Find the top rated trails in Elk Rapids, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park makes tracks from a bustling Grand Rapids community to the forests, farmlands, and friendly towns of Northern Lower Michigan. At nearly 93 miles, it is the...
The 17-mile Leelanau Trail runs up a Lake Michigan peninsula that is known for its abundance of cherry orchards and Riesling grape vineyards. Located in northern Michigan, the paved trail connects the...
Located in Grayling, Michigan, the Grayling Bicycle Turnpike runs from the north side of the Grayling downtown area at North Down River Road all the way out to the entrance of Hartwick Pines State...
icture-postcard-worthy views of Lake Michigan and its shoreline greet visitors to the Little Traverse Wheelway in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula. The paved trail rolls for 24 miles from...
Remoteness and solitude describe a trip along the 22-mile Betsie Valley Trail in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula. Starting at the old logging town of Thompsonville, the trail slopes gently...
The Boardman Lake Trail connects Traverse City neighborhoods, businesses, two parks and the district's library on a scenic route along the eastern shoreline of a large natural lake. One day, it's...
The 62-mile North Central State Trail offers a multiuse trail adventure into the hills, agricultural areas, woods, and waterways of Michigan, with connections to well-¿established tourist towns at...
The North Western State Trail—formerly known as the Petoskey to Mackinaw Trail after its endpoints—passes through many communities along the way, including Conway, Oden, Ponshewaing, Brutus, Pellston,...
When completed, the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail will wind for 27 miles through the stunning Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore—a national park on the shores of Lake Michigan in the northwest...
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The 13-mile Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trail provides trail users with extended waterfront access in Traverse City, the self-proclaimed Cherry Capital of the World, brushing by...
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...
Located in Grayling, Michigan, the Grayling Bicycle Turnpike runs from the north side of the Grayling downtown area at North Down River Road all the way out to the entrance of Hartwick Pines State...
The Boardman Lake Trail connects Traverse City neighborhoods, businesses, two parks and the district's library on a scenic route along the eastern shoreline of a large natural lake. One day, it's...
The 62-mile North Central State Trail offers a multiuse trail adventure into the hills, agricultural areas, woods, and waterways of Michigan, with connections to well-¿established tourist towns at...
The Wellston Area Tourist Association maintains about 64 miles of groomed trails for snowmobiling in the ManisteeHuron National Forest. For more information and maps, contact the Tourist...
The North Western State Trail—formerly known as the Petoskey to Mackinaw Trail after its endpoints—passes through many communities along the way, including Conway, Oden, Ponshewaing, Brutus, Pellston,...
Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park makes tracks from a bustling Grand Rapids community to the forests, farmlands, and friendly towns of Northern Lower Michigan. At nearly 93 miles, it is the...
Remoteness and solitude describe a trip along the 22-mile Betsie Valley Trail in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula. Starting at the old logging town of Thompsonville, the trail slopes gently...
icture-postcard-worthy views of Lake Michigan and its shoreline greet visitors to the Little Traverse Wheelway in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula. The paved trail rolls for 24 miles from...
The 17-mile Leelanau Trail runs up a Lake Michigan peninsula that is known for its abundance of cherry orchards and Riesling grape vineyards. Located in northern Michigan, the paved trail connects the...
The 13-mile Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trail provides trail users with extended waterfront access in Traverse City, the self-proclaimed Cherry Capital of the World, brushing by...
The Irons Area Tourist Association maintains 60 miles of groomed trails for snowmobiles and ATVs in the Manistee National Forest. For more information, contact the tourist association or the national...
The 5-mile Spring Brook Trail crosses flat to hilly terrain in Mackinaw State Forest. The trail accommodates hikers, mountain bikers and cross-country skiers. The trail meanders along a wooded creek...
When completed, the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail will wind for 27 miles through the stunning Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore—a national park on the shores of Lake Michigan in the northwest...
The Grass River Natural Area has a system of six trails through wetlands and woodland, a beautiful retreat south of Lake Bellaire in northern Michigan. The preserve's rail-trail provides just over 2...
The 13-mile Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trail provides trail users with extended waterfront access in Traverse City, the self-proclaimed Cherry Capital of the World, brushing by...
Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park makes tracks from a bustling Grand Rapids community to the forests, farmlands, and friendly towns of Northern Lower Michigan. At nearly 93 miles, it is the...
The Boardman Lake Trail connects Traverse City neighborhoods, businesses, two parks and the district's library on a scenic route along the eastern shoreline of a large natural lake. One day, it's...
The Grass River Natural Area has a system of six trails through wetlands and woodland, a beautiful retreat south of Lake Bellaire in northern Michigan. The preserve's rail-trail provides just over 2...
The 62-mile North Central State Trail offers a multiuse trail adventure into the hills, agricultural areas, woods, and waterways of Michigan, with connections to well-¿established tourist towns at...
The Wellston Area Tourist Association maintains about 64 miles of groomed trails for snowmobiling in the ManisteeHuron National Forest. For more information and maps, contact the Tourist...
Remoteness and solitude describe a trip along the 22-mile Betsie Valley Trail in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula. Starting at the old logging town of Thompsonville, the trail slopes gently...
The 17-mile Leelanau Trail runs up a Lake Michigan peninsula that is known for its abundance of cherry orchards and Riesling grape vineyards. Located in northern Michigan, the paved trail connects the...
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 Big M Trail in Manistee National Forest is a cross-country ski trail and a mountain bike trail. There are actually four segments, each with varying levels of difficulty, from easiest to most...
The 5-mile Spring Brook Trail crosses flat to hilly terrain in Mackinaw State Forest. The trail accommodates hikers, mountain bikers and cross-country skiers. The trail meanders along a wooded creek...
Located in Grayling, Michigan, the Grayling Bicycle Turnpike runs from the north side of the Grayling downtown area at North Down River Road all the way out to the entrance of Hartwick Pines State...
When completed, the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail will wind for 27 miles through the stunning Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore—a national park on the shores of Lake Michigan in the northwest...
icture-postcard-worthy views of Lake Michigan and its shoreline greet visitors to the Little Traverse Wheelway in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula. The paved trail rolls for 24 miles from...
The North Western State Trail—formerly known as the Petoskey to Mackinaw Trail after its endpoints—passes through many communities along the way, including Conway, Oden, Ponshewaing, Brutus, Pellston,...
The Irons Area Tourist Association maintains 60 miles of groomed trails for snowmobiles and ATVs in the Manistee National Forest. For more information, contact the tourist association or the national...
Rode this 49 mile section in August 2017. Beautiful trail with nice secluded parts. Indian River to Gaylord is pretty steady but gentle climb. Trail is good for my hybrid Trek. Section from Indian River to Vanderbilt was especially pretty.
Started the ride at Hartwick Pines state park (love this park) with my friend, Kathie from Traverse City. We've snowshoed and hiked at Hartwick before, this was our first time biking here. Found the "turnpike" trail very scenic and enjoyable. The hills gave it a "roller coaster" feel. Noticed that a new trail I-75 crossing is under construction which would make this ride very cool! Kudos to the trail managers for their foresight. Hope to ride this trail again when the crossing is finished.
Proud to be a Fudgie with family ties to the Mitt - camped at Petoskey State Park this weekend and rode the trail back and forth to Charlevoix for Venetian Festival. Northern Michigan is tops for road and trail riding and the scenery on Little Traverse Bay is as captivating as any. Petoskey and Charlevoix are two fun cities for year-round adventure.
An absolutely wonderful trail. Well kept and clean. Great for all ages.
We rode from Rockford to Cadillac this past weekend. Beautiful weather and it's great on the paved portions but the unpaved is brutal. Would never do it again without the whole trail being paved.
I rode this during the summer of 2016 on our ride from Grand Rapids to the Mackinaw Bridge. This was by far one of the best sections of our ride. The state has taken a lot of precautions to make sure that this trail is to not be used by snowmobilers or ATVs. The surfarce may be dirt (or gravel), but it's so smooth it could easily be enjoyed by a road biker.
Lovely trail. My wife and I bike it at least twice a week when we are home.
It would be very nice if someone could sand down/fix the awful 2" bump on the small wood bridge at mile 17.8 going north between Cedar Springs and Sand Lake.
Biked from Gaylord to Topinabee. The trail is very nice and secluded. Check the wind direction before you begin. We had a strong headwind for some of the ride. However, even with the wind there were areas where you tucked behind the trees. Trail is cinder and moves from farmland to forest. Deer, Skunks, Racoons, and Fox all shared the trail or crossed it during our ride. Sheep and goats grazed in fields along the way. Very enjoyable and crosses creeks and rivers with bridges that tempt you into a water stop. Just outside of Topinabee (Breakers) is a bar/restaurant (about 33 miles of biking). It is parallel to the trail on the left and hard to miss. Reward was a great beer, wonderful atmosphere, and the food (did not eat) looked great. Next year plan to do the trail from Mackinaw.
Biked this trail from Howard City south to Cedar Springs today. Workers were finishing up with new bridges on both sides of Howard City. I wonder if it's in the plans to asphalt this section??
My husband and I rode a portion of the White Pine trail from Grand Rapids to 3 miles past Rockford. It was a great ride. Love that it is paved and that you can stop along the way in various places to see things, have lunch and just enjoy the time outside. Would recommend it to those who like paved trails. We hope to go the entire length eventually.
We rode the entirety of the trail from Spring Lake to Mackinaw City and back. It is asphalt from Spring Lake to Alanson, crushed limestone until Mackinaw City. I have found surfaces described as “crushed limestone” to range from coarse, gray dust to pea gravel; think of this trail surface as a 75/25 mix of lentils and peas. For most of the non-paved section, the crushed limestone is applied as an ideally thin layer, although it is a little thicker in Alanson and Pellston. Nothing to whine about, but traction is diminished and you’ll pedal just a little bit harder in those areas (until traffic and winter compact the surface). I used 700 x 42 mm tires, my riding companion used 700 x 38 tires. That size range seemed just about right for the non-paved areas. The trail is very close to completely flat and grades are barely perceptible. As of October 2016, the trail is very well-groomed for its entirety.
You’ll get views of some nice lakes and ponds at the southern end of the trail. Portions to the north are almost completely tree-lined, even though you are just off the highway. Trail facilities (water, restrooms) are non-existent, but the trail is so close to the highway that there is no problem.
Very nice scenery overall. I recommend this trip.
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