Find the top rated birding trails in Midland, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Rode 50 mile on the Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee Trail. I started in Ovid and turned around in Pewamo. The trail had about 1-2 miles paved through Ovid, St. John, Fowler, and Pewamo the remained of the trail was gravel, crushed lime stone. The trail condition was good and overall smooth without a lot of pot holes and ruts. Even with the overall good condition of the trail the 40 plus miles of gravel was pretty punishing by the end of the ride. One small area outside of Ovid appeared to have very little gravel coverage and may present a problem when wet...potential muddy area. The weather was great for a ride the scenery was great the trail was pretty much through farm lands lots of fields of corn and wheat with old barns and farm houses along the way. My bike was a gravel bike with 38mm tires.
This was my first ride of the season and very enjoyable. Passed over a small stream and the stream meandered along the trail for a short section. Also traveled past wooded areas with shade and past a few small business. There is a small section that travels on the road for about 1.5 miles but I have heard they will be adding a paved section which will go into clare past the depot. Bathrooms present there .
The trail has recently been extended and now continues through Chevy Commons into the city. A very nice trail that goes behind but also hides the urbanized parts of Flint. Very flat and smooth and fairly well maintained.
I’m very disappointed with the maintenance program for the Bay County rail trail/river walk. The surfaces are almost unridable in several areas for bicycles. Several areas are in desperate need of resurfacing. Some areas are like a washboard, some areas have rough seam cracks about every 20 ft. And some areas are just in need of a good cleaning. In the Marquette St area the ride surface is ridiculously rough. I’m afraid I’ll break my bike in this area. The sidewalk is to narrow and close to the buildings to safely ride a bicycle. I don’t like to complain this much but the trails are a beautiful system and if they aren’t maintained they’ll be lost to the same degree as the roads and highways in Michigan. If you take care of them, people will come to the area to ride, walk or just enjoy the trails. Please!
Just FYI - easy to park at Emerson Park and enter the trail there. Trail was really nice and we will definitely be back.
Just a heads up—My wife and I parked near the Tridge and unloaded our bikes, changed into riding cloths then rode to the trail. Oops!! There is a small sign saying the trail entry is closed during bridge repairs across the river. Not much information as to where to go to get on. We reloaded our bikes in the van and, because we have the Trail Link app, we found and parked at Emerson Park and enjoyed a 10 mile out and back ride. Nice trail for seniors like us. We are heading back to do the rest of the trail next week
This trail system is a gem and has been thoroughly reviewed.
As a resident of Sanford, I just wanted to add that the trail is plowed all winter for the 9 mile stretch from Sanford to the Tridge. Accessible year around!
The Chippy trail is an extension off the fantastic Pere Marquette trail system. It begins at the "Tridge" in downtown Midland. Stay to the left when crossing over the Tridge. This will take you south and east , past Midland area ball diamonds and an adjacent frisbee golf course. Just after the ball diamonds, you will come across a trail intersection on your left. If you follow this offshoot it will eventually take you to Overlook Park, which is about a mile distant. This park offers a panoramic view of the sprawling Dow/Dupont facility in Midland.
Stay on the Chippewa trail and you enter a semi open natural area. It's not unusual to see deer, herons and other wildlife. About a half mile past the trail intersection, look for an old apple tree on your left that still produces some decent tasting apples! The Midland area R.C. club is just behind the fields in this area and on nice days it's not unusual to see r.c. planes flying about in the open fields just beyond the trail.
Continuing down the trail, in about another 1/4 mile is an abundance of wild raspberry and blackberry vines on your right , just before a road crossing. The trail continues into a more wooded area and over the 2nd bridge you will encounter, eventually passing a parking lot for a Chippewa Natural area. After crossing another road, you enter a marshy area. Look for the turtles sunning themselves on logs on your right. On the left, a footpath takes you around a large marshy area if you want a break from your bikes. ( you can walk them on the trail or ditch them in the woods)
The trail continues past another large pond that has a elevated viewing platform on the far end, accessible by a footpath for those interested. After a quick jot through more woods, the trail crosses another road and enters the Chippewa Nature center area. Here you will find a bike repair station under a pavilion and a heated/cooled building open year around with bathrooms and a water fountain. Visit the center for some great exhibits or walk the beautiful trails in the area. I love this trail, its my local favorite:)
We rode from Greenville to Sidney in early fall, 2018. We were planning to go to Stanton that day but it was rainy and cold so cut it short. It's a nice/easy ride, for the part we did. We're planning on doing it again in the spring and going much further.
I’ve walked, ran and rode this trail since mid nineties, and before it was widened, grated and crushed limestone base added. Never had a problem with adjacent property owners until recently. There’s a “home caretaker “ about a quarter mile east of Lowell road, south side (pond berm butts up against rail trail, windmill clearly visible) that likes to stand out there at his “post” and ensure neither you nor your dogs land a foot off the limestone and onto “his land”. I’m aware that this same kid has had run-ins with DNR and deer hunters exercising their right to hunt on buffers. Other than that, I’ve had no problems, and enjoy my time out there.
Had a lovely overnight trip on this trail-something we had wanted to do since getting new bikes. Started at Midland trailhead-parked the car behind the courthouse. Pleasant ride to Clare-lots of side attractions to explore, several small towns to grab a bite to eat and no lack of bathroom facilities ! Rode to Clare to spend the night . Main Street is only one block from trail’s end. Doherty Hotel has a special hike/bike package that offered free breakfast, munchies/drinks for the trail and dining credits.I did not want to leave my bike outside and management was kind to lock it in storage area in hotel. Lots of cute shops, bars to explore as well as the famous “ Cops and Doughnuts “ bakery!
The 60 mile round trip was just the right length for a first time weekend trip. Trail was flat, well maintained . We loved it!
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