Find the top rated hike trails in Empire, whether you're looking for an easy short hike trail or a long hike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a hike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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This is a beautiful boardwalk trail through one of the few surviving wetlands along Lake Michigan. You can see the trout swimming along the river! Note that this is for foot traffic only, bikes and motorized conveyances of any sort are prohibited, except for motorized wheelchairs.
Today we rode from the trailhead/parking lot at Frankfort east to Beulah. The paved portion rode through pretty countryside, and the fall colors were very nice. The gravel section leading into downtown Beulah was not as much fun. It felt a little awkward rolling through people’s front yards. But a lovely afternoon on the bike! Almost no elevation change, and pavement in very good shape.
We bicycled from just outside of Traverse City to Suttons Bay and back. Had lunch in Suttons Bay. Uphill both ways! it seems the highest point is around mile markers 8-9ish. Beautiful scenery of many orchards and farmlands. Not much shade except for an occasional stretch of trees. Trail surface paved in very good condition. The volunteers were actually sealing cracks on this particular day. And for a weekday, the trail was very busy and traveled mostly a lot of many very beefy "e-Bikes". Some of them were literally like small motorcycles and looked very heavy and cumbersome. They weren't typical looking electric bicycles. As we struggled to pedal uphill at about 9mph, we were passed by many fast moving machines that didn't announce like the signs indicated at the Fouch Rd trailhead. Even when we were manually pedaling at 12-13 mph, we were passed as if we were standing still on this 15mph speed limit trail. Seems these group of "cyclists" of fast moving "machines" traveled in very large groups or packs. I am no Dick Tracy but some of these "bicycles" may have exceeded the ebike classes permitted on this trail unless this one is a free-for-all. Would probably not ride this trail again too many traveling at unsafe speeds.
I rented an e-bike in Empire & rode to Glen Arbor today. The trail is absolutely beautiful & well-maintained. This section is entirely paved & mostly shaded by an abundance of trees. There are some significant hills on this stretch, but the e-bike was great. I definitely recommend the trail if you’re in the area.
It's bit rough and downhill for the first segment by the ymca but becomes smooth afterwards and has some nice scenery.
We got on the trail at the Fouch Road trailhead and rode north to Suttons Bay. It was an easy 12 miles up and back. The trail is well maintained with slight elevation changes. You pass by many corn fields and cherry tree orchards. The shade from tree canopies is great. There is one spot you think you are about to enter a tunnel but it is just thick trees. There are many humorous signs along the way so look out for them. We saw a couple of trail signs pointing out where you can grab a bite but we didn’t stop. If we had more time I would have stayed in Suttons Bay to eat and view Travis Bay.
We went camping in Benzonia along the River. Road our bikes and got on the trail in Beulah. We headed West towards Frankfort. The ride past Crystal Lake was beautiful. We stopped on our way back to cool off in the water. There is public access near when you cross 115.
Rode this trail for the first time and loved it! Didn’t love all the crossings or that there were no warning blinkers to activate at busier crossings. BUT, the scenery and trail conditions were great. Visited The Hive Cafe and had a superb iced coffee. Then stopped at Shady Lane winery for a sampler flight of wines. All in all, an awesome afternoon!
It is a gem of a trail, but during tourist season, it can be busier especially on weekends. Road crossings are generally pretty chill, but closer to TC be more cautious with drivers. If you park in Suttons Bay, you can cool down with a nice walk after the ride at the Leo Creek Preserve, which has beautiful gardens in the summer.
Beautiful trail as others have written. But the person who wrote about missing signs around Glen Arbor is spot-on. Glen Arbor is a fine tourist town with plenty of places to eat, but also a lot of pedestrians and traffic you need to watch out for - which makes it even harder to know which streets to turn on. Larger and more plentiful signs would be helpful.
Easy, mostly flat. Stroller friendly. Lovely views of the lake, trees and all kinds of birds and animals.
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