Carpenter Lake Nature Preserve - Actifit Report Card: October 12 2025
Hey Actifitters,
With the sunny weather in the forecast yesterday, we had planned to visit one of the Metroparks, but as often, the day kind of passed by us way too fast, especially since we once again started quite late. So after finishing a few things at home, we settled for Carpenter Lake Nature Preserve instead. Like I said in the past, it's much closer, less than 15 minutes drive, and just easier. Unfortunately we can't bring Le Chat with us for these park visits and she had to stay behind. I don't think she really minded, she seemed pretty comfortable on the old doggie bed on the deck.
We arrived at the park quickly and as soon as we started walking on the small trail, Kaia couldn't resist climbing on the big fallen trees.
Goofy Kaia!
For once, we weren't exactly late for the sunset, but not too early either, just in time I guess!
That meant we couldn't waste much time and just walked directly to the water, cutting through the trees, including some steep terrain.
Beautiful signs of Autumn there.
We quickly went back up to the main trail where the colors were pretty nice too. Just like our forest, it's not exactly peak yet, but we're getting there.
And of course, it's even better with the sun golden light.
As usual, we had to make that photo opp just above the platform.
Pretty sure Kaia isn't a fan of posing for all these photos but she does it without complaints.
And she wasn't done with it yet! After she scared away the ducks, of course she had to pose again on that small beach with vibrant foliage in the background.
Don't worry Kaia, it's the last one...
There is a small sort of dam there and standing there, we get a full view of the lake, along with the foliage on the sides of course.
We continued the small loop through these meadows. Pretty sure most people just stop at the lake and skip these meadows, but we like it. And that makes the loop slightly longer.
As we were walking back, I was trying to think if we ever saw deer in this park, and here they were! Half a dozen deer. Funny how that works sometimes.
Just one small wood bridge to cross and we were done with the loop. It's clearly a small one, barely one mile I think, including our off-trail detours. So multiple loops are usually needed to get a decent walk.
And at the end of the walk, it's a must to stop by the rock garden. This time, it was a bit late for the sunset, but the view is still great.
So great that it seemed as though everybody and their mother were out there snapping photos and shooting videos. For instance, can you see that bright red spot? That was a lady modeling for some kind of photo shoot. We're just there for the sunset though.
We concluded the day with a quick stop at the grocery store because there was literally nothing left to eat in the house! All that combined, final step count wasn't too bad for another somewhat slow Sunday. Let's see how the final week before the Deteoit half marathon goes.
As always, thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow.
This report was published via Actifit app (Android | iOS). Check out the original version here on actifit.io