Very nice, easy ride
By
lizardjones
in
August, 2011
Rode the Kiwanis Trail twice yesterday (there and back). It's an excellent trail for the beginner. It is dead flat, very shady (at times it feels like you're in a tunnel of trees) and mostly smooth. The majority of the trail is blacktop. There is a short section (2 miles?) near the Tecumseh side that is concrete and has a lot of cracks and potholes. Not enough to diminish the enjoyment.
The trail was fairly busy with other bikers, inline skaters, joggers and baby strollers. Everyone was pleasant and friendly and easy to pass when needed.
The trail winds through the woods, neighborhoods, the city of Adrian and past some water. There are a couple cool little wooden bridges to traverse. Enough changing scenery to keep you interested. The trail crosses a couple busy intersections (M52 for one), so keep your head up.
I parked at the Tecumseh end. Drive into town on M50, head south on Adrian St., (which becomes Green St.) about two miles to Ives Rd. There's a little gravel lot there, or you can park by the side of the road if it's full.
Not exactly a workout, but a lot of fun.
Pleasant ride in a short time
By
happymommyof7
in
August, 2009
While the 7-mile trail isn't long enough for me to make a day of it as I prefer to do when I am out biking, there are some things about this trail that make it a nice ride. First of all, this trail is a fun, quick ride that I can accomplish in a short period of time if indeed I have a day that time is limited. My ride includes the Adrian city trail (less than 2 miles) and a short jaunt up an off-trail country road in Tecumseh (about a mile). In a little less than an hour I can ride from Adrian to Tecumseh where I can have a nice lunch and a pot of tea at the British Pantry, or a latte at the Daily Grind. Then, in less than an hour, I am back where I started. My total ride is approximately 10 miles. I park at the Wendy's on the corner of Beecher and M-52 and hop on the city trail which begins just north of Beecher off M-52. I continue through the city of Adrian, through Trestle Park and then connect to the Kiwanis trail. The trail portion of the ride is relatively smooth and scenic with farms and an occasional wildlife sighting. At the end, I turn left onto Green Rd. and ride less than a mile to Tecumseh's main drag, Chicago Road. Turn right and you are into downtown Tecumseh with a few options for things to do. A visit to this trail is certainly worthwhile.
A fun, relaxing day
By
lindajimb
in
August, 2008
We rode the Kiwanis Trail yesterday, August 13, 2008. Since we were visiting my Aunt in Tecumseh, we parked in the gravel area at Ives & Green, right at the north end of the trail. Much of the trail was newly surfaced and smooth; however, a 3 mile stretch between Occidental Hwy and Valley Rd. had cracks across the trail every 10-20 ft, some of them jarring. There were also some deeper holes and depressions that were marked with paint. In spite of this, we had a very enjoyable ride. There was ample shade. Sometimes we were riding in a tunnel of trees. There was a stream nearby that we could often see & hear. Trestle Park in Adrian provided us with some photos ops. We rode off the trail a couple of blocks in Adrian and found a Subway that had outside picnic tables for lunch. On the way back we saw a doe and two fawns in the middle of the trail, a very pretty sight! Many thanks to the Kiwanis for making this trail and our fun day a reality! A trail map can be found at: http://www.ci.adrian.mi.us/documents%5CParks%20&%20Recreation/kiwanis%20trail%20map.jpg
A fun, relaxing day
By
lindajimb
in
August, 2008
We rode the Kiwanis Trail yesterday, August 13, 2008. We were visiting my Aunt in Tecumseh, so therefore we parked at the patch of gravel at Green & Ives, right at the end of the trail. Much of the trail is newly surfaced and smooth. There was a 3 mile stretch between Occidental Hwy and Valley Rd. that had cracks running across the trail every 10 or 20 ft. A few were very jarring. There were also a few larger holes or depressions which had been marked off with paint. Despite these imperfections, we truly enjoyed our ride. There was ample shade, and we sometimes found ourselves riding in a tunnel of trees. We enjoyed seeing and hearing the running water in the nearby stream along the way. Trestle Park in Adrian was very nice and well maintained. We rode off the trail in Adrian a couple of blocks and found a Subway that had outdoor seating for lunch. On the way back we saw a doe & two fawns standing right in the middle of the trail. Thank you, Kiwanis, for making this trail and our fun day a reality. A trail map can be found at: http://www.ci.adrian.mi.us/documents%5CParks%20&%20Recreation/kiwanis%20trail%20map.jpg
10-year-old's observations
By
in
May, 2005
"Observations from a Ten-Year-Old Cyclist, by Amelia D.
On Mother’s Day, our family decided to go bike riding on Kiwanis trail. Me, as a 10 year old, got pretty excited. We brought snacks and stuff and were ready to go. The car ride was about an hour from Ann Arbor but when we got out of the car, it was hot! Correction: steaming hot! Boiling! So maybe this wasn’t the best day. But any day you go, you should bring lots of water. But we still rode and while I was riding, I didn’t notice really any trash or gross stuff along the trail. That was good but then, I noticed there was hardly any shade. There were benches, sure yeah- but not in the shade. No benches in the shade but there were trees. Oh yeah! Lots of trees! So here I was--boiling hot, pedaling hard and with no shade. But I have to admit, I am a 10 year-old and not so used to bike riding long distances, but I do exercise a lot. I also have to admit that the path was like su-mooooth!!!! (smooth) So the trail was perfect for bikes, skateboards, etc. Now, rolleorblades, those would work but there were some cracks. Not big ones, just the ones that go all the way across the trail. So there you have it. Well, if you really just want to skip the details, here’s it straightforward: Generally, it was a great trail. Relaxing, lots of birds: cardinals, redwing blackbirds, robins. Also houses, farms, horses. The most interesting part is a small waterfall near Adrian where you can eat lunch (but don’t forget to take out your trash out with you and leave it nice for everyone else!) It was what you might call long though—seven miles each way, so I rode a total of 14 miles. It took my family about 2 and a half hours to finish. But at the end, we went to this one dairy in Adrian called “Spotted Cow” which was a REALLY great place. It had basically everything you could want! And it made all that hard work worth it. So, out of ten-one being the worst, ten being the best, I’d give it a 8.75 probably."