Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in East Lansing, 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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This nice and open trail is a pleasant but quick experience for locals wanting a fast ride.
Just an FYI that there is no parking at 84th Street and Patterson. The parking icon on the map is erroneous.
Nice, flat trail. Some parts are under construction/repair. But most is still rideable.
A nice, peaceful path to walk or run. Genesee Rd here is pretty quiet. Mostly surrounded by open fields of the former Jewel golf course. Bridge over Thread Creek gives you a view of the creek down below. I frequently see deer along here. Would be five stars if it was somehow longer
The mostly shady (some sun peeks through) main path is absolutely wonderful and crack free (offshoots are a different matter), with a excellent round trip and ultimately connects to the MI air line trail, I would strongly recommend this one to anyone looking.
The two miles by McHattie Park are pretty rough, you might want to skip that section.
If you aren't going to use it to get on another trail, I just wouldn't bother, as there isn't anything to do or see here.
It's got a mix of sun and shade, a good round trip, this is definitely worth a visit.
It's completely open to the sun & wind, but with such a short distance and nothing to see, make to travel the Genesse Valley trail as well.
Walking, biking, fishing, boating, wildlife, skiing, sledding, waterpark, picnic tables everywhere. Miles and miles, plenty of bathrooms everywhere. Swans, blue Herons, Sandhills Cranes, turtles….. I could go on forever. I love it here, drive 45 min. To an hour all the time to come. It’s my haven, it’s my peace. Water everywhere, very safe, park staff, park police. Come and enjoy!!
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.
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.
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