The Healthy Communities Park and Outdoor Recreation Investment Plan is a $20.2 million program aimed at enhancing park and recreation opportunities in Oakland County using $15 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds matched with an additional $5.2 million in funding from OCP. There is one of these projects in the works in Lyon Township and the City of Wixom:

• Lyon Oaks County Park

Lyon Oaks County Park

Lyon Oaks is a 1,041-acre park in southwestern Oakland County in Lyon Township and the City of Wixom. 

Summary Project Scope

Increase opportunities for active outdoor recreation with a destination playground, flexible open space for exercise, accessible pickleball courts and improved trail connectivity to the Huron Valley Trail. The project was funded by the OCP Healthy Communities Park and Outdoor Recreation Investment Plan, including $200,000 in ARPA funding and $690,000 from the OCP Capital Improvement Program. The GameTime Statewide Funding Initiative grant covered 50 percent of the cost of the play equipment.

Status: Complete

The completed project includes the following components: 

• Old playground was replaced with a large, accessible playground that promotes physical and social inclusion through universal design.
• National Demonstration Site – The playground at Lyon Oaks meets the requirements to be a National Demonstration Site (NDS) for both inclusive play and for physical activity. Survey data will be collected on an ongoing basis which will be fed into a national database managed by PlayCORE. Site-specific data will be available for internal review and planning purposes. The data collected at Lyon Oaks will also be added to aggregate national data which will inform future playground design and development by the Center for Outreach, Research and Education (CORE). 
• Pickleball courts allow guests with and without disabilities to play. The four courts can serve 16 players at a time and are connected to the parking lot, pavilion and restroom by accessible routes.
• Restroom is available year-round (heat was installed in 2023 for the purpose of serving contact station staff), extending the season of use for playground and pickleball courts.
• All areas of the reactivated space are connected by access routes that – at a minimum – meet ADA accessibility standards.
• Paved improvements to the trailhead, close to accessible parking spaces, improves connection between the Woods Edge area and the Huron River Trail as well as the park’s trail network.
• Accessible parking, included as part of the park-wide Lyon Oaks paving project, provides three times the minimum required accessible parking spaces.

Contact Information

Simon Rivers
Parks & Recreation Planning Supervisor
248-421-9033
riverss@oakgov.com