a floodplain works, they know it’s much better to have the water here (in the park) than in their backyards and basements. It’s a floodplain. The water is supposed to be here.”

The entire length of Hines is dotted with picnic areas – 23 of them – and all kinds of fun stuff, including baseball diamonds, playscapes, picnic pavilions, basketball courts, soccer fields, rest areas, a dog park, a disc golf course, workout stations, a Segway rental, and more. Each picnic area has a name and entry to all of them is free. There’s also a paved walking, jogging and bike path that runs the full length of the park. Just remember to stay on the path. Bikers who use the road risk getting hit by a car.

HIDDEN HISTORY Hines Parkway even has a major historical

landmark: the Nankin Mills Interpretative Center, at Hines Drive and Ann Arbor Trail in Westland. Not that you’d know you’re in Westland in the park, surrounded by trees and wildlife.

The center looks like it belongs in Greenfield Village. It even has a connection to Henry Ford, the famous industrialist. But it

doesn’t – it belongs right where it has stood for 170 years, since Nankin Mills was built to grind grain into flour. As a boy in the 1870s, Henry Ford accompanied his father to the gristmill to have the family’s grain processed. They also visited Gunsolly Mill nearby to have the family’s wool carded, or prepared for spinning into thread. That mill is gone, but one of the park’s picnic areas bears its name.

Ford was fascinated with the waterwheels that powered the many mills along the Rouge. After they closed, he converted them into small factories so the area’s farm workers could work for “city wages” when they weren’t planting or harvesting. (The one-room schoolhouse Ford built for the workers’ children is closed, but it’s near the mill, so take a look.)

The story of Ford’s Village Industries is told in Nankin Mills’ second floor gallery, whose displays equal those at the Henry Ford Museum for sophistication. So are those on the third floor, where visitors are invited to “follow the river back in time” to learn about the area’s early Native Americans, the original Nankin Mill, and the Underground Railroad. Check out the fun gristmill sayings that are still in use today,

such as “milling around” and “keep your nose to the grindstone.”

The first floor has several wildlife displays with native frogs, snakes and turtles. The turtles are all really big and you can get eyeball-to-eyeball with them. Check out the Eastern Softshell Turtle, which is rarely seen in the wild because it spends most of its time buried in mud. The snapping turtle is so big it has its own tank.

“People don’t believe these all live in the Rouge River,” said Lawrence.

Hines Parkway is a perfect place to see peak fall color. “Come take a drive through here October 15,” Lawrence said, grinning. “It’s a gorgeous place.”

For more, go to www.waynecounty.com and search “Hines.”

By Patricia Chargot

To learn more about the Rouge River, visit www.therouge.org.

5MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM Thursday, October 3, 2013

Photos Courtesy of Hines ParkwayKids love to go fishing and pond-dipping along the Rouge River in Hines Parkway.

Historic Nankin Mills is a two-for-one: A nature center on the first floor and history displays on the second and third floors. Pick up a free map of the park at the center.

From Northville, Hines Parkway passes through Northville Township, Plymouth Township, Plymouth, Livonia, Westland and Dearborn Heights to Dearborn.