Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Bay City, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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 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 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 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...
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...
The Black Creek Nature Trail begins at the Davison Township Municipal Center and winds its way to the trail system in the City of Davison’s Jack Abernathy Regional Park. Travelers on the trail will...
The Polly Ann Trail is a 34-mile long, non-motorized trail extending north from suburban Detroit on a former Pontiac, Oxford & Northern Railroad corridor. The trail is managed separately by groups in...
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 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 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...
Lapeer’s Linear Park Pathway courses through the city, connecting several parks with residences and businesses. A portion of the trail runs on a former railroad corridor; the same one now home to the...
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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 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 Tawas Bay Pedestrian and Bike Path follows both US 23 and the shore of Tawas Bay in northern Michigan. The scenic route, which offers stunning water views at several points along the way, connects...
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 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 Tawas Bay Pedestrian and Bike Path follows both US 23 and the shore of Tawas Bay in northern Michigan. The scenic route, which offers stunning water views at several points along the way, connects...
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 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...
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...
The Black Creek Nature Trail begins at the Davison Township Municipal Center and winds its way to the trail system in the City of Davison’s Jack Abernathy Regional Park. Travelers on the trail will...
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 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 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 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...
Lapeer’s Linear Park Pathway courses through the city, connecting several parks with residences and businesses. A portion of the trail runs on a former railroad corridor; the same one now home to the...
The Polly Ann Trail is a 34-mile long, non-motorized trail extending north from suburban Detroit on a former Pontiac, Oxford & Northern Railroad corridor. The trail is managed separately by groups in...
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 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 Black Creek Nature Trail begins at the Davison Township Municipal Center and winds its way to the trail system in the City of Davison’s Jack Abernathy Regional Park. Travelers on the trail will...
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 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 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 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...
Lapeer’s Linear Park Pathway courses through the city, connecting several parks with residences and businesses. A portion of the trail runs on a former railroad corridor; the same one now home to the...
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...
The Polly Ann Trail is a 34-mile long, non-motorized trail extending north from suburban Detroit on a former Pontiac, Oxford & Northern Railroad corridor. The trail is managed separately by groups in...
The Tawas Bay Pedestrian and Bike Path follows both US 23 and the shore of Tawas Bay in northern Michigan. The scenic route, which offers stunning water views at several points along the way, connects...
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 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...
Great trail.. from Clare to Sanford.. where trail is closed due the destruction from the Dam. First time on the trail and I love it.. people were riding across the barriers ..we opted to drive around.. then rode from Sanford to Midland. This part brought sadness for the devastation of those that lost so much. Great trail and I can’t wait to ride from Clare to Baldwin next time.
I've been a user of the Fred Meijer M-21 trail since before it was restored to a trail. I've enjoyed walking, running, and biking it.
I would say for the most part, the route gets more and more intersting the further west you go. Though it's pretty neat running through the towns of Ovid, St. Johns, and Fowler, there isn't much inbetween other than cornfields. The west side of Ovid has some nice ponds and turns to the trail. However, you are a ways off the road M21, the paths surrounded by trees on both sides, and beyond that are more cornfields.
The scenery doesn't change much untill you hit Pewamo. From Pewamo to Saranac, the trail has numerous bridges over water and M21, some of which are very large and impressive. The trail is built above the river below, which makes for more to see and experience.
Unfortunatly, since many of these towns are distanced from each other, it's very likely you can go 7-8 miles without seeing anyone else on the trail. The only stretches paved are for a mile east and west out of each town. The soft gravel/sand is great for running, but will slow down mountain bikes, and be nearly impossible for bikes with skinny tires.
It would be great if it one day the whole thing was paved. I would love to see it exended further west to connect with trails in Ada and Grand Rapids. Another opportunity would be to extend it further east to Flint and those trails. Additionally, theres another opportunity to extend it north from St. Johns to Ithaca, to connect with the Highway 27 Trails.
I rode the trail, July 25, 2020, from Midland to Clare and back. It was a hot and beautiful day, but the trail road easily. Well groomed and picturesque, a combination of wooded area and farmland. Headed back Labor Day weekend to ride the Tridge section of the trail. Would recommend the trail to riders of all levels. There are many spots between Midland and Clare where one could park and start and/or finish the ride without the need to complete the 30 mile route. Enjoy!
Like other reviews say, it’s challenging in Lapeer County, but rewarding. Oakland County portion is wonderful.
From Greenville to Edmore the trail is very bumpy. From Edmore to alma there are some bumps but much better. Mike M
We parked at the Hotchkiss parking area and headed back towards Saginaw. The majority of the trail was in good condition with only the last 1/3 of a mile with some trail degradation. We saw frogs, egrets, herons, and a BALD EAGLE was perched on an old dead tree about 15 feet from the trail. It was awesome. The trail did dead end so we went out and back.
20 Miles on Polly Ann trail on Trek FX3 hybrid ....too bad Lapeer Cty cant maintain a trail like Oakland Cty....riding in Oakland Cty was like riding on the C&O canal trail....SMOOTH. 4 miles from Dryden to Bordman Rd was like riding on a washboard.....but good ride all the same. May try to get south of Oxford next time
We started the trail in Edmore where we found the parking lot and washroom facilities in excellent condition. The trip to Alma took us about three hours including a wonderful stop in Riverdale at the Riverdale Tavern that dates back to 1917! Great clean tavern with with very friendly service. We stopped there on our trip back as well. Yes the trail could use a little maintenance, but we are from IL where almost all the trails are in need of that. We found the trail's condition better than most. We traveled on a Monday and Tuesday so the traffic was very light. The best part was Alma. We stayed at Saravilla Bed and Breakfast. I highly recommend it for it's history, perfect location and bike friendly Innkeeper. We had diner at the Alma Brewing Company and it was superb. At 72 years of age I like to take our bike trips in two bites and it's rare to find such a welcoming town where we can stay for the turnaround.
I see no one has reviewed in 2020, so here goes.
As others said, the roughly 4 mile section between the Oakland-Lapeer county line and Dryden is rough. I have a hybrid bike and I did not enjoy this part, although it would be good for hiking or horseback. I did not go farther north than Dryden.
The section in Oakland county has a good surface. From the Lapeer-Oakland Co. line heading south, it is crushed limestone in some areas, and paved in others. If you're reading this in July 2020, there is a tree across the path just north of Leonard that you cannot get around or under, you must carefully lift your bike over it. It's probably 3' or 3.5' high at its lowest point. If you're heading north and planning to turn around to go back south at the county line, you won't miss much if you turn around at the downed tree. Not sure how often they clear the trail.
Rode from the small trail-side parking on S. Lake Road in Greenville to the picnic pavilion in Edmore on July 20, 2020. The trail is in need of a little TLC. There were large cracks in the asphalt that grass/weeds has begun to grow and this stretched nearly all the way to Sidney. Then there were several deep potholes along the edges that weren't marked. A hazard for any biker. The whole trail is in dire need of a good sweeping. The weeds / brush / trees in various areas have begun to overhang and obstruct the path. It's normally a lovely trail to ride. But will not be riding this section again until some cleanup has occurred. It's probably a Covid-19 thing. Sad.
Part of this trail runs along US 23, which is boring, but the trail goes closer to the water by Alabaster (search the history of the gypsum mine). We parked in Tawas, rode north to the lighthouse, came back and had lunch, then drove to Alabaster Road and rode the trail there.
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