The leaves had begun to change, it was a beautiful Saturday and I wanted to get outside. Hoping for extra color, we hopped in the car and headed north. I had heard about the Canopy Walk at Dow Gardens in Midland and was hoping that would be a great spot to do some leaf-peeping.

There were two problems with my plan. Problem number one: the colors in Midland were not as vibrant as I expected. Both vibrant colors were seen on both sides of the freeway, but once we moved onto the back roads, we saw more green than I was hoping for. Problem two: everyone else seemed to have the same idea. The canopy walk was wall to wall people. Being that it opened earlier this year, this shouldn’t have surprised me, but you just can’t get a good forest experience with all those people around.

Even though it’s advertised as a great way enjoy fall, the canopy walk is mainly in an evergreen forest. Even at peak fall colors, you won’t see a big difference on the canopy walk. My favorite part was exploring the pond area of the forest. Everyone was up on the canopy walk (left) so it wasn’t busy. There are even chairs to sit in and enjoy nature. I enjoyed playing with the floating leaves and the water’s reflection (top).

Overall, we enjoyed Dow Gardens. At peak colors (probably this week) it will be breathtaking. I would love to come back and explore the gardens in the spring or early summer when the flowers are in bloom. I would like to come back with my flora loving family. If you would like to avoid crowds, the middle of the week is probably best.

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