The Perimeter Loop passes through the Clarkston Road parking area where you will find a vault toilet and a trailhead with a map box. Head east (left) from the trailhead as the trail quickly swings south (left) passes through the wood chip storage area and at Mile 0.3 reaches post No. 2. Follow the route towards post No. 4 as it continues to skirts the woods and arrives at the spur from the Bark Park within a half mile from the start.

At post No. 4, this route swings south and skirts a marshy area, arriving at post No. 7 at Mile 1.2. The post marks a short spur to one of the fishing docks on Lake Sixteen. In less than a half mile you pass a second spur to a dock at post No. 9. At either one you can take soak up the scenery or spy on anglers in the middle of the lake trying to hook a trophy bluegill.

At this point the Perimeter Loop continues south until its reaches the border of the park where it swings west. You pass the roof tops and backsides of homes of Cedar Key Subdivision, not exactly what you want to see during a hike in the woods, but this is Southeast Michigan.

The trail quickly swings north and arrives at post No. 11, at Mile 2.3. Here you head west (left) and use a 120-foot boardwalk to cross through a marshy area past some huge pines that makes you feel like you’re somewhere in northern Michigan, not suburbia Oakland County. The boardwalk leads to Post No. 12 and here you head north (right). The next stretch can be a bit confusing as you pass a pair of trail posts (No. 13 and No. 14) but continue north to post No. 17. By continuing north at this junction to post No. 18 you could be back at Clarkston Road parking area in 0.6 mile for a 3.5-mile outing.

By heading west (left) at the junction instead you climb a wooded ridge, passing posts No. 16 and No. 23 and topping off at a grassy knoll st Mile 3.3 featuring a bench, picnic table and even a grill. At 1,100 feet, this “peak” is not only the park’s highest point but one of the highest in the area. During most of the year foilage blocks any view but if the leaves have dropped or it’s early spring you can peer to the north and see Oakland County's other mammoth mountain; Pine Knob, complete with chairlifts. Alpine country in Oakland County.

This route continues to post No. 24 where it begins a steady descent, bottoming out at post No. 26. You then head west (right) for post No. 29, reached at Mile 3.7. For the next mile you skirt along the park’s west border off of Baldwin road and then the trail swing east to climb a wooded slope and passing a pair of junctions before reaching post No. 18 at Mile 5. You’re now only a half mile from the Clarkston Road parking area.