Explore the best rated trails in Midland, MI. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Chippewa Trail and Vassar Rail Trail. With more than 26 trails covering 283 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 Thomas Township Trail provides a paved, north-south route of just over 2 miles through this Michigan community. It begins at a connection with the popular Saginaw Valley Rail Trail, which heads...
This trail continues right where the Kochville Township Multi-use Pathway, on Tittawabasee Road. (In fact, the two trails are sometimes referred to as the Kochville-Saginaw Pathway). It occupies the...
Many factors contribute to the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail’s popularity. It runs for 30 miles on smooth asphalt that is well maintained and, at 14 feet, wide enough to ride or walk side-by-side. At...
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The Flint River Trail begins near downtown at the University of Michigan-Flint campus and heads north along both sides of the Flint River to Bluebell Beach on the reservoir, a popular county park that...
The Applewood Trail connects Mott Community College and several city parks with the lengthy Flint River Trail, the backbone of the Flint area's trail network. The trail runs along the roadway through...
The shared use trail snakes across the township hitting its most important landmarks in the process, including Saginaw Valley State University in the north, Krossroads Park in the east, and Kochville...
The Harger Line Rail-Trail runs for an arrow-straight 10 miles through farmland in rural Saginaw County. The trail opened in 2008, two years after the underlying Harger Line Railway corridor was...
Clocking in at just under a mile long, the Chevy Commons Trail provides a vital connection between the Genesee Valley Trail and the Flint River Trail, allowing trail users unfettered access to the...
While not the most scenic of trails, the M-21 Non-Motorized Path provides a useful ten-foot wide asphalt path through a suburban stretch of Flint Township, connecting at its eastern end to the Genesee...
The Bay County Riverwalk/Railtrail System connects a nature trail in a wildlife refuge on the shores of Lake Huron to a loop trail around the bustling port of Bay City. From the same 17-mile paved...
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The Trolley Line Trail, which opened in 2009, runs north from the City of Clio to the Saginaw County line at Willard Road in Vienna Township. It is so-named because it occupies a corridor that once...
The Vassar Rail Trail weaves through the small community of Vassar, Michigan. The trail segment built on a former railroad corridor is located on the western bank of the Cass River and is perhaps the...
The Saginaw Valley Rail Trail offers a year-round rural retreat from the urban confines of Saginaw. Rolling through a continuous woodsy border past farms, fields, and game areas for 11 miles, the...
The George Atkin Jr. Recreational Trail winds along scenic Pine Run Creek in the City of Clio. From a hub downtown at Clio Park, the paved trail branches out through the city, providing access to a...
The Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee (CIS) Rail Trail stretches 41 miles between the mid-Michigan towns of Ionia and Owosso, offering a mix of pastoral and wooded landscapes. It crosses three...
The Genesee Valley Trail is a paved, multi-use pathway that helps to link suburban areas in Flint Township with the downtown core of the city of Flint, giving cyclists and pedestrians a convenient...
The Zilwaukee Pathway offers a paved route through the eastern Michigan city of Zilwaukee. It begins on the western shore of the Saginaw River at Zilwaukee Riverfront Park, where you'll find parking,...
A short paved trail that runs from the city of Flint's Kellar Park to the newly refurbished Chevy Commons park along the Flint River, the Kettering Gateway Trail provides a useful link in the city's...
The paved Fred Meijer Heartland Trail rolls for 42 miles through farmland and forests in central Michigan as it links a half-dozen rural towns with recreational opportunities. Its route follows the...
The Pere Marquette State Trail, managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, begins in Clare and courses for 53 miles west through beautiful woodlands and fields to Baldwin. If you want to...
The Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee (CIS) Rail Trail stretches 41 miles between the mid-Michigan towns of Ionia and Owosso, offering a mix of pastoral and wooded landscapes. It crosses three...
The Thomas Township Trail provides a paved, north-south route of just over 2 miles through this Michigan community. It begins at a connection with the popular Saginaw Valley Rail Trail, which heads...
The Trolley Line Trail, which opened in 2009, runs north from the City of Clio to the Saginaw County line at Willard Road in Vienna Township. It is so-named because it occupies a corridor that once...
The Saginaw Valley Rail Trail offers a year-round rural retreat from the urban confines of Saginaw. Rolling through a continuous woodsy border past farms, fields, and game areas for 11 miles, the...
The Bay County Riverwalk/Railtrail System connects a nature trail in a wildlife refuge on the shores of Lake Huron to a loop trail around the bustling port of Bay City. From the same 17-mile paved...
A short paved trail that runs from the city of Flint's Kellar Park to the newly refurbished Chevy Commons park along the Flint River, the Kettering Gateway Trail provides a useful link in the city's...
The Zilwaukee Pathway offers a paved route through the eastern Michigan city of Zilwaukee. It begins on the western shore of the Saginaw River at Zilwaukee Riverfront Park, where you'll find parking,...
The Vassar Rail Trail weaves through the small community of Vassar, Michigan. The trail segment built on a former railroad corridor is located on the western bank of the Cass River and is perhaps the...
The Genesee Valley Trail is a paved, multi-use pathway that helps to link suburban areas in Flint Township with the downtown core of the city of Flint, giving cyclists and pedestrians a convenient...
Clocking in at just under a mile long, the Chevy Commons Trail provides a vital connection between the Genesee Valley Trail and the Flint River Trail, allowing trail users unfettered access to the...
The Harger Line Rail-Trail runs for an arrow-straight 10 miles through farmland in rural Saginaw County. The trail opened in 2008, two years after the underlying Harger Line Railway corridor was...
This trail continues right where the Kochville Township Multi-use Pathway, on Tittawabasee Road. (In fact, the two trails are sometimes referred to as the Kochville-Saginaw Pathway). It occupies the...
While not the most scenic of trails, the M-21 Non-Motorized Path provides a useful ten-foot wide asphalt path through a suburban stretch of Flint Township, connecting at its eastern end to the Genesee...
Freeland Pathway is a 2.5 mile trail in Tittawabassee Township in Freeland, Michigan. The trail is a smooth ribbon of asphalt paralleling Midland Road (SR 47), and features some inclines, although it...
Beginning near downtown Midland, the Grand Curve Trail travels east for over 4 miles. The trail starts at the rotunda that hosts the Midland Area Farmers Market, near the Tridge, a three-way bridge...
The Southern Links Trailway is a 10-mile rail-trail that connects the communities of Columbiaville, Otter Lake and Millington in central Michigan. While the trail is paved with smooth asphalt, an...
The Flint River Trail begins near downtown at the University of Michigan-Flint campus and heads north along both sides of the Flint River to Bluebell Beach on the reservoir, a popular county park that...
Many factors contribute to the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail’s popularity. It runs for 30 miles on smooth asphalt that is well maintained and, at 14 feet, wide enough to ride or walk side-by-side. At...
The Pere Marquette State Trail, managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, begins in Clare and courses for 53 miles west through beautiful woodlands and fields to Baldwin. If you want to...
Eastern Michigan's 7-mile Saginaw County to Bay County Connector is lined with trees and traverses picturesque farmland. The paved rail-trail follows the former Detroit and Mackinac Railway, which...
The Chippewa Trail offers a paved 4-mile route from Midland to the Chippewa Nature Center, part of a beautiful 1,200-acre preserve, where you'll find a wildlife viewing area, river overlook and...
While not the most scenic of trails, the M-21 Non-Motorized Path provides a useful ten-foot wide asphalt path through a suburban stretch of Flint Township, connecting at its eastern end to the Genesee...
Beginning near downtown Midland, the Grand Curve Trail travels east for over 4 miles. The trail starts at the rotunda that hosts the Midland Area Farmers Market, near the Tridge, a three-way bridge...
The Trolley Line Trail, which opened in 2009, runs north from the City of Clio to the Saginaw County line at Willard Road in Vienna Township. It is so-named because it occupies a corridor that once...
The Flint River Trail begins near downtown at the University of Michigan-Flint campus and heads north along both sides of the Flint River to Bluebell Beach on the reservoir, a popular county park that...
This trail continues right where the Kochville Township Multi-use Pathway, on Tittawabasee Road. (In fact, the two trails are sometimes referred to as the Kochville-Saginaw Pathway). It occupies the...
The Saginaw Valley Rail Trail offers a year-round rural retreat from the urban confines of Saginaw. Rolling through a continuous woodsy border past farms, fields, and game areas for 11 miles, the...
The Applewood Trail connects Mott Community College and several city parks with the lengthy Flint River Trail, the backbone of the Flint area's trail network. The trail runs along the roadway through...
The Thomas Township Trail provides a paved, north-south route of just over 2 miles through this Michigan community. It begins at a connection with the popular Saginaw Valley Rail Trail, which heads...
The George Atkin Jr. Recreational Trail winds along scenic Pine Run Creek in the City of Clio. From a hub downtown at Clio Park, the paved trail branches out through the city, providing access to a...
The Vassar Rail Trail weaves through the small community of Vassar, Michigan. The trail segment built on a former railroad corridor is located on the western bank of the Cass River and is perhaps the...
The Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee (CIS) Rail Trail stretches 41 miles between the mid-Michigan towns of Ionia and Owosso, offering a mix of pastoral and wooded landscapes. It crosses three...
The Pere Marquette State Trail, managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, begins in Clare and courses for 53 miles west through beautiful woodlands and fields to Baldwin. If you want to...
The shared use trail snakes across the township hitting its most important landmarks in the process, including Saginaw Valley State University in the north, Krossroads Park in the east, and Kochville...
The Harger Line Rail-Trail runs for an arrow-straight 10 miles through farmland in rural Saginaw County. The trail opened in 2008, two years after the underlying Harger Line Railway corridor was...
Clocking in at just under a mile long, the Chevy Commons Trail provides a vital connection between the Genesee Valley Trail and the Flint River Trail, allowing trail users unfettered access to the...
The Bay County Riverwalk/Railtrail System connects a nature trail in a wildlife refuge on the shores of Lake Huron to a loop trail around the bustling port of Bay City. From the same 17-mile paved...
The Hampton Township Nature Trail is a 2-mile gravel trail that begins at Finn Road Park winding through marshy areas, woods, skirts farm fields, and ending at a boat launch on Jones Road. Along the...
Eastern Michigan's 7-mile Saginaw County to Bay County Connector is lined with trees and traverses picturesque farmland. The paved rail-trail follows the former Detroit and Mackinac Railway, which...
The Southern Links Trailway is a 10-mile rail-trail that connects the communities of Columbiaville, Otter Lake and Millington in central Michigan. While the trail is paved with smooth asphalt, an...
It's a fairly good trail, its good to know that the trail runs on both sides of the Flint River and also goes through some rough areas of the city. It is one of the more interesting trails I've rode, depending on where you go there's a lot to see, such as Stepping Stones Falls, Bluebell Beach, The Abandoned Flint Water Plant (Don't try to enter) and a lot of other cool things. It's also good to know this trail connects to other trails when it ends so you should know when you want to stop. The trails worst part is between the University of Michigan Flint and Dort Hwy, This area runs through a rough neighborhood and the trail needs repairs but it is a short ride. If you're riding north and reach Dort Hwy make sure to take the trail behind the water plant, if you take the trail of E Boulevard Dr it will take you behind an abandoned school and then end. I've probably rode this trail a hundred times by now, I've never had an encounter with someone who wanted to rob me, but it does happen occasionally, so stay cautious and try to bring somebody with you. Other than it's a good ride with some city sights, some beautiful nature, and some history.
Road the entire trail and back on Sunday. It was awesome and well worth the 2 hour drive to get there. We will be back!
I biked the entirety of the improved portion of this trail yesterday 10/9/19.
I started in Ovid, where there was parking by the trail but no public restrooms and headed west. As anticipated, the trail was improved and very nice until Smith Road just west of Owasso (about 7.5 miles). Past Smith Road, the trail was overgrown with grass 2-3 ft tall and trees growing across--impassable without a machete. I turned around there and rode all the way through Saranac, where the trail ended at mile marker 133. Past there, the trail had original railroad ballast with large stones, not passable even with a mountain bike. I then turned back and returned to my car in Ovid. The most beautiful part of the trail was West of Pewamo, as it was along the Grand River valley. East of Pewamo to Owasso, it is primarily farm land sheltered by a line of trees in most places. There is parking and restrooms along the trail in St. Johns, Fowler, Pewamo, Muir, Ionia and Saranac. The trail was beautifully, newly paved asphalt within all of the towns, and hard-packed crushed limestone in between. It was perfect for a cyclocross bike or mountain bike and most likely entirely passable with a road bike (some rare soft spots in the crushed stone could be difficult). I will definitely ride this again. 51.5 miles of improved trail total, for a round tip distance of 103 miles.
We parked at the Jackson's Landing Trailhead in Greenville. Biked a few miles North on the Heartland Trail. This was after we biked on the Flat River Trail.
The Heartland Trail is newly paved and in very good condtion.
In Greenville there are places to eat and other services.
Hope to do more of this trail in the future.
As I am still a beginning cyclist with this being only my 3rd trail, I have come to appreciate the signage and directions each trail posts to help you stay on the right path. We parked at the Chippewa Nature Center & rode into Midland where the Tridge begins. As we came up to town, even though there was a slight detour due to construction on M20, it was well labeled. We rode to Sanford and found some special treats along the way. Looking like a scene from "Bridges of Madison County", I loved the different bridges along the way. At the Veteran's Memorial if you look closely, draped around the boot statue are the dog tags with a solider's picture on it which was such a nice tribute. We stopped at The Cottage Creamery which is accessible from the trail or Saginaw Rd. and tried the Apple Crisp ice cream. We got another treat as we sat on the back deck when the cute little chipmunks playfully ran around waiting for me to drop my ice cream. It is a pretty straight trail, but there is a lot to appreciate on this trail, and it's very bike friendly. I would like to finish the trail and head to Clare from Sanford. Walking or riding, people passing by are very friendly, and if you take a few breaks, there's definitely some awesome photo opportunities. Great Job Pere Marquette!! We'll be back for sure.
My sister talked me into doing the Lansing Riverwalk trail a week ago, and I was hooked for my first time ever riding a bike on a trail. As I impatiently waited for our next trail ride to Bay City, we looked up reviews, and I'm glad we did. Thankfully, we were prepared for the challenges. We parked at Veteran's Memorial Park and headed out from there. As several reviews stated the trail was poorly marked, so our first stop was not far at the ice cream shop where we asked for directions. As we got a little further into an industrial section, a gentleman passing by overheard us question if we were going the right way, so he casually responded, yes you are. After crossing a couple busy intersections with traffic, we rode until we came to the state park, and when the water view emerges, the view is breathtaking and worth the ride. Our view & course changed again when we entered into a forest area. Again, it was breathtaking, even with a few bouts of challenging sand. Once we got back to our starting point, we rode a little further the other way, and discovered a whole new area of beauty on the waterfront. We kept getting an aroma in the air of what smelled like peanut butter, but was informed by some locals it was the sugar beet plant. Overall we rode 25 miles, and for only my 2nd course and a few challenges, I am even more hooked now. The fact that it does not cost a cent, you get to see some really cool things along the way, meet some amazing people, and the memories are priceless make it well worth the adventure. We also decided to start trying new eating spots as well before our ride, so this time we stopped at Mr. Hot Dog in Bay City. Food was awesome and it was actually cheaper than stopping at fast food. Our Lansing ride took us to The People's Kitchen which I gave 5 stars!!! I think if you plan ahead for this one by printing the trail maps and know that you will be going through a variety of terrain & a mixture of city and trails, stay hydrated, and don't get frustrated, you're in for some real treats with the views. I cannot wait to get a few more trails in this fall, and look forward to our next adventure with the leaves changing color. Happy riding. :)
Rode this week, Columbiaville to Millington. Great ride. Places to eat at both ends of the trail.
We arrived late in the day just as storm clouds were rolling in, but we managed a ride to Riverdale and returned to Alma just after sunset (17.5 miles). The trail appeared to have been recently re-sealed and, except for a 100 yard section west of Warner Road, it was buttery smooth. The only hazards encountered were the numerous bunnies running across the trail in front of us.
We rode from Alma to Erdmore and back.
The first 5 miles (or so) headed westward are smooth, but after that the trail deteriorates with frequent hard bumps (much repair is needed). The entire trail is over-grown and we were constantly dodging branches and thick weeds (again, attention needed). Few restrooms. No mile markers.
A high spot - 3D ice cream and pizza in Vestaburg. Great food, especially the ice cream, at reasonable prices.
The only negatives for this trail is that it’s a dead end and near the end there is slight degradation of the surface with plants coming though the asphalt, but it’s marked. Positives Very little traffic Wide enough to comfortably ride side by side Smooth trail with almost no bumps Incredible views of Saginaw River and adjacent marshes Lots of wildlife, have seen eagles, herons, coyote, muskrats, rabbits, deer, and more.
Rode 50 mile on the Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee Trail. I started in Ovid and turned around in Pewamo. The trail had about 1-2 miles paved through Ovid, St. John, Fowler, and Pewamo the remained of the trail was gravel, crushed lime stone. The trail condition was good and overall smooth without a lot of pot holes and ruts. Even with the overall good condition of the trail the 40 plus miles of gravel was pretty punishing by the end of the ride. One small area outside of Ovid appeared to have very little gravel coverage and may present a problem when wet...potential muddy area. The weather was great for a ride the scenery was great the trail was pretty much through farm lands lots of fields of corn and wheat with old barns and farm houses along the way. My bike was a gravel bike with 38mm tires.
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