Bad Axe City Park
We ventured into downtown Bad Axe for some food on a weekend thumb trip and ended up staying a while to check out a big park right in the middle of town. It was a frigid February day, so we were the only ones using the play equipment, and we only saw a few people out and about while exploring the park.
The park is divided by Hanselman Street, with most of the park on the east side of the road. We started our journey on the west side of the park, where there was a pavilion and playscape. Kira’s kids enjoyed the playscape, even if they only played for a few minutes, as the windchill was a little much at times. The park connects to the Bad Axe Area District Library, which has a Little Library out front. There are two tennis courts here as well, but I’m not sure that they are maintained very well. The surface is definitely playable, though!
Across Hanselman from the smaller portion of the park sits a basketball court with ten hoops and two mini-sized courts. Two the west of that are four little league diamonds with all crushed rock infields, and even further east are two larger fields with fences. All six stadiums have dugouts and appear to be used frequently in the summer months.
The Pioneer Log Village and Historical Museum are north of the basketball courts. According to the Huron County Historical Society, the village is the largest collection of authentic pioneer log cabins in the state of Michigan. In the 1980s, they were moved from various places around Michigan’s thumb and restored to their current location. There is a chapel, school, blacksmith shop, barn, general store, and a home in the village. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the village is operational on Sundays from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, but you can wander around the grounds year-round, seven days a week. The last Sunday in June is Log Cabin Day across the state of Michigan, and there is a special event at the village.
Although the wind was whipping February’s cold breath into our bones, we enjoyed our time exploring the park. I hope we can stop back in warmer weather so we can enjoy more of the amenities that it has to offer!
