Great Places to Ride in Michigan
Pick the Right Ride For You!
We’ve compiled a map of our favorite local rides and routes to share with you, enjoy!
Highland Recreation Area
This is the trail everyone wants kept secret. Built by mountain bikers for mountain bikers, 16.2 miles of winding, climbing narrow single track provides an incredible aerobic and technical challenge for any rider.
You will need to work a little harder to get cooking on this trail. Your time is spent navigating rocks and roots. This technical single-track heaven has plenty of off-camber trail to keep you on your toes too. Beginners should ride this trail with other experienced riders. Most riders do A loop?s 3.8 miles, & B loop 5.9 miles for a total of 9.7 miles. Please note the recent addition of a new cut off point on B loop. Add on the C loop?s 2.7 miles, (an offshoot of B loop) or D loop 3.8 miles (offshoot of A loop). The basic A/B loop define the character of this trail, while C loop adds more rock passages. D loop is the most technical with lots of tight, off camber turns. Riding all 4 loops will require climbing approximately 2000 feet, and you should allow between 2-3 hours.
Brighton Recreation Area
The Torn Shirt loop is a little over 5 miles long and is considered an advanced ride. The Murray Lake Trail is between 7 and 9 miles long depending on which loops you ride and is considered a more moderate trail.
Island Lake Recreation Area
25 years ago, the MMBA began work reestablishing the overgrown and long neglected Island Lake Recreation Area trail system. Today, these trails are now one of Michigan's most popular mountain bike trail destinations. Many a mountain biker can claim Island Lake as their first singletrack experience, and it's a great place to share the sport with beginners. The trail head parking lot has room for 120 cars, and while prime weekend days find it mostly full, the trails never feel that crowded. Paved bike paths connect Island Lake to the Kensington MetroPark, the Milford mountain biking trails, Proud Lake Recreation Area trails, and beyond making Island Lake the perfect launching point for all-day epic biking adventures.
River Bends Park
River Bends Park contains 8.5 miles of trails, both dirt two-track, and CRAMBA-maintained single track. An asphalt path runs throughout the park, crossing the Clinton River to Woodall Neighborhood Park, and it will eventually connect to downtown Utica.
Containing a paved path, wide two track, and single track trail, River Bends is a park for everyone. The single track trail winds its way south along beautifully wooded, terraced ridge before turning north and snaking through trees and heavy brush tunnels. The single track trails are beginner friendly but present enough of a challenge that seasoned riders won't be bored.
Anderson Park
Trail flows along moderate hills, around wetlands, and along the Grand River.
Most of the trail is a fun and flowing singletrack making excellent use of the limited space this park provides. There is a section near Wardell Road called the playground that has a couple of well built berms, wood obstacles, and log rides. The Outer Loop Portion to the east offers great views of the Grand River along a section of trail that flows well, allowing for some proper speed building.
Trail flows along moderate hills, around wetlands, and along the Grand River.
Bloomer Park
The Bloomer Park trails are a fun mixture of technical single track and scenic two track that is under active development. Follow the signed route or piece something together by mixing up the two track and single track, exploring what this beautiful park has to offer.
Pontiac Lake Recreation Area
One of the best known and most used trails in the Detroit metropolitan area due to its location (just 11 miles from Pontiac and 38 miles from downtown Detroit) and challenging terrain, Pontiac Lake Recreation Area has been providing an escape from the hustle and bustle of this auto building community for hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers for years.
Pontiac Lake is a single, easy to follow loop (with two optional, signed, difficult sections) which starts and ends just off of a main parking lot. Starting to ride this fast, flowing trail with major elevation changes is a commitment, but one which handily rewards riders.
Hines Park Trail/Rouge River Gateway Greenway
This trail is actually composed of two trails: the 2-mile Rouge River Gateway Greenway and the 17.5-mile Hines Park Trail, which create a seamless 19.5-mile connection between Dearborn and Northville.
I-275 Metro Trail
The I-275 Metro Trail began back in the 1970s as the Michigan Department of Transportation's response to the then-fuel crisis. The original trail linked Wayne, Oakland and Monroe counties along a 40-mile paved route that ran parallel to Interstate 275.
Metro Parkway Trail
The Metro Parkway Trail—also known as the Freedom Trail—parallels the busy Metropolitan Parkway (16 Mile Road) through urban Macomb County. You'll find many street crossings throughout a mix of business and residential development; most are at-grade and have traffic signals.
Clinton River Trail
The Clinton River Trail is a 16-mile recreational trail on an abandoned rail line through the heart of Oakland County, including the cities of Sylvan Lake, Pontiac, Auburn Hills, Rochester Hills and Rochester. The surrounding landscape includes downtowns, industry, residential areas and parks.
Lansing River Trail
The Lansing River Trail traces the course of three waterways for more than 25 miles across Michigan’s capital city. Visiting all four main points of the compass in Lansing, the trail provides a route for self-propelled transportation to numerous parks, cultural and commercial attractions, workplaces, and a major university.
Northern Tier Trail
The Northern Tier Trail winds through East Lansing on the outskirts of Michigan's capital, offering miles of paved pathway through tree-lined areas and wetlands. The 10-foot-wide trail connects several community parks, recreational facilities and neighborhoods. Not far west of the trail, you can enjoy shops and restaurants off Lake Lansing Road, and the trail is only about a mile north of downtown and the Michigan State University campus.
Stoney Creek Trail
With 4,461 acres of prime recreational lands, this top-rated park's scenic, hilly terrain surrounds beautiful 500-acre Stony Creek Lake. Park features include a nature center, a hike-bike trail, beaches, boat launch facilities, a disc golf course and an 18-hole regulation golf course.
Island Lake Pathway
The Island Lake Pathway runs east–west through the densely-wooded landscape of the Island Lake Recreation Area southeast of Brighton. Although relatively short, the paved trail may prove a challenge to some, as it courses through hilly terrain.
Mike Lavine Lakelands State Park
The Lakelands Trail follows a section of the former Michigan Air Line Railroad opened in 1884 as part of a planned rail line across southern Michigan. It was absorbed by the Grand Trunk Western Railroad in 1928 and became disused in the 1970s.
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