Explore the best rated trails in Alpena, MI. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Huron Sunrise Trail and Alpena Bi-Path. With more than 5 trails covering 127 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The 71-mile North Eastern State Trail, along the former Detroit and Mackinac Railway, provides a mostly solitary and meditative experience as you travel through wetlands, farmland, forests, and a few...
The Huron Sunrise Trail follows the shore of Lake Huron from south of Rogers City, through town and north to end at 40 Mile Lighthouse. The scenic trail links the town with Vogler Conservation Area, a...
Alpena's Bi-Path covers 14 miles of ground in an urban landscape, taking in scenic views of Lake Huron and Thunder Bay River, as well as skirting Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary. The paved trail follows a...
The scenic Alpena to Hillman Trail runs for 22 miles across northern Michigan on a former railroad corridor. The surface is largely improved, so the trail is popular with those on snowmobiles, as well...
The 71-mile North Eastern State Trail, along the former Detroit and Mackinac Railway, provides a mostly solitary and meditative experience as you travel through wetlands, farmland, forests, and a few...
The Huron Sunrise Trail follows the shore of Lake Huron from south of Rogers City, through town and north to end at 40 Mile Lighthouse. The scenic trail links the town with Vogler Conservation Area, a...
Alpena's Bi-Path covers 14 miles of ground in an urban landscape, taking in scenic views of Lake Huron and Thunder Bay River, as well as skirting Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary. The paved trail follows a...
The Shingle Mill Pathway is a series of trail loops for hikers, cross-country skiers and mountain bikers. Horses and snowmobiles are not permitted on the Shingle Mill Pathway. All the loops begin...
The Shingle Mill Pathway is a series of trail loops for hikers, cross-country skiers and mountain bikers. Horses and snowmobiles are not permitted on the Shingle Mill Pathway. All the loops begin...
The 71-mile North Eastern State Trail, along the former Detroit and Mackinac Railway, provides a mostly solitary and meditative experience as you travel through wetlands, farmland, forests, and a few...
The scenic Alpena to Hillman Trail runs for 22 miles across northern Michigan on a former railroad corridor. The surface is largely improved, so the trail is popular with those on snowmobiles, as well...
The Huron Sunrise Trail follows the shore of Lake Huron from south of Rogers City, through town and north to end at 40 Mile Lighthouse. The scenic trail links the town with Vogler Conservation Area, a...
Alpena's Bi-Path covers 14 miles of ground in an urban landscape, taking in scenic views of Lake Huron and Thunder Bay River, as well as skirting Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary. The paved trail follows a...
Best trail we have ridden so far. We'll marked and fairly flat till you reach 40 mile Lighthouse. 7.6 miles from marina downtown to light house.
I was pleased with the condition of this trail, sounds like it's improved since a few years ago. Very comfortable on a Long Haul Trucker with 700x32mm tires. I thought it was about as smooth as could be without being paved, aside from just a few patches of slightly thicker gravel. Very glad with my bike choice, mountain bike would have been overkill and would have been slower. Definitely sunny for most of the trail, a cool or cloudy day would be preferable if you're going a distance. Heading NW I was faced with a decent headwind, esp by mid afternoon. Over the 47 miles with a loaded bike I averaged 11-12mph in the NW direction, and slightly faster on the way back south (I'm in mid to decent riding shape and used to steeper terrain). My entire trip was from Alpena to Onaway and then up the road to Onaway SP (54 miles total one way) and it took about 6 or 7 hours with some leisurely stops, could be done faster. I only saw 4 other people on the trail. The scenery and remote-ness surpassed my expectations! Had some intimate moments with sandhill cranes, a kingfisher, and red-shouldered hawk. It was a neat way to see a portion of Michigan that I otherwise probably wouldn't go out of my way to visit.
We had a beautiful sunny day and rode from the trailhead in Alpena to Posen, out and back. The trail was generally smooth and easy to ride on. It went mainly through woods and some fields and farmland. We saw some wildlife including deer and wild turkeys, as well as an abundance of butterflies - a very pleasant and peaceful ride.
We stopped for lunch in Posen at the Route 65 Diner, which is just north of the trail in town. They had a good variety of choices, great food, great service in a welcoming environment, and a clean bathroom to boot! Would definitely recommend!
What a beautiful trail! I rode from Rogers City to 40 Mile Point Lighthouse, very well maintained and singed. A+ in my book.
Marking the first day of Autumn, my friend and I rode 36 miles from the Millersburg trailhead, east to Alpena. The trail was in great shape (no longer rough as reported in previous year's reviews). The trailhead in Metz was beautiful and included a shaded pavillion, restrooms, a drinking fountain with great tasting water, informative displays regarding death, destruction and recovery efforts associated with the huge fire in 1908 and was nicely landscaped. We rode our gravel bikes with 35 to 40 mm widths, I would not advise using road bikes. Lots of nice little towns along the route to find refreshments. This was an excellent, though little used trail.
Rode from the trailhead in Millersburg (very nice facility) to the trailhead in Cheboygan. Over the 34 miles there were nice views and a number of towns to pick up food and or refreshments. The bridges were all in good shape, as was the trail surface. My friend and I rode gravel bikes, mine with 35mm tires and his with 40mm width tires. The surface wasn't rough and there was only one road crossing where there were significant bike handling issues due to the sand. I wouldn't advice using a road bike with skinny high pressure tires, they'll likely have problems in some of the areas where there was a bit of loose gravel. This was a really nice trail!
I found this trail to be fun - good crushed limestone, well marked (including distance to next location). There are a number of road crossings, but that can't be helped. It would be great if they could make it so I don't go uphill and into the wind, but also, nothing to be done about that!
Pleasant, mainly flat trail from Rogers City along the Huron Lake out to 40 Mile Point Lighthouse. Very pretty. Trail wasn't crowded on a Wednesday evening.
Signage needs to be upgraded, real bike paths, not sidewalks, should introduced where not already present. Disjointed. This series of semi interconnected routes is mainly for local folks on casual / heavy bikes. For folks who like to ride some distance without frequent interuptions, road crossings, and or traffic lights, these routes are not for you.
I would suggest starting at the baseball field parking lot north of the calcite plant then riding north to 40 Mile Point Lighthouse. Next time I will pack a cooler and swim suit so that when I end back at the ball field beach, I’ll spend the afternoon!
I tried biking from Tower east and only made it to Onaway before turning around. The trail surface was rough for my hybrid bike. There was little shade, no benches, few points of interest. I was the only biker out on June 7, 2019, which was a Friday and a beautiful day. I think this trail has potential, and maybe there are some picturesque spots, but I chose to return to the North Central Trail at Wolverine, also crushed limestone but a smooth surface.
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