Explore the best rated trails in Shepherd, MI, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Chippewa Trail and Saginaw Valley Rail Trail . With more than 24 trails covering 403 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.
An enjoyable but short trail with iffy pavement and okay scenery.
You get a nice workout with both with some slight hills and a good round trip distance, good scenery, although signage is pretty bad by the Baldwin Lake Beach section until you get past Greenville High School.
There’s allot to explore and see along the way. The bird watch towers are really nice. Bring mosquito spray and binoculars! The paved trail is really nice the real adventure is the hiking trail by the end. It’s more rugged and not paved but the views are amazing. Highly recommend adding this to your list of adventures but don’t forget the mosquito spray there is a marsh right there.
The trail is closed in sections through the end of November. It is being resurfaced, bridges are being replaced, and mile markers are being added. They just got done cutting down A LOT of trees so it’s a mess out there and it looks terrible…
10/10 for getting back to nature. 1/10 for road surface. The roads in Michigan are horrible, so I'm not sure why I thought the paths would be better.
It's a great round trip, and it can open up to the sun & wind and other times plant life closes in for some shade.
While smooth, most of the trail is ballast & crushed stone, which for me made it very hard to keep my speed up.
I might consider skipping this one and looking elsewhere.
Boy, was I disappointed! Worst rails trails I have ever been on. No upkeep whatsoever, June 7th, 2025.
Cadillac to Leroy nice, flat and pavement is very good. Very few bumps. About a mile south of Leroy it gets closer to highway in going to Reed City. Not bad but not as quiet and nature filled. Trail mostly shaded. Loved it.
On Saturday, May 24th, I was cycling 50 miles on the trail between Elwell and Stanton. I was on an out-and-back trip. On the trip back I saw a golden-tawny animal sitting on the trail. I stopped riding quite a distance away from it, maybe 400-500 feet away. The cougar was sitting on the trail and then leaped into the woods and away from me. I knew it was a cougar when I saw its long tail and sleek movement back into the woods. My gut said to turn around. I was far enough away on my bike to turn around and book it out of there. My goal was to get a 1 1/2 miles away and closer to Edmore where I could have help if needed. So, I decided to go around the area it was located. I took a paved road to a dirt road to loop around the woods it was in. I ended up back on the trail and had a longer ride than expected but was safe. The cougar was seen between Deja and Cedar Lake Road. Through research I've found there have been cougar sightings in Montcalm County over the years. I've reported this to the DNR and emailed the Freinds of the Heartland Trail. Overall, great ride and I was safe. The trail is fairly bumpy and root filled between Elwell and Vestaburg. Smoother sailing between Edmore and Stanton. Loved the tree canopy as it was very low and beautiful in some parts. Also, seeing the landscape change from a flatter Central Michigan to the beautiful rolling hills of Western Michigan was stunning. Road crossings became sandier as there is more sand in West Michigan. I would say this compares to the rural nature of the White Pine Trail that runs between Big Rapids and Cadillac. Road crossings between Elwell and Stanton were a breeze, quite calm, and peaceful. Now for some signage on cougars would that keep riders, walkers, and runners, safer and more aware. Just be aware, be prepared, and have protection such as bear spray, pepper spray, noise makers, etc.
An enjoyable yet short trip.
The Grand River is common sight throughout the trail and and plant is lush and abundant and otherwise there isn't anything to see here but I would recommend it.
This trial is pretty rough due to all that loose stone, so if you go on a bike, a fat tire one is prob best, or perhaps walk this one?
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