The trail has many restrooms and is in good shape. Beautiful trees and farms along the way.

Biked the Flat River Trail on a Sunday afternoon in August. We found the Tower Park parking lot easily and with a little search the trailhead across from the parking lot. In short order we were biking along the Flat River and had to watch carefully for the Trail markers. The newly paved sections and the cut off to another trail was a bit confusing but with a brief backtrack we continued on the trail. About two thirds of the way we were a bit confused again as we approached some busy roads just passed the high school. We guessed right and found the tunnel under the busy road and continued on...this led to the surprising portion of the trail....a few hills leading to the trail around Baldwin and Manoka lakes (both very small)....and with a bit of coaching from other bikers we were able to stay with the trail and find the parking lot. It was a short trail but very worthwhile. Beautiful scenery, curves, a few doable hills and a few surprises. Loved itl

The ride from Comstock Park to Rockford and back again last Thursday was positively delightful, including an outstanding lunch, until about the final 500 yards when one of our six-person party collided with a green cement post meant to keep the automated vehicles off the bike path. The post won. Short of publicizing her gruesome photo a day after the accident, the facts are that she suffered a gouge in her forehead (yes, she was wearing a helmet!), two black eyes, scraped upper lip, a torn fingernail and a wrenched knee. After spending a couple of hours waiting in urgent care, she was told she needed to go to the actual ER in order to have x-rays on her head, as is protocol for those with potential concussions on patients over 65. About eight hours later she finally came home.

This all might have been avoided had the posts been painted the usual vibrant yellow or orange color as the green blended into the background of the landscape.

Our group plans to use that same bike path again, but will caution people as we navigate through those posts. Pay attention to the ride and not to the scenery!

I rode the 30 miles from Clare to Midland and I was impressed by the condition of the trail. Sections are even sealed blacktop. All the cracks had filler and the vegetation was mowed at least 3 feet off the trail. I left the trail around Sanford as the trail is closed due to flood damage resulting from two private dams which failed, sending millions on gallons of water through the area. It was easy enough to ride on the shoulder of Saginaw Rd for a bit until the trail opened back up. I enjoyed this ride.

I ride this trail from the ball park to Sand Lake frequently, but no more. When passing thru Rockford, the geese poo makes this beautiful trail unpleasant to ride. And it's not just a little amount. It gets all over your bike and all over you. I'll switch to another trail even if I have to travel to get to it.

In August a friend and I rode 10 miles from Beulah to Frankfort. and 10 back. The first 3 miles are decent crushed limestone; the remainder decent pavement. You ride near water most of the way (lake and river). Good for families. No special sights along the way. Several coffee shops / restaurants in Beulah. Enjoyed sitting in the park by the marina in Frankfort.

Evart to Clare is one of the nicest stretches I’ve ever ridden. The trail is smooth and the scenery is beautiful. Anything west of Evart is barely rideable, with constant cracks and bumps. There wasn’t a lot of shade but there were plenty of places to stop along the way and cool off, including several bike friendly stores.

Nice ride mostly in the shade from the 8th Avenue trail head up to Ravenna (12 miles). Also a nice trestle just south of Ravenna. The asphalt is in better shape after Ravenna and in to Muskegon for the last 13 miles. The depot in Ravenna has a vending machine with ice cold water and soda. It was a life saver for me because I became dehydrated on the return trip. The depot had 3 shaded picnic tables so it was a good spot to cool off and rehydrate.

The perfect distance for an enjoyable day ride with several areas to stop. Several miles have become rough pavement simply due to age. The dam destruction in Sanford didn’t help either.