Persimmon Park, Brighton
Persimmon Park is a 10-acre wooded area at the southwest corner of Highland Avenue and South Clinton Avenue. I chose to stop by there on this day because I was in the neighborhood, but didn't have the time to take a long hike or really explore a larger area.
As it turned out, this was a perfect choice, because there's really nothing much going on in this park.
I entered from the parking area, which is little more than a muddy pull-off along Eldridge Ave., a short, dead-end street off of Highland. It's pleasant enough going in, and the path quickly leads to a large, open grassy area with a couple of benches. On the far side of the grassy area is a nice wetlands area and something that appears to be a once-tended trail, but it ends as soon as it begins.
A couple of other skinny which trails wind through the wooded area are clearly created by, and utilized by, deer more often than humans.
And that's pretty much it.
Apparently the park was named after the beautiful persimmon trees that grow there, but of course this early in the year I couldn't enjoy them, There were some pretty spring flowers, though, which brightened up the late-winter greys and browns. There was also a nice little bird garden memorial in honor of the couple whose home once occupied the land.
I can't see that Persimmon Park would ever be a destination, especially since there is limited parking. One reference I saw online said the park is popular with residents of the nearby apartment complexes. And judging from the great number of cigarette butts and beer can pop-tops scattered around the two benches, clearly the park does get some walk-by traffic. But its location at the corner of two very busy streets does not make for a quiet, peaceful environment.
Perhaps I need to head back there later this summer to see Persimmon Park in bloom.
