Last week, metromode rolled out SE Michigan cycling information, but sometimes, the road is just too tame a terrain. Time to hit the trails.
This area might not be mountainous, but it packs some decent trails. To learn about them, your best resource is the Michigan Mountain Biking Association. Their website is active and informative, and will keep you up-to-date on the haps in the mountain biking scene.
Trails in this area include:
Maybury Park in Northville is a fast, windy 5.6 miles. Brighton's Island Lake State Park has two loops—a seven-miler and a tougher five. You can link them together or separate them out. In summer, a dip in the spring-fed lake is a perfect after-ride tonic.
Highland State Recreation Area in White Lake is 16 miles, three loops…and tough, tough, tough. This is the place to ride when you have energy—and muscles—to burn. Pinckney State Recreation Area north of Ann Arbor has three trails ranging from two to 15.5 miles. It's an easier ride than Highland, but you have to watch the hikers on summer weekends.
Then there's Stony Creek Metropark in Shelby Township. Its wooded 14 miles feels like world apart from city life.
On the flip side is the trail at Rouge Park in Detroit. A little-known fact: Rouge Park is actually larger than Belle Isle, so it makes sense that MMBA is building a trail there. It's currently short, but expansion plans are in the works. Least of all, it is nice to be able to ride a trail in the city.
MMBA's calendar features regular rides at Maybury, Stony Creek and Rouge Park as well as intermittent ones all over the map. Visit often and ride often!
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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