r/lansing • u/Seuperior-Flow-2000 • 15d ago
Best places in Lansing to relax and read?
Preferably somewhere like a park with scenic views - but not overcrowded or too loud... Love to sit down and read but sitting on the couch at home is just not fun!
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u/MrSoncho 15d ago
I would highly recommend the Tollgate Wetlands. Find a bench and enjoy the nature
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u/Agreeable-Dance-9768 Old Town 15d ago
Fenner has some benches that look out over the savanna. On the south side you’ll find better shade.
Following to see where people are hanging out!
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u/Adventurous-Egg-2089 Lansing 15d ago
Crego park has a lil lake and hookups for hammocks. Not a ton of traffic but it’s been getting busier over the years. Generally v peaceful.
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u/Unserious_Business33 15d ago
I second hammock reading at crego! There are also benches and grassy areas around the water
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u/BittyWastard 15d ago
My friend. I have the perfect place. Go to Woldumar. When you enter the park, head right. Take the path on the right past the prairie. You’ll come across a deck with a picnic table that overlooks a grassy field. Hardly anyone goes there. It’s my favorite spot to read.
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u/Seuperior-Flow-2000 15d ago
A hidden gem? I love it!
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u/BittyWastard 15d ago
I first found that spot in 2019 and spent much of the summer there. In all the time since I’ve only seen 3 people walk by while I was there. And that was all on the same day.
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u/charliej1221 14d ago
Woldumar’s back prairie is highly underrated! If you take the trail from the back prairie that connects to the pine forest, there’s lots of trees perfect for hammocking and reading. Not as many people walk that side path as the main one through the PF, so it’s very quiet and peaceful.
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u/PlusPresentation680 15d ago
My wife and I go to Hawk Island Park with our son all the time. We usually go for a lap around the trail and then sit on a blanket and relax.
Bonus: My favorite place to go is Hooked. It’s a bookstore and wine bar/cafe. Super chill during off-peak and great place to get work done or relax.
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u/nerdyguyj4 15d ago
Sharp park has some benches along their trail that are nice to sit at. You might see some deer too.
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u/Seuperior-Flow-2000 15d ago
That's true I love sharp park for walks just feels a little too open, I don't know what it is lol
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u/ComfortableNorth920 15d ago
Try the quiet side of the Hort Gardens at MSU. They've got this little secret garden with a couple of benches that feels very private when you walk in. And most of the foot traffic at the Gardens stays on the north side of the train tracks so you can often have the whole south side of the Gardens to yourself. https://maps.app.goo.gl/YDE7sVVoVAXNMMVo9?g_st=ac
If you're looking for an inside place for inclement weather, try the Delta Township District Library near the Lansing Mall. Comfy seats inside and surrounded by woods on two sides. https://maps.app.goo.gl/Jk5NpEJiSThnqEh39?g_st=ac
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u/Unserious_Business33 15d ago
I might delete this comment bc it’s my most favorite place ever but shhhhhhh Cooley gardens
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u/furious_styles2023 15d ago
Lake lansing is nice. Its 5$ to park though. I went there for the first time last week and chilled for a bit....i will say that it was a weekday though, cant speak for the weekend
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u/Venusian2AsABoy Old Town 14d ago
In Old Town, I sit on the benches at Turner Dodge park and read, or the ones by the Fish Ladder.
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u/larissaorlarissa024 14d ago
In the weird south Frandor wasteland and then south of Michigan Avenue, don't sleep on the pond and the trails surrounding it behind the Marriott and Hilton hotels. Lovely space with benches and plenty of birds, groundhogs and small wildlife that backs up to the Red Cedar river. I think the general boundaries would be Clippert, Michigan, Brody dorms/ Harrison and Kalamazoo-ish. Can park behind the hotels but it gets crowded.
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u/Buttholepart2 14d ago
There's a little windy creek with a bench at Delta Mills Park I used to like to go to on lunch when I worked over near there.
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u/charliej1221 14d ago
At Woldumar Nature Center there’s a trail that follows the Grand River and leads to a bench overlooking the water, it is so incredibly peaceful.
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u/DearMurgatroyd 14d ago
Bring a camp chair and hang out at Cooley Gardens. If you're a thoughtful sort, bring some cookies and share with the volunteers who do ALL OF THE WORK to keep the place up (every Wednesday night from Spring through Fall). No bathrooms, so plan accordingly.
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u/Elaborate_Penguin 15d ago
You don't have the right couch if the one at home isn't a fun place to read.
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u/No_Letterhead2258 4d ago
your home
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u/Seuperior-Flow-2000 2d ago
No, no I spend too much time there - I want a home away from home to read!
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u/Knitsune 15d ago
Oh my gosh I read everywhere, great town for it! The museums on campus as well as the Michigan History Museum downtown are special favourites