Explore the best rated trails in Indian River, MI. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Huron Sunrise Trail and Boyne Valley Trailway. With more than 13 trails covering 285 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.
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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 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...
Closure notice: As of April 2020, dangerous conditions due to erosion of the trail have necessitated the closure of portions of this trail. Visit the trail manager's website for closure details as...
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 both...
Though the plan for a trail along the former Boyne City, Gaylord & Alpena Railroad has existed since at least 2000, it took two decades to see the trail come to fruition. Thanks to the persistent...
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...
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...
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Mackinac Island is truly deserving of its status as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Michigan. Although small—less than 4 square miles—the island offers an abundance of natural and...
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 both...
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...
Closure notice: As of April 2020, dangerous conditions due to erosion of the trail have necessitated the closure of portions of this trail. Visit the trail manager's website for closure details as...
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,...
Mackinac Island is truly deserving of its status as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Michigan. Although small—less than 4 square miles—the island offers an abundance of natural and...
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...
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...
Though the plan for a trail along the former Boyne City, Gaylord & Alpena Railroad has existed since at least 2000, it took two decades to see the trail come to fruition. Thanks to the persistent...
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...
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 St. Ignace to Trout Lake Trail is located almost entirely within the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The follows an abandoned rail corridor from the town of St. Ignace...
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 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 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 both...
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...
Closure notice: As of April 2020, dangerous conditions due to erosion of the trail have necessitated the closure of portions of this trail. Visit the trail manager's website for closure details as...
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 St. Ignace to Trout Lake Trail is located almost entirely within the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The follows an abandoned rail corridor from the town of St. Ignace...
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...
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,...
Though the plan for a trail along the former Boyne City, Gaylord & Alpena Railroad has existed since at least 2000, it took two decades to see the trail come to fruition. Thanks to the persistent...
Mackinac Island is truly deserving of its status as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Michigan. Although small—less than 4 square miles—the island offers an abundance of natural and...
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 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...
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...
This is a nice pathway. Great for family rides. I would like to see a connecting route through town to the pathway toward Charlevoix. I hope this will be extended on the other side of Boyne Mountain.
We started just south of Gaylord going northbound. Once we got past Gaylord, it was all downhill. Very peaceful shaded trail. We really liked the little visitor center in Vanderbilt. Everything flattened out once you got to Indian River. Things opened up a little bit (shade started disappearing) between Mullet Lake and Cheboygan.
This was an enjoyable ride, about 14.5 miles round trip from downtown Boyne City--one of those trails where you can imagine all of the effort community members put into making it happen. (Thank you!) It's easy to get to the airport trailhead outside of Boyne City by following the low-traffic East Main Street just a mile out of town. This short but really nicely constructed trail was a pleasant ride on very smooth asphalt through the woods, along a road, and through the Boyne Mountain Ski Area. While it's a rail trail, it was nice to find it to be curvy! All around us it was green and lush and lovely in late August. Very few people on a Tuesday morning--but the trail is 10 feet wide and welcoming.
We started in Topinabee, parked at the trailhead there which has great restrooms, parking, and a small beach (look over the edge of the sidewalk area to find the beach!). There's a gas station/store right across the street. Rode the smooth, well-maintained, crushed limestone trail along the lake to Cheboygan--about 13 miles, much of which we could see the sparkling lake to our right. We passed the Cheboygan trailhead (where there are also good restrooms and a shelter) and stopped in downtown Cheboygan for lunch at Mulligan's, a local pub, where we could eat outside. Good lunch food and great service. Rode back to Topinabee and then spent an hour swimming at the beautiful small beach there on Mullet Lake--really charming! All day (on a Monday) we saw probably a total of 14 people on the trail, walking or biking. While there are many road and driveway crossings, we probably had to actually stop for cars only 2 or 3 times. About 50% of the time we were riding in well-shaded areas. This was a lovely 26 mile day trip next to the lake and through the woods--a flat, easy, unpopulated rail trail through wonderful Northern Michigan!
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.
Husband and I rode this trail and it’s so much fun! The first day we rode from our hotel BW Harbor Springs ( there’s a path right behind the hotel where you can hop on the trail) to West Park. Round trip 29 miles. It is a bit confusing to get around the section that is shut down. We had to ride on the shoulder of 31 for a while. Lots of traffic but the shoulder is pretty wide so I felt pretty safe. The next day we planned to ride the leelenau trail but didn’t realize it was 1.5 hours from our hotel. So we decided to pick up where we left off on the wheelway trail. We are so glad we did as it was the most scenic of the entire trail! We rode from West Park (there’s parking there) to Charlevoix. 18 miles round trip. We will definitely be doing this one again! miles.
In August a friend and I rode out and back from the Charlevoix trail head almost to Harbor Springs.
Four stars because west of Petoskey about a mile of trail is fenced off, with no detour signage at the west end until you hit the fence and have to retrace. Michigan DNR needs to do a better signage job. The detour can be ridden on the wide shoulder of route 31 into Petoskey (expect heavy traffic).
Detour aside, we enjoyed numerous lake views west and north, and food stops in Petoskey. Benches are plentiful along the trail. It was fun seeing classic summer resort houses from Petoskey to Wequetonsing.
The trail surface has occasional frost and root heaves. The route can be confusing in Petoskey, along the waterfront. In west Petoskey the trail is partly on sidewalk and tight for passing.
Hopefully Michigan DNR fixes the trail and it returns to a 5-star rating.
Love this trail! Rode from Wolverine to Indian River and back. 20 miles! The trail was an easy ride for beginners who want to ride for distance. Great views along the way! Lunch in Indian River at the 310 Station was delicious!
Hop on your bike at Boyne Mountain Resort and ride to Young State Park! Trail access is right at the resort. Just walk out your front door! Trail is a brand NEW paved , easy ride to Boyne City. 12 mi RT. I rode through Boyne City and picked up the Boyne City to Charlevoix Trail on to Young State Park. (RT 26mi) Overall Beautiful Ride! Note: When BC to Charlevoix Trail is completed it will add another 15 miles ONE WAY from Boyne City! Can’t Wait! So Bring Your Bike! Have Fun! I have fun
We have been traveling north on historic Highway 23 for several days and were on the lookout for a good bike trail. For us, a good bike trail is always paved in some manner, minimal time on roadways (and never on a bike lane of a major thoroughfare) and one where you can at least get about 12-15 miles in. We’d been struggling to accomplish this in this part of the state when I found the Huron Sunrise trail on Trail Link. What a completely perfect ride this is! You follow along the coast of Lake Huron (though not for the whole ride). The forest sections are truly lovely. The trail is only steep in a couple weeks f places. We rode from Rogers City Marina to 40 mile lighthouse and back and the steep parts are right at the entrance to 40 Miles Lighthouse. Best of all, when the trail jogged right or left, the course was clearly marked which made for a fun and relaxing ride. Could not recommend this ride enough!
I just have one suggestion for the Little Traverse Wheelway and that is to add bathroom/portajohn somewhere between the Harbor Springs airport (thank you to the PortaJohn people for that one - it's always clean and well maintained!) to the Trailhead in Harbor Springs. The "restrooms" on the way to downtown are always locked though well marked :(. For women especially, having something along the way would be helpful. There is a park with a portajohn near the trailhead but you have to cross M119 which can be very busy - it is out of the way. Petoskey does a great job with this - Harbor Springs can do better! Thanks.
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