The Pinckney Grand Slam
The Pinckney State Recreation Area is full of endless opportunities for outdoor adventures. The 11,000 acres includes lakes, trails beaches and more. We decided to head to the Silver Lake area for what we named the "Pinckney Grand Slam." This consists of hiking, biking, swimming and catching a fish, which all of these can be done right from this one spot.
We decided to head to the lake first. There are options for fishing from shore and docks but we decided to head out on our paddleboards to see if we could catch a fish. We enjoy fishing but never claim to be master anglers so we knew this would most likely be the toughest part of grand slam. Well, it didn't take long and we had our first fish of the day! With early success on catching a fish we decided to enjoy paddling around the lake to see if we could get anymore, which we did! It was a successful day fishing and the Pinckney Grand Slam was off to a good start.
@mi_playground Catch a fish. Part of the Pinckney Grand Slam. #pinckney #fishing #bass ♬ original sound - mi_playground
Next up, we went for a swim. For this, we decided to switch it up a bit and bring our cameras underwater with us to see what was happening below the surface. While exploring, we saw fish, turtles and more! This part of Pinckney State Rec Area also offers a great beach/swimming area so there are easy opportunities to get in the water for a swim.
@mi_playground It’s a whole new world under the water. #snorkeling #underwater #michigan #pinckney ♬ original sound - mi_playground
Our third portion of the grand slam involved getting on our bikes and hitting the trails. Again, everything we have done is accessible from one parking lot! The mountain biking trails have a variety of options depending on how long you want to go. The Potawatomi Trail starts at Silver Lake and can bring you on a 17.4 mile ride that will end back in the other side of the parking lot. 17.4 miles was a bit too much for us that day, but if you are feeling up to it, the opportunity is there! The trails offer a good challenge with some uphill climbs, downhill descents. The trail is well maintained and very fun.
To complete the grand slam we put our bikes away and moved onto a hike. There are 30+ miles of backcountry hiking trails in the area. Like with the biking, there are hiking trails of all different lengths so if you are looking for a few mile hike, it is there. If you want to spend all day and go 20 miles, you can do that as well! It is common to see deer and other wildlife along the trails that pass through all different types of scenery.
After we completed the Pinckney Grand Slam, we were ready for some food! There are a lot of options all within a short drive of Pinckney State Rec Area. We had a recommendation to check out Ore Creek Craft Cider and get pizza to bring in from next door at Riverside Pizza. Ore Creek has a great inside area but today the patio was the right choice. This patio put out a good vibe! We ordered from Riverside and brought it back to eat at Ore Creek. After we were done at Ore Creek we grabbed coffee a few doors down from NautiMI on the River. This also had a great setting and also offers kayak, canoe and SUP rentals along with the NauTikiMI tiki boat tours.
Other options when leaving Pinckney State Rec Area include heading to Hell, yea that's right, Hell Michigan, or making your way into Brighton or Howell. All of these options are a short drive from where we completed the Pinckney Grand Slam and have great options for food and beverages.
You can check out our full video from the Pinckney Grand Slam below!