Like other bike riders, we found it impossible to ride west of M-36. We have heard how bad this was but thought maybe others were over exaggerating...but nope...the trail is so full of divots left by the horse riders (not to mention all the crap). After 3 miles of it...we could take no more! It would have been so nice to ride to Stockbridge. Such a shame. What I can not understand is the Lakeland trail has a very wide "grass" shoulder; I am positive 2 horse riders could ride side by side on the grass to get to THE DESIGNATED HORSE trails. So, why do the horse riders have to travel on gravel trail? It is apparent they are making a statement and want this trail all to themselves. Let those amaetuer horse riders and their "sissy" horses have the trail. Trail Link: please REMOVE this trail from your list. This is not a bike/walk trail...this is a horse trail.

The trail itself is very nice from Hamburg to Pinckney, and Gregory to Stockbridge. But Equestrians have dug up the trail between Pinckney and Gregory. This was the roughest stretch of RTT I have ever encountered. For my return trip to Hamburg I had to forgo the trail altogether and ride M36 back to Pinckney. Its a shame that the horse owners seem to think they own that portion of the trail.

I "discovered" this trail a couple years back and use it regularly. From the East trail end at Hamburg Road to the old Pinckney train station it is a beautiful smooth ride. On bike or foot you can exchange a lot of smiles. I rode the part West of Pinckney where it crosses M-36 a few times but stopped going after my fillings kept getting jarred loose by the horse hoof divots. There was no practical way to avoid them, not to mention the road apples.
I thought it was multi-use, but the few times I encountered horses, the riders treated me to glares and dirty looks. (I always nodded, smiled and or waved - just being friendly, folks!) There are dedicated horse trails just off the main rail-trail, so I don't quite get why they leave the main trail torn up like that. It would be nice if this main part were groomed occasionally.

I am new to RTC and live in Pinckney, MI. We have a paved RTT through Hamburg. Now that a section is paved, it has been a great asset to the community. Bikers, joggers, strollers, walkers and occasional horses alike use the trail extensively. Our biggest obstacle to having Lakeland Trail paved farther through Pinckney is; horse riders. Horse owners are popular out here in the midst of the Pinckney Recreation Area. Horse riders use Lakeland Trail to get to the area horse trails and have left their damage and crap on the trail. Now paving is blocked because they would rather block then come to an agreement to share the trail. Meantime they dominate the trail because it is pretty much unuseable to everyone else.
Despite some of the other reviews on this site, I can personally attest to the deterioration of the trail west of Pinckney over the past several years. I moved out here 6 years ago and could easily make the trip from Pinckney to Stockbridge with a mountain bike, especially the day after a good rain. Now the trail is so rough and full of potholes and crap, I can't always make it to Gregory and with a lot of struggle.
Horse riders have many trails in the area that are designated for horse riders only.
Why can't a RTT be designated for non motorized wheeled vehicles and pedestrians only? Does any other RTC members have any experience with a similar issue and how it was resolved?

Joe in Pinckney

The paved part from Hamburg to Pinckney is great! What is needed though is more forward thinking leaders and citizens in this state, so that a complete state wide paved trail system could be a happening... Wouldn't it great just to get on your bike or even walk from say Grand Rapids to Port Huron and not worry about cars/trucks. etc,...

I was a little hesitant to take this trail based on the reviews. However since we were in the area we went to check it out. We found about 5.5 miles paved in the Pinckney area. It stretched from mile marker 2 to 7.5. We parked near the tunnel at the intersection of M36 and Pettysville road. This part of the trail was nice. It was fairly shaded and there is many places to stop for food and a school playground (mile 3.0). This was enjoyable for an 11 mile round trip.

We tried to bike the trail and gave up after a total of three miles--this trail is definitely not for leisure biking. The gravel is deep and most of the trail is marred by horse "pot holes". We travelled the rest of our trip on the shoulder of the main roads. If the trail was widened and there was a separate "lane" for horses (and riders respected the divide), more people may be able to enjoy the beautiful trail.

I have noticed that the manure problem is better so far this year, but the trail remains difficult to navigate any way but by walking. The number of divots left all over the width of the trail make in all but impossible to ride a bike on and if running, you risk twisting an ankle. I just cringe anymore when I see horse trailers pull up to use the trail in Stockbridge. I thought I was just being cranky until I read the other posts and was glad to hear about the possibility of horses being restricted.

I've been hitting different sections of this trail over the last couple of weeks and can't believe some of the damage caused by horses, not to mention that large amounts of manure left behind. There are sections that are so damaged that jogging was difficult and I had to be careful with my foot placement due to divots left by horse hooves would make for rolling an ankle a real possibility. I can't imagine my kids getting by some sections of this trail on there bikes, especially just east of Gregory and west of Pinckney due to the damage.

Most other sections are quite nice and scenic and make you feel as thou your up north. It's just sad the surface couldn't be in better shape for a true multi use trail along it's entire route.

Unfortunately, the folks with horses will soon lose their trail privelages due to the antics of a few who destroy the trail for everyone. Surely, the true Equestrians are courteous enough to stay off the center of the trail and to clean up after their horses. However, most of the trails in this state have been closed to horses for the exact reasons which are apparent to anyone who has used this trail lately.

I pulled up a map of this trail on this website. Fortunately for me, I live east of the trail so it made more sense for me to start at the end labeled "endpoint" then driving all the way around to the other side. I am VERY glad I did. The trail is amazing - very scenic, nicely paved. About 7 miles in though, it turns to gravel. Still very compacted and not too rough, I continued on. Over the next two miles, the road conditions slowly worsened (for a bike at least) and the path got smaller in width. By around 11 or 12 miles, I was basically biking in sand. I ride a Giant lifestyle bike, good even on mountain bike courses, but this was too much even for me. I turned around before I got myself in further trouble by continuing on. So my advice - start on the Hamburg (east) side of the trail. A good 2/3 of the trail is unbikeable gravel but could still make for a great hike. If you live far from here I'd consider other options if you're looking for a long ride.

"The section of the Lakeland Trail in Hamburg Twp (around 6.5 miles) is now paved. This includes a tunnel under M36. Not all the work is yet done, however, this trail hold a lot of promise. We started in Hamburg Village and went west along the trail. There are 2 ice cream stops along the way. You can easily continue past the paved section for another few miles to D19 in Pinckney where there are a couple restaurants. This section is hard packed ballast and is almost as fast as the asphalt. This ride gave us around a 19 or 20 mile day (round trip)."

"I rode the trail last night from Merrill Rd (Hamburg) to M-36 West of Pinckney. The trail conditions were pretty good. I have read the posts about horses messing up the trails, but there are only a few short sections where the gravel has been ""chopped"" up and loose due to horse traffic. I rarely ever see any horses in the stretch I ride. I would like to see more bikes ""packing"" the divots back down, along with me.

I am more concerned about the dirt bikes and quads that are tearing up the trail West of Farley rd. near Pinckney. Someone has been doing donuts on the trail and rutting it up pretty badly. It looks like someone may have also dug a hole in the trail and covered it with loose straw (BE CAREFUL, or you could do a header there)"

I rode this trail on my MTB and I would suggest that the criticism regarding poor conditions for bikes must be coming from horse people to discourage use by bikes. It's in good condition and the only reason I saw for incompatibility was 3 groups of horses each with bike shy animals.

"The trail goes through a beautiful area. However, the horse traffic has made the trail too rough to be enjoyed by cyclists."

"Hate to see the complaints of how horses have ""ruined"" this trail. There is only a small fraction of public horse trails in the state, compared to hiking and biking trails. There should be plenty of room in the great outdoors for all users. What can be done?"

"I have to say i will never go bike riding on this trail again. Even the portion of the trail that starts in the town of Stockbridge is ruined by horses. Its so rough and full of sand that its impossible to enjoy a bike ride.

The DNR had such a nice trail and such a nice nature setting to run the trail though but they have negleted all others for the sake of horse riders.

They post that this trail is set-up for handicap, thers no way a person in a whell chair could ever negotiate this trail.

They made their choice, horse riders are welcome, everyone else can stay away!"

"I mostly ride east of Pinckney, to the end of the trail east of Hamburg. The trail west of Merrill Road is hard to negotiate. Biking or walking it's almost impossible if you're not somewhat skilled.

Some vegetation needs trimming, but not too much. Garbage lining the trail is very unsightly, mainly between Farley Road and M-36. Occasionally horses will leave deep divots and manure making it difficult for bike riding."

"This is a nice open, trail west of Pinckney for both horses and bikes but does need grading very rough on the butt while biking. East of Pinckney the trail is very hard to negotiate. It's very overgrown with vegetation for biking and must be impossible for horses. I used the trail on Sunday, Aug 22., 2004 between 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. between Dutton and Hall Roads."

"I have to agree with some of the other reviewers. The first couple of times I rode this trail it wasn't bad and the scenery is beautiful. The last three times I rode it I found it to be an upleasant experience. The horse divits have done such a number on the trail that you feel like you're rolling down a boulder field. Unless they make some changes, I don't know that I'll be visiting again. "

"I tried this trail my family in early September 2003, as it looked like a perfect distance for my six-year-old budding mountain bike racer, with nice destination towns whichever way you rode it.

Horses had been on it when it was wet (and not just on the south side, as the DNR Web site claims is the plan), and between the hardened hoofprints and mounds of dung, it was the worst biking experience we've found in Michigan. I'll echo a previous poster's comments and say if you're pulling a trailer, forget it -- not because it's not possible, but because you won't be able to miss the manure, and the hoofprints will shake your kid mercilessly. If you're on mountain bikes yourself, go ahead, but you'll rattle like you're at Pinckney or Island Lake, only without the fun terrain.

It's definitely not a multi-use trail. It doesn't need to be paved to be usable by hikers, runners or cyclists, and the area is very pretty, but it ought to be clearly marked as equestrian-only, as they've wrecked it for everyone else."

"Unpaved, crushed stone/gravel trails like these are great for offroad running and biking. There are plenty of roads and paved trails for biking so I say this one is beautiful as it is, unpaved."

"I rode this trail along with a dozen friends on December 29. We had a wonderful time. The trail is in good all weather condition. It would be nice if snowmobiles weren't allowed on the trail, though. "

I tried the trail on 7/13 on a cross bike starting in Stockbridge. I made it about 3 miles past Gregory then gave up and turned around. Trail surface is loose sand and horse manure. No milepost markers.

"This trail is NOT suitable for any bike riding unless you are on a full suspension mountain bike. This trail is definetly NOT suitable foe wheelchairs, baby strollers or bike trailers. This trail is essentially a horse trail and not a multi-use trail.

The DNR has promised to pave this trail for the last EIGHT years. But local opposition by equisterian clubs, developers and the inept DNR management has foiled any planned paving of this trail.

You can walk it, run it (watch out for the road apples) and take your horse, atv, dirt bike, snowmibile down it. Riding a bike wouldn't be very bright."

"Pretty trail; however, recommend mountain bikes only. Soft slag surface is very loose (particularly in the couple-mile stretch east of Gregory). Soft surface and bumps require your full attention on the surface ahead, allowing few opportunities to enjoy the surrounding scenery. My party of 5 bikers won't be returning unless some sort of clay/dirt composite is added to firm up the surface. We gutted out the entire roundtrip course, but saw many bikers bailing for the hard surface highway that loosely parallels the trail."

"I rode the trail on 5\5\01 from Stockbridge to Gregory. The trail surroundings are just beautiful, couldn't be prettier. This is a perfect trail for walking and jogging/running. I was riding my bike and found it a little difficult to ride in many areas because of the loose gravel, that's why I only rode part of the trail. It's easy to drive right by the Stockbridge parking lot. I did, but thankfully I realized it right away. The lot is only marked by a small brown sign. "

This trail was challenging to ride due to the often deep gravel surface in many places. Not for road bikes!!!! Good scenery and some nice restaurants in Gregory and Stockbridge.