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Orion Township has forty-two lakes bigger than five acres on about thirty-six square miles, the Village of Lake Orion in the middle of them, and Bald Mountain Recreation Area, more than four thousand acres of some of the most rugged ground in southeast Michigan, east and southeast of the village on the Orion and Oakland township line. Paint Creek, which rises in Brandon Township and was dammed in the 1830s to make Lake Orion itself, runs through the village and on south toward Rochester with the Paint Creek Trail beside it; the Polly Ann Trail runs north out of the township toward Oxford on the old Pontiac, Oxford and Northern grade.

That mix gives us two kinds of work. Lake lots on Lake Orion, Long Lake, Indianwood Lake, Square Lake, Voorheis Lake and Judah Lake, where the bank between the house and the water has grown into a wall of buckthorn, honeysuckle, box elder and grapevine; and the wooded lots along Clarkston, Baldwin, Joslyn and Indianwood roads and around Gingellville, where the back half of the property has not been walked in years. We walk every bank first, take the brush down to a chip layer that holds the slope, and leave the shade trees; on the wooded lots the job is usually buckthorn under oaks, ground flat so the woods open back up.

Thirty-five minutes up I-75 and M-24 from Royal Oak puts the machine on your lot: one high-flow tracked skid steer, FECON forestry mulcher on the front, brush hog attachment on the trailer, the owner at the controls. A single flat project price covers the bank or the lot and the drive to get there. The number is (810) 776-8524, answered 8 AM to 8 PM every day, and the quote form takes photos.

Where we work in Orion Township: the Village of Lake Orion, Gingellville, Lake Orion Heights, Eames and the Baldwin, Joslyn, Clarkston, Indianwood, Waldon, Silverbell, Kern, Brown and Lapeer (M-24) road corridors, the lakes, and the edges of Bald Mountain Recreation Area.

Common Jobs in Orion Township

  • Lake lot banks and shoreline brush on Lake Orion, Long Lake, Indianwood Lake, Lake Voorheis, Judah Lake and Square Lake.
  • Backyard reclamation on wooded subdivision lots north of Clarkston Road and around Gingellville.
  • New-build lot clearing along Baldwin, Kern and Stanton roads, with the building envelope and drive line opened and the keeper trees left.
  • Trail cutting and brush-outs on the larger parcels near Bald Mountain and the Polly Ann Trail.
  • Outlots, retention pond banks and commercial parcels along M-24 and Brown Road.

What We Do in Lake Orion

Each service, and why it comes up on this ground.

Lake lot banks and shoreline brush

The signature Orion Township job. A bank on Lake Orion, Long Lake, Indianwood, Square, Voorheis or Judah Lake that has grown shut is walked first, worked from the stable ground above the slope, and left with a chip layer that holds the bank while grass comes back. Lakefront and creek bank clearing explains the method, and the hillside clearing guide covers the steep ones.

Wooded backyards and subdivision lots

The lots north of Clarkston Road and around Gingellville are oak woods with buckthorn underneath. We grind the understory flat around the trees you tape, open the back half of the lot, and leave a chip layer the mower can run. Forestry mulching in Oakland County covers how it goes on this ground.

Lot clearing for a new house

Along Baldwin, Kern and Stanton roads the wooded parcels still get built on. We open the footprint, the drive and the septic area to the stakes, keep the trees you tape, and leave a surface the excavator grades through. Lot clearing in Oakland County and the lot clearing guide cover the order of work with the builder.

Trails and brush-outs near Bald Mountain

The larger parcels against the recreation area and along the Polly Ann Trail want a two-track, a loop trail or shooting lanes cut through the oaks. We cut them to the width you walk or drive and leave the chips as the surface. Trail cutting and hunting land clearing cover layout and timing.

Outlots, pond banks and commercial parcels

Along M-24 and Brown Road the commercial frontage and the subdivision outlots fill in with brush between mowings. We clear them to the stakes on a schedule set with the owner or the association and leave a chip surface the landscaper can keep. HOA and retention pond clearing and commercial land clearing cover scheduling.

Fence lines and property edges

A back line grown shut on a wooded lot is cleared to the stakes or flags you set, with the neighbor's side done in the same visit if they want it. Fence line clearing and the overgrown fence line guide cover how wide to open it and when.

Invasive brush

Buckthorn, honeysuckle and box elder along the water are the Orion Township mix. Mulching grinds them to the ground and shreds the root crown; a mowing or spot follow-up in the first two summers finishes the job. Invasive growth removal and the buckthorn guide explain what grows back.

Lake Orion from the air: wooded shoreline lots where the bank grows shut in a few seasons.
Lake Orion from the air: wooded shoreline lots where the bank grows shut in a few seasons.
Bald Mountain Recreation Area, east of the village on the Orion and Oakland township line, the kind of oak-and-lake country the private parcels around it share.
Bald Mountain Recreation Area, east of the village on the Orion and Oakland township line, the kind of oak-and-lake country the private parcels around it share.

How a Job Goes in Lake Orion

From the first call to the finished chip layer.

1. Pictures first, a walk if the bank needs it

Most Orion Township jobs are quoted from photos: the bank from the deck, the brush from the lawn, the side yard the machine would use. A long or steep lake bank earns a visit, where we plan the passes from the top and tape the trees that stay.

2. The quote

A flat project price for the whole job, the drive from Royal Oak and the slope included, sent in writing before anything is scheduled. Calls are answered 8 AM to 8 PM seven days a week; the form and texts get a reply within one business day.

3. Getting in

Lake lots and subdivision backyards are reached through the side yard or a gate; the tracked machine clears a standard gate and crosses turf without ruts. Wooded parcels off the gravel roads are entered from the drive or a two-track, and the route is set on the walk.

4. Chips, not piles

Brush, saplings and stumps are ground where they stand into a chip layer over roots that stay in the ground. On a bank the chips anchor the slope, in the woods they melt into the leaf litter, and there is nothing to burn or carry out.

The Lake Orion Calendar

What suits each season on Orion Township ground.

Winter

Lake banks and the wet lowland near the trails go on frozen ground, and the bare-branch view lets us read the bank and the lot lines from the seat.

Spring

Home sites are cleared early so the builder has the summer, the low ground is left until it firms, and the upland lots start the week the frost is out.

Summer

Wooded lots and back lines run through the summer, the dry end of August reaches wet ground without a freeze, and trails and lanes for the fall are cut from late July.

Fall

Leaf-off shows every bank again; a bank cleared now holds through the thaw, and a lot cleared now is ready for a spring foundation.

Where We Work Around Lake Orion

Orion Township is about thirty-six square miles, two and a half of them water, bordered by Oxford Township to the north, Oakland Township to the east, Independence Township and Clarkston to the west and Auburn Hills to the south. The Village of Lake Orion sits on the lake it is named for, about 500 acres and the eighth largest in the county, with Long Lake just northeast of the village, Indianwood Lake and Square Lake to the west around Lake Orion Heights, and Voorheis and Judah lakes toward Gingellville in the southwest. Bald Mountain Recreation Area has two units east and southeast of the village, with M-24 dividing the south unit, and the GM assembly plant sits on Giddings Road in the south-center of the township.

Lake Orion is about twenty-seven miles and thirty-five minutes from our shop in Royal Oak, up I-75 to M-24. Oxford to the north, Clarkston to the west, Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills to the south and Addison Township to the east are the same trip, so a job that sits on a township line is still one project price.

Questions We Hear in Lake Orion

My lot drops steeply to the lake. Can you still clear it?

Yes. Steep banks are walked and planned on site, the machine works from stable ground, and the chip layer stays on the slope and holds it. Our hillside clearing guide explains how we approach banks and embankments.

Can you get into a subdivision backyard?

Yes. Send a photo of the side yard or gate with the access, and we will tell you exactly how the machine gets in and what stays untouched on the way through.

How fast can you get out to Lake Orion?

Calls are answered 8 AM to 8 PM, seven days a week, and every form and text gets a reply within one business day. Orion Township is about thirty-five minutes from our yard, so a walk-through is easy to fit in, and most lake-lot and backyard jobs can be priced from photos first.

How many days does a Lake Orion job take?

One day for most lake banks and backyards. Solid buckthorn across a wooded acre or two is a day or two of heavy brush; the quote says which, and larger parcels get a date for each section.

What time of year suits a lake bank here?

Winter on frozen ground or the dry end of summer, when the slope takes the machine without rutting, and with the leaves down so the bank can be read from the top. Fall-cleared banks hold through the thaw and are green by June.

What happens to the chips?

They stay where they fell, a layer a few inches deep over the intact roots. On a bank they hold the soil; in the woods they disappear into the leaf litter within a couple of seasons. Our guide on what happens to the mulch covers it.

Will buckthorn grow back on the lot?

Expect a few root sprouts the first summer, from buckthorn and honeysuckle both. Mow them off once or spot-treat the stubborn ones and the lot stays open; the buckthorn guide covers the follow-up.

Do you cut trails on the parcels near Bald Mountain?

Yes. Two-tracks, loop trails, stand approaches and shooting lanes are cut to the width you walk or drive, with the chips left as the surface, and the work goes in late summer so the ground is quiet before the season.

What should I line up before the day?

Tape on the keeper trees, flags on the property line if it is part of the job, the gate unlocked, and photos of the side yard and the bank sent ahead. That covers nearly every Orion Township job; anything else is handled on the call.

Nearby Areas We Also Serve

OxfordOakland CountyClarkstonOakland CountyAuburn HillsOakland CountyRochester HillsOakland CountyAddison TownshipOakland CountyOrtonvilleOakland CountyRomeoMacomb County

See everything we do in Oakland County or browse all service areas.

Overgrown Ground in Lake Orion?

Send the address and a few photos through the quote form, or call. You will get one project price for the whole job, travel included.

Get a Quote(810) 776-8524
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