By Christina Collie
This is the third in a series about parks and recreational areas to explore in Flint and surrounding areas within 20 miles, presented in no particular order.
Kelly Lake Park
4345 Lapeer Rd
Burton, MI 48509
Hours: Dawn – Dusk
In my opinion, Kelly Lake Park is a true gem. Nestled in the middle of a residential subdivision and flanked by the sights and sounds of I-69, if you’re going too fast, you’ll drive right past the park sign and dirt road entrance. It’s that well hidden.
Despite being smaller than the other two parks highlighted in this series, Kelly Lake Park has the most diversity in offerings.
For example, in addition to a pretty sweet sledding hill, there are three trail options: a short, paved trail that takes about 10 minutes to walk one way and runs next to Genesee Christian Elementary School before dead-ending at Genesee Road; and two other dirt paths that are tucked away and make you feel like you’ve discovered a secret world within the park.
Although the park’s website mentions a boat launch and beach, I’ve never seen a boat on the lake, and there’s usually a large population of geese hogging the beach. But, I have yet to visit when there wasn’t at least one person fishing either from the bridge or pier, or while sitting beside the lake.
You have to take the bridge to the other side of the lake from the parking lot, where you have a choice between the two rustic paths. The one to the right is shorter, and will spit you out near the paved path I mentioned first; the one to the left will lead you around what I think of as the “cattail swamp”, and you will definitely want to be wearing old shoes or boots for that path because it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll be walking through mud/water at some point. (But that’s really part of the fun because it makes it feel like you’re a true explorer.)
The path to the right is about 12 minutes to walk, and the one on the left takes about 45 minutes and will lead you across the sled hill before you end up at the dirt road that brings you into the park. There’s not a clear trail the whole way, you just need to keep the wetlands area of Kelly Lake on your left as you’re walking.
According to the “2024 City of Burton Five Year Parks and Recreation Plan,” walking paths are the main draw for people to visit public parks the majority of the year, but the great sledding hill is why I chose to write about Kelly Lake this month.
Improvements listed in the plan that the city would like to make include lighting, restrooms, cameras, and ADA upgrades to beach access. While I’ve read reviews on resources like Yelp, where the writer complains about the park being right next to the freeway, for me that is one of the things that makes it special. The fact that the city chose to do so much for the local community as well as wildlife, especially with such a small area, makes me appreciate it all the more.
Happy exploring!
This article also appears in East Village Magazine’s February 2025 issue.
