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 298 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.
Travelled the southern section to the trail head near the big bridge. Beautiful scenery to include birds, squirrels, snakes, and the Saginaw River. Flat, smooth and quite nice Trail surface. Will definitely return to checkout the northern section of the trail.¿
I ride from Midland to Clare, then ride back. It’s a great trail with plenty of stops for restrooms, water fountains, and convenient stores. The trail is fixed in Sanford, and no longer requires navigating around the detour.
The trail is well maintained pavement, and the sides are mowed pretty regularly. It’s kind of boring though without much to look at unless you see passing wildlife. Trailheads on both ends, but no amenities. The trail is pretty flat so I would decide which end you start on based off the wind. 1/2 Mile South on Portsmouth RD has a convenient store, and a country store (look for the trains) with ice cream/deli on the opposite side of the road. I also walk my dog on here, but she sits for bikers so you don’t have to worry about her running in front of you!
I’m a huge fan of this rail trail. Park at the tridge, ride to Clare for lunch, then ride back! There are tunnels under the busy roads near Midland and Clare, but you have to watch out for a few road crossings in between. Water fountains at both ends, Sanford, and Coleman. Little store halfway between Sanford and Coleman. Plenty of restrooms along the trail.
I really enjoyed this trail everywhere east of Dort Highway. The trails west of Dort aren’t the best, and the area is somewhat sketchy. The people I saw waved at me, but I’m more worried about dogs than people. That’s just me personally. The map is outdated and the trails actually extend pretty far east of where it stops on the map. It extends east of Genesee RD along Stanley RD until Vassar RD. Then, the trail runs along the river from Vassar RD to Richfield Park (Parking available if you want to start here). The trail extends into Richfield Park for about a half mile, then you can follow Gravel Roads, and trails for a few more miles! I rode a gravel bike so I really enjoyed this area! There’s even DIY single track north of the rail trail in the Vassar RD area. Look on the north side of the trail, and you will see multiple access trails. My gravel bike handled them just fine. I wouldn’t try them though unless your an experienced rider because they run along a cliff that overlooks the river and it’s really rooted. You might lose your bike if you slip up! I would give it 5 stars, but the trail west of Dort Highway dropped it to 4.
Trail is not marked very well not sure how one would get a 17 mile ride in. Lots of dead ends very bumpy trail Could of been a wonderful ride. About one mile of river and great scenery. Disappointed that we drove so far for a short ride.
Rode from Bay City State park into town and onto the boardwalk area. Without a map this trail would be very hard to follow. The painted arrows on the pavement are worn off and barely visible. They are also only in 20% of the places needed. The attendant at the state park gave us a heads up about the poor signage and where to turn when passing Castaways to keep with the trail through a neighborhood to connect back up.
Rode out of Alma to Edmore and back for a total of 40 miles. Trail was smooth and well-maintained. Encountered quite a bit of wildlife along the way. Picnicked in Edmore at the park next to the Balmore Factory building. Enjoyed seeing the train depot and elevators along the way. Would highly recommend this stretch of the trail.
This is a nice rail trail. Wide and well-maintained asphalt, with good clear signage. There are benches along the way and at least two rest areas with facilities. It’s flat and straight with pretty surroundings ranging from woods to farmland to small towns to parks and even a quiet bog. We started at the Midland trailhead which is located at the picturesque “Tridge,” a triple span footbridge over the confluence of the Tittabawassee and Chippewa Rivers in Chippewassee Park near downtown. We rode northwest for 20 miles to the small town of Coleman, had lunch at Leah’s Corner Café, and then headed back to Midland, for a total of just over 40 miles. If we’d wanted to, we could have continued on to Clare, Michigan. The only drawback is the closeness of this trail to Saginaw Hwy, which makes for a bit of traffic noise.
Fantastic Trail. I did the first 8 1/2 miles from Midland to the Veterans Monument in Sanford with my inline skates. Coming out of Midland by the Tridge, the first 1.5 miles of the trail is a little rougher for those in-line skating. After that the pavement is very smooth all the way to Sanford. There are restrooms at the Sanford monument along with water fountain.
My wife and I rode the entire trail (87 miles out and back from Ionia to Owosso) in June 2022. Trail was in great condition. Nice "train stations" in several towns for water and bathroom stops. Stopped at a nice brewery in St. Johns for lunch on the way back. Really like this trail! None of the trail was "sketchy" and no where near Vermontville (responding to another review).
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