A Walk in the Park is an ongoing series from State Journal photographer Nick King, who intends to explore Lansing area parks one hour at a time. If you have a suggestion of a park he should visit, email him at nking@lsj.com.
Lansing’s Cooley Gardens and Scott Sunken Gardens is a historic oasis planted in an urban setting south of downtown between I-496 and the Grand River.
The two gardens, located at 125 W. Malcolm X St., offer visitors a vast array of colorful plants and flowers, including perennials, annuals and bulbs. There are mature leafy trees and conifers throughout the approximately two acres of space, which can be explored through a variety of pathways, garden arbors covered in plants and sidewalks.
The gardens include a backdrop of GM’s Lansing Grand River Plant, the city skyline and the Lansing Board of Water & Light’s Eckert Power Station towers known as “Wynken, Blynken and Nod.”
There’s an observation deck between Cooley and Scott Sunken Gardens overlooking the Grand River. The spot has a bench where guests can rest while taking in the natural beauty.
A large pavilion stands at the Malcolm X Street entrance to Cooley Gardens.
Connected by a pathway to the east of Cooley Gardens is Scott Sunken Gardens. The sunken gardens was created by auto pioneer Richard Scott in 1930 from the limestone foundation of a demolished mansion creating a unique structure featuring colorful flowerbeds and a small pond in the center of the gardens.
The sunken gardens was moved from Scott Park brick by brick and reassembled at the current site in 2019 after the Lansing Board of Water and Light shared plans to build its substation at the park in 2016.
There are benches, open spaces and picnic tables at the sites. No dogs are allowed and no bathrooms are on site. There’s a small parking lot as well.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: A walk in the park: Lansing’s Cooley Gardens and Scott Sunken Gardens an urban oasis
Reporting by Nick King, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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