Explore: Novi Northwest Park
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Sept. 29, 2026)
Novi, MI – Tucked along Twelve Mile Road in Novi is one of the city’s newest parks, with a little bit of room for walks, a smidge of open space, a little taste of woods, and a playground made for kids who like to climb and explore.
Novi Northwest Park is located at 50635 Twelve Mile Road, between Grand River and Napier. The 9.9-acre park opened in the summer of 2024, with nearly a half-mile of gravel trails and a unique nature-based playground providing a space of nature and joy, surrounded by the developed neighborhood.
Instead of the typical brightly-colored plastic playground equipment, this one has with logs, boulders, stumps, stone steps and other features that blend into the wooded surroundings. There is a slide built into the landscape, rocks designed for climbing, logs for balancing, and even a little cave to duck into.
The playground was designed and built by Michigan-based Nature Playscapes, and according to the City of Novi it is one of only a few nature playgrounds of its kind in the state. It was designed to encourage creative play, discovery and physical skills.
Beyond the playground, a crushed-stone trail leads through wooded portions of the property and around an open prairie area. There are also narrower grassy areas to wander through, with plenty of plants, bugs, mushrooms and other little bits of nature to stop and investigate.
Northwest Park itself had been years in the making. Novi acquired the property in 2015 with help from a $385,000 Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant, along with $165,000 in City funding. The property was officially designated as parkland in 2017.
When Novi sought public input on what to do with the property, residents favored keeping it as natural as possible. Ideas included crushed-stone rather than paved trails, nature-based play features, and restoration of the prairie area.
Another $100,000 grant from the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Park Improvements Grant Program was awarded in 2022 to help develop the park.
The result is a simple little park that gives neighbors a place to walk, kids a place to play, and nature plenty of room to keep doing its thing.
Novi Northwest Park is located at 50635 Twelve Mile Road in Novi. Learn more at City of Novi’s Novi Northwest Park page.
For more places to explore in Oakland County and beyond, check out the Oakland County Times EXPLORE! section.
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