Hawk Island Park, Lansing – Outdoor Recreation For the Whole Family in All Seasons

2026 has been a busy year for us as we attempt to get out a visit a “new to us” trail in every county in Michigan. Sometimes these trips lead to us finding a lot more than just trails, and that is what happened back in May when we headed to Ingham County to check out Hawk Island Park. This 100-acre park in Lansing is located on the site of a former gravel pit and it now offers lots of outdoor recreation opportunities in all seasons. Visitors will find a swimming beach, splash pad, large playground, fishing docks, a dog park, accessible walkways, and even a snow tubing hill.

The Lansing River Trail (a 20+ mile paved trail that runs from Michigan State University to downtown Lansing) runs through the park and we started our walk by heading around the lake from the parking lot. With woods on one side and water on the other, this trail offers plenty of scenic views and opportunities for birdwatching.

There are fishing docks in multiple spots around the lake. Those visiting and casting a line can hope to land a largemouth bass or bluegill in this man-made lake.

We followed the trail around the lake and into the woods. This quiet section of trail follows along the river where. Through this stretch we observed some ducks and a few warblers, chickadees, and bluebirds.

The Lansing River Trail continues with a bridge over a low-lying area that can get quite wet at times. From this bridge we watched as a few whitetail deer followed along the tree line and saw quite a few Canada geese along the riverbank. Across the river the Sycamore Creek disc golf course offers an 18 hole course that is mostly flat.

From here we turned around and followed the same route back until we found the dirt trail through Scott Woods to continue our loop around the lake. This trail passes the Soldan Dog Park, an enclosed off-leash park that offers 15 acres of open fields, wooded trails, and a pond.

As we made our way out of the woods we re-joined the paved path and could see the lake once again. A large structure to the left drew our attention immediately, and a quick look at the map showed that this was the snow tubing hill. This seemed like a great addition for the park and a way to keep visitors coming in all seasons – if something like this had been close to our home when I was younger I would have ended up there every day!

A side path from the main trail leads down to the lake where a large fishing dock/boardwalk gets you a close view of Hawk Island (we did not see any hawks, just a few swallows). There were quite a few people out here fishing and it seemed like this was a popular spot to bring kids for a safe and easy fishing experience.

The paved trail continues on around the lake before reaching the playground, then the beach and splash pad. There are a couple covered pavilions here and we even saw some swan pedal boats tucked away awaiting their return to the water. Right by the parking lot is another building that offers kayak rentals, which would be another great way to experience this park.

Hawk Island Park might be one of the newest parks in Ingham County, but it’s also one of our favorites we’ve visited. There’s something for everyone here with opportunities for hiking, bicycling, kayaking, swimming, fishing, or just relaxing with a picnic lunch. If you’ve ever been to Millennium Park in Grand Rapids, we thought Hawk Island Park was like a smaller version of that. There is a daily entrance fee to visit the park ($3 for Ingham County residents and $5 for all others) and annual passes are also available. The main entrance for the park is located at 1601 E. Cavanaugh Rd.