Beautiful gravel trail with lots of tree cover. You’d never know how close you are to populated areas. If you’re looking to add miles, the trail connects to other trails at both ends. Close to the north end, just north of the Clarkston Rd/Kent Rd intersection, there’s a nice new bridge that will take you to a wide paved sidewalk type trail that runs next to Clarkston road for 3 or so miles until you reach the Polly Ann Trail. (You’re never on the shoulder of Clarkston Rd - it’s separated.) At the south end, the trail connects to the Rochester RiverwLk (bikes allowed) and then to the Clinton River Trail for a short distance and then the Macon’s Or hard trail

The part of the trail that passes through Harrison Township has not been maintained. Very bumpy ride.

Very bumpy with many cracks! Not a good trail to ride.

Great trail and you can continue riding across bridge to Belle Isle with bike lanes!

Excellent and easy to access through Hudson mills metro park; poor signage through Dexter. The portion that is marked is fabulous.

The trail in through the middle is a little rough and not very scenic. The outside road around the island has spectacular views! I would highly recommend doing that.

I wouldn’t recommend riding this on a road bike. Bumpy, chunks missing and there’s a part where it forks with no markers to show which direction you should go. If you’re near 16 mile road it’s a straight shot to St. Clair Metro Park though. There’s some pretty pieces to the ride but it’s not gonna be a smooth one. I’d rather ride parallel roads or sidewalks than this if on a road bike.

There are some pluses and minuses -- both big and small -- to this trail, speaking specifically for cyclists, and mostly for cyclists seeking intermediate workouts.

First, the hills -- there are some HUGE hills. Like, if you encounter them on the tail end of your ride, or aren't in workout mode, you'll have to walk. Or, you'll have to generate almost an unadvisable degree of speed on the preceding downhill. None of which are pleasant really. Related to this, as I still like the trail, I would start in Dearborn Heights (though parking might be harder) so the return trip is more downhill. If you do the whole thing, you're gonna be nearing 35/40 miles, which for me is rather long.

I did notice that most of the other, more pro, cyclists (road bikes, biking jerseys) are on the road itself. There is enough room for one rider, two super confident, to ride on the shoulder. But that's not my thing. The cars zip along at 50 even 60mph at times ... and I don't need to be the tertiary casualty in some auto mayhem.

That's related to another not so awesome aspect. This bike trail is alongside a busy road for most, if not all, of the path. The road does go through a series of amazing parks -- but you're still kinda next to a road. I think its single lane, no massive trucks, but people speeding, revving things, etc. There are some beautiful views ... but you're never really surrounded by nature at all, except for a few spots, mostly when you're going over or around highways. Also, if you take a little detour -- it's not really easy to get back to the bike path. I got lost and ended up coming back the same way I came whenever I tried this.

Back to the parks -- I saw about 15 little parks on my 30 mile back and forth ride. They were all beautifully maintained and had some sick cool gear. I think I even saw a mini skate or BMX park. So if you're looking to casually cruise and find some jungle gyms and other non-traditional park stuff. This could be fun. They also have so many (in one particular area) of those cross fit type workout stations ... like 10/12 of them. So if you want to be all Rocky/Drago and squeeze in some strength training, this is ideal. Most seem to be well maintained, a couple of the boring ones had more weeds.

In terms of nature -- I saw some HUGE blue heron, a curious bunny, and some green heron ... some beautiful finches kept racing me, and a little turtle on a log, who ran for it when I circled back around to try to take a pic. So, you can see lots, but you're not totally surrounded by it, or enveloped in it like some other trails.

There are some turns in the path -- across intersections -- that could be marked WAAAAAY better. I can't recall seeing a bike path sign at two of the more confusing ones. I had to kinda hop off and look for the asphalt.

The path can be REALLY narrow around turns ... like dangerously so. Some turns are on park paths, but quite a few -- 3 to 4 -- are on underpasses and bridges. There is room enough for only one bike total -- I biked on a hot humid mid-Day weekday ... so it was not crowded, but these could be REALLY scary. And, I saw only one, walk your bike sign ... for these 4 spots. if you're not paying attention and its feeling sparse, but actually not, you could eat it so badly and end up over your bars on the road! So, yeah, walk your bike ...

Several spots flood significantly -- in my 30 mile ride, I had to go around twice ... like massive mini-pond length 200 feet of water, deeper than 3-4 inches. Also, there were at least 6-7 spots where runoff/sediment was significant enough that I had to slow down totally or risk sliding/falling on my hybrid bike. Like 20-30 foot patches of dried mud tracks, loose sand and gravel.

Ok, so this sounds like a lot of downers, so why the 4? Most of the above is just stuff to know so you'll be safe or choose a path wisely. I didn't mind most of what I listed -- and on the plus side, if you prep for the hills or even know about them. This is a GREAT intermediate verging on expert 40 mile workout ... that still, even with the road, gets you close to and enjoying SE Michigan's lovely flora and fauna. I'll do it again but not gonna be one of my faves.

I bike for exercise between 20 and 30 miles ... and only recently discovered the joy of riding on trails (as opposed to in and around Detroit). I have tried about 5 trails so far (all within 30-40 mins of the D) ... and this is my favorite.

First, the distance is perfect. I start at Sylvan Manor Park -- they have a small parking lot and Porta-Potties too! along with a Jungle Gym and a small baseball field (if you're gonna be biking while your kids and peeps hang). And, it's a lot longer than TrailLink thinks -- It goes all the way to Wixom. So from the Park to the end and back, is about 25 miles.

There are NO, NONE, NADA, parts of the trail that are on sidewalks or streets. All of the crossings are safe, and the sightlines are good in terms of cars. BONUS - most cars will stop if they see you. Big Rigs even stopped for me!

The trail itself is a great combo of asphalt in some parts and dirt -- with a little loose gravel thrown in there to make it fun. The gravel never covered the whole path or made riding dangerous at all. It's also enclosed in a tunnel of foliage and fauna -- when you are in more populated areas, but also opens up to beautiful vistas here and there.

It can get rather crowded with joggers, walkers, strollers at times -- but everyone is very kind, cool, and composed (for the most part) if you call out when you're coming up behind them. Just be a little vigilant about (seniors) people moving in the wrong direction or turning fully around and staring at you confused. Even with all this, I had no issue cruising at my normal speed during morning weekday rides.

Also, to my memory there are few, if any, massive hills -- I like even trails that still provide a challenge. This is darn near ideal to feel a little breeze, work up a sweat, and get in a good workout without feeling like you're up in the Pyrenees, or going lightspeed downhill.