About Midland

A Community of Beauty

(Click here to visit the Photo Gallery)

The City of Midland maintains 72 City parks on 2,700 acres of land - more than twice the amount of park land in the cities of Mt. Pleasant, Bay City, and Saginaw combined!  Small neighborhood parks nestled within residential areas are found throughout the city so that each neighborhood has a unique place for family recreation. 

While neighborhood parks are just right for small gatherings, larger groups can enjoy the amenities of several big parks in the city. Two of the community's largest parks, Emerson and Plymouth, are favorites for softball diamonds, sheltered picnic areas, playgrounds, and - at Plymouth Park - a pool.

Nature is also found in abundance at Midland’s Dow Gardens. Spread over 100 acres, Dow Gardens shares with its visitors the landscaping designed for the home of The Dow Chemical Company founder, Herbert H. Dow, in 1899.

Midland's sister city in Handa, Japan, has made our community more beautiful with the gifts of a Stone Lantern Garden, located outside of the reading room at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library; many gifts that are on display at the library; and hundreds of Japanese cherry trees that dot our community's landscape.

The main entrances to Midland feature colorful wayfinding signage and a variety of flowers and plantings to greet visitors and residents alike. At the Eastman Avenue/U.S. 10 overpass, there are four copper medallions, handcrafted by local artists Jim Ardis Sr. and Jim Ardis Jr., which grace all sides of the bridge (see below).

Midland home and business owners take great pride in their natural surroundings, enhancing their landscapes with bright and colorful plantings, many of which are native to Michigan. Midland Blooms, held on one Saturday each spring, brings volunteers out in full force to plant flowers and foliage along some of Midland's busiest thoroughfares. Property owners make the most of their outdoor surroundings, and many Midlanders are rewarded through an annual Appreciation of Beautification awards competition, which encourages maintaining lovely exteriors to enhance our already beautiful community.

Other areas that offer tranquil, natural settings include bike trails at City Forest; the 30-mile Pere Marquette Rail-Trail, which is used for walking, running or bicycling; and a recent addition to our community, the four-mile Chippewa Nature Trail, which connects to the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail and serves as another natural pathway for recreational enjoyment.

Photo Gallery

Click on images below to enlarge them.