What a difference pavement can make! I highly reccomend the northern leg of trail between Romeo, Armada and Richmond. It was paved last year and it is gorgeous. It's tree-lined, skirts several large farms and there's even a cathedral of trees just west of Armada. The only drawback is that you have to cross gravel at the dirt road crossings which is a danger and anoyance to road cyclists. A brand-new parking lot was built in Romeo on Clinton Street last year, one block west of M-53 and 1/2 block north of 32 Mile Road. I recomend starting from here and heading east towards Armada and Richmond. Or another good starting point is in Richmond near 32 Mile and M-19. Park on the street and head towards the highly visible trailhead at the interection.

The news during for the southern leg of the trail is not as good. The International Transmission Company cleared trees to provide clearance for their powerlines along the east side of the trail. Some of the character of the trail has been lost but it is still and excellent paved trail and it is excellent condition.

Overall, bravo to the Macomb Orchard Trail Commission and the Friends of the Macomb Orchard Trail for having the vision for this trail and seeing it through.

I posted a review in '09 when there was gravel between Richmond and Romeo . . not so good. This trail is now completely paved and is absolutely gorgeous. I have ridden the full length of this trail many times the past year and fully enjoy it. I thought the Richmond to Romeo part of the trail would be kind of boring, but it is the best part of the MOT. If you live close to this trail . . . . RIDE IT!!!

I'm a newbie just started riding again this june for health reasons and found this trail just north of me. Its now paved all the way and the bridge past Romeo is finished. Very nice and peaceful ride good for the soul. Lightly traveled during the weekdays but still not bad on weekends. Lots of friendly faces and if you venture off the trail in the towns you will find very nice little shops and very nice people. Try Armada and its quaint beautiful century old homes and quiet downtown. I sometimes start there by going up North Ave all the way and park just on the north side of the trail just east of the road. At 59 yrs old I hope to enjoy riding for many years and have lost 30#s this summer just having fun on the trails.

Parked at 33 Mile/Romeo Plank roads and rode to Richmond and back. Totally paved for this distance! Used to be loose gravel. Many people on the trail now and all pass with a smile. Trail marked well for road crossings and some stretches almost fully shaded. Like riding in a tunnel. You can really enjoy this section of trail now. Will be out there more often for sure.

Rode this last week end and found the trail was nicely paved and grade was very level. The downside is that they have been doing quite a bit of clearing out the trail growth and there isn't much shade to be had, with the pavement it is a very hot ride. Although you were never "alone" on the trail the traffic was light and easy managed. Some of the turns could be better marked when you had to cross a major intersection and pick up the trail again and there were no maps on the trail available so come prepared. For those riding solo you were never far from a house/business if you needed help. I would do this trail again but would plan better for an early or late day ride. Enjoy!

Laurie

I ride this trail, or portions of it, at least twice a week. While most of the trail is either paved or hard packed pea gravel the section east of Fulton Rd. in Armeda to the paved portion in Richmond is very loose, large, gravel (rocks: golf ball to racket ball size). I ride a cyclocross bike and will not attempt this section with out putting the knobby tires on. According to the MOT website this portion is due to be blacktopped by summer 2011.

The most congested portions of the trail tend to be between the western trail head and 32 Mile Rd. Though I am seldom held up through here it is best to keep your eyes open.

An absolutely beautiful ride - 5 stars when the Armeda/Richmond section gets paved.

September 6, 2010

We had ridden this trail last year & found the middle 10 miles tough. We heard it was finished & thought we would try it again.
Left Richmond; paved for 2 1/2 miles then once again the trail was just miserable. We have hybrid bikes and even with those we were constantly swishing & swashing. There was no time to look at any scenery as we had to concentrate solely on the trail. It was work. But as scenery lovers as well as bike lovers we decided to jump off at Armada & work our way through the back roads until the asphalt resumed. Got off at Powell rd;left for maybe a half mile & jumped on 33 mile road for 10 miles. This back road was actually pretty good; heaven compared to the trail. Stayed on 33 until Romeo Plank. Jumped back on the trail & was easy riding from there. There are two closed signs, one has been up since last year, other is a warning that there is a bad gravel spot. No big deal but slow down. On the way back, we got off at Powell road to 33 mile rd & stayed on that until Lowell Plank; right for 1/2 mile & trail was right there.
Lots of beautiful home on 33. Nice. Love the rest of the trail but that middle part is something to avoid.

My husband and I have been riding our bikes on the trail this entire summer. We ride from Richmond where we live, and try to take it a little farther every day. Our longest ride to date has been to Pitt Rd. through Armada.

On Wednesday of last week while crossing over 33 Mile Road, my tire got caught in the gravel and i fell, resulting in 5 stitches to my knee and multiple abrasions and bruises on both legs.

I cannot stress enough how dangerous and treacherous the gravel is on that stretch of trail in Armada. Before any more injuries occur, it is imperative that the surface be redone, please.

Sincerely,
Susan Lorio

Parked at 32 Mile and headed east for Richmond with my wife last week. Rode this trail early last year and it was very tough with the gravel. So we tried something different. Stayed on 33 Mile all the way to where trail is paved west of Richmond then rode trail into town. 33 Mile was not fun between Omo Road east to Armada Ridge. Freshly graded with lots of loose stone made for a bouncy ride. On the return trip I decided to skip this part of 33 Mile so we stayed on the trail headed west until Omo Road. It wasn't that bad! Had a very strong cross wind and averaged about 11-12 mph. As long as you pay attention and stay out of the middle where it is soft (unpacked) it is doable. At Omo Road, headed south to 33 Mile and took that west back to Powell Road. The tree lined trail does a good job of blocking the wind. Saw one big bodied deer along the way and no people on the gravel part of the trail. Beautiful weather, 80 degrees, and very breezy. Am going to try it again soon and will stick to the trail this time.

I just wanted to let everyone know that Westview Orchards is located at 30 mile and Van Dyke and is just West of the bike trail. We have ample grass parking available if anyone is looking for a parking area to jump on the trail. We also have restrooms, a farm market, ice cream shoppe, cider mill, etc. We will be installing bike racks this year for people that stop at the farm on their ride.

www.westvieworchards.com

The reports of the "gravel" situation are accurate. Sadly, it appears that there will be NO effort made to change this situation. It was clear to me that additional pea gravel continues to be purposefully supplied in abundance in an obvious effort to support the horse traffic in that area. It is virtually impassable by the the average rider because I think it is almost 9 miles of deep, loose and treacherous surface material. I am an advanced rider and chose to do it the first time just cuz I was so pissed that it is that screwed up. On my return trip I used 31 Mile road which WAS fun and virtually NO traffic. Check the trail map in Richmond and you can see how easy a fix this is. I can only hope that someone eventually gets this situation fixed because that section could make this trail one of the most outstanding in America.

A group of five of us rode the whole trail on July 4th with a total of 65 miles, round trip. I agree with the previous comments that the gravel was very difficult to ride on and there were horse tracks on the dirt part of the trail which was very soft. Eventually, we rode out all the gravel and did enjoy our record breaking ride. Where the asphalt ends and the gravel starts is a very picturesque stop over. Many people ride to that point and then turn around. My group did divert from the gravel trail at Richmond, on our return, by taking Armada Ridge road, about five miles, to pick up the gravel path and then only had about two/three miles on the gravel. Armada Ridge is a nice two lane road without much traffic.

I have biked the Macomb Orchard Trail from 24 Mile and Dequindre into Romeo. It's a very nice ride with all pavement and good scenery.
I tried riding from Richmond to Romeo. The ride was nice on the paved trail starting in Richmond, however the pavement ends at Armada Ridge Rd., only 2.5 miles. The gravel surface was horrible to ride on, I would say almost impassible on bike (mountain bike would even be questionable). I was very disappointed in the condition of the gravel, it is very loose and fairly deep making the ride extremely unstable with a ton of resistance. I turned around after about a quarter mile into the gravel. In comparison, the gravel section of the Wadhams to Avoca Trail is hard packed and quite nice. If only the Macomb Orchard Trail had the gravel of the WTA Trail it would be a great 23.5 mile ride. Ride this trail between Shelby Twp. and Romeo, wait for more work to be done between Romeo and Richmond if you bike the trails.

Started at 32 mile road, wanted to check it out after the completion of the bridge over M-53. Once you cross Powell Rd. the gravel is pretty treacherous. Looks like they put down the wrong gravel, more like pea gravel instead of limestone. Also, horseback riders have left some pretty deep gouges from hooves. Went as far as Armada, then turned around and rode back to Romeo for a brew at Irish Pub. All in all, it was a pretty ride. Can hardly wait til they get the right surface down.

October 11, 20008
Enter the trail at 32 Mile Rd. (St. Clair St.) east of downtown Romeo, west of M-53.
The bridge over M-53 at Romeo officially opens this weekend.
The trail from Romeo to Armada is mostly stone dust. Not particularly hard-packed, so watch it. Quite passable and dry, however.
Be careful of the crossing at Romeo Plank and 33 Mile Rd. Traffic moves at 55 mph.

There is plenty of farm country scenery between Romeo and Armada, mostly soy bean fields and corn fields. The trail crosses North Ave. at the grain elevator in Armada, which is south of downtown. The downtown is worth the short side trip. There are restaurants and an ice cream shop or two (otherwise my wife would not make the trip with me.) Watch the traffic on North Ave. There is a lot of it, especially during the flea market (Sundays April-October) or during the Armada Fair (middle of August.)
The flea market is east of Armada on Armada Ridge Rd. (which is the main east-west street.)

The trip between Armada and Richmond is more of the same semi-improved rail roadbed. Stone dust underneath, dry with a tendency to be a little loose. Watch the crossing at Armada Ridge Rd west of Richmond. Traffic moves quickly there. Trail ends in downtown Richmond.

There are two downtown areas. To the north is Richmond proper. To the south is the old Muttonville downtown area. Both are worth the short side trip. Typical mid-western small towns. Decent small-town restaurants. There is a bathroom at the small park at the trailhead in Richmond (reasonably clean according to wife.) For bike repairs there is a bike shop on M-19 north of the trail head park in Richmond. There is substantial traffic in Richmond up and down M-19, so be careful.

Mileage => Romeo to Armada ==> 6.75 miles
Mileage => Armada to Richmond ==> 6.8 miles

Wildlife: endless deer, small mammals and rodents, occasionally a fox or coyote, midwestern, farm country birds.

The trail is open and paved with asphalt all the way to downtown Romeo. In the other direction you can connect to the Clinton River trail and go through Auburn Hills and into Pontiac.

We drove from 24 /Dequinder to 32 Mile and have to say what a good job!!! Great trail. I can't wait until it's finished all the way. Thanks.

"Rode the trail from the start point on Dequindre to where the pavement ends at the VanDyke Expressway. Very nice ride of about 20 miles, all asphalt. A nice change from eating limestone dust with this dry summer we have had!

There is a sign when you are going northeast at about 7 miles or so that says there is a bridge out - but the bridge is now complete.

Nice job by the county and trail organizers on this one! "