a clear, local read on where your home stands.