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I entered the trail from the West Bloomfield trail. Turning to gravel at this point the trail ran through some quiet areas but just seemed a little overgrown and understaffed. I went all the way to Pontiac, and have give thanks to the LBS for fixing a chain for me. Great people. I only had to walk a couple of miles. Trail markers to get me back on the main section of trail were in good locations.
I started at Orchard Lake Rd and went North East to Pontiac on a Sunday afternoon. The trail is well kept. Some road crossings, but not too many to spoil the ride. The trail was moderately busy. Where it joins the Clinton River trail there is crushed gravel. I would ride it again. I did not make it to the South West end.
Great trail. Paved, off-road the entire way around Spring Lake. Lots of shade, fun sized hills, pretty well marked. Thoroughly enjoyable, especially if you detour off the path a block and go to Miss Lisa's for ice cream--it's on 3rd near the Ferryville park.
Actually started at the Irwin trailhead of the Pioneer trail a couple miles east of Marne. Nice downhill grade with curves. Watch your speed. Round trip to Ravena was 32 miles. Mostly shaded with some canopies. Pavement was largely smoothe but beware the horse manure. A pretty nice ride, smoother than White Pines.
Rode this 49 mile section in August 2017. Beautiful trail with nice secluded parts. Indian River to Gaylord is pretty steady but gentle climb. Trail is good for my hybrid Trek. Section from Indian River to Vanderbilt was especially pretty.
Starting from the Republic end...not signed or marked, encountered off road vehicles and trucks w beer drinkers, beaver flooding make it nearly impossible.
These folks need to know that designating and maintaining a trail for non motorized use will bring in people. The way it is it's not worth the drive.
Started the ride at Hartwick Pines state park (love this park) with my friend, Kathie from Traverse City. We've snowshoed and hiked at Hartwick before, this was our first time biking here. Found the "turnpike" trail very scenic and enjoyable. The hills gave it a "roller coaster" feel. Noticed that a new trail I-75 crossing is under construction which would make this ride very cool! Kudos to the trail managers for their foresight. Hope to ride this trail again when the crossing is finished.
Trail is very rough not very well maintained by DNR at this time.
The George Atkin Jr. Recreational Trail is a nice little trail, but as the previous two reviewers had mentioned, is quite rough. There are many cracks in the pavement that you need to be careful, throughout every portion of the trail. Most have been spray painted to alert users of the danger, but even still it's hard to see. I'd recommend the trail to cyclists, but if you are a roadie, I wouldn't necessarily bring my best bike. A hybrid or any bike with larger diameter tires is best suited to handle the terrain of the aging trail.
With the negatives out of the way, the positives are quite nice. The engineering of the trail is outstanding. There are signs at ever spur in the trail and all parts of the trails avoid roads, bypassing M-57 (Vienna Rd) and Mill St. in Clio and the railroad tracks just as it connects with the Trolley Line Rail Trail/spurs towards the Business Park off of Vienna.
Terrain-wise, For those who want a good workout with elevation, the trail provides some nice little climbs, mostly heading south towards Wilson Rd. The trail is very wooded, basically like riding/walking/running on a trail through the woods. In some spots the trail is quite overgrown, but never enough to not have a path on the trail. Some of the spots on the trail are apt to be muddy or have a tiny amount of water going through it. It's never enough to make it impassible but might make you wet if your bike tire splashes it up! There is a small spot where water runs over the creek, near the Church and near Vienna Rd. Again, it's never impassible but you should probably slow down through it.
Length-wise, with the connecting Trolley Line Trail, I was able to get about 12 miles into it taking all of the spurs but, missing out on probably 3 or so miles on the Trolley due to it being closed about 1.5 miles from it's end point. (as of August 2017)
The trail has always been lightly used when I've been on it. I've never saw more than a handful of people in the numerous times I've walked or rode it.
To summarize, it's a good trail that is showing it's age. You can get a nice little workout and it gets you to most businesses and places in Clio. If you live in Mt. Morris or just outside the Downtown portion of Clio you could ride the trail into the city, to run errands as the spurs give you great access to many important portions of the city. Be safe, don't ride at extremely fast pace and keep your eyes on the trail (for the cracks) and you should have a nice time and get back in one piece.
This is NOT a rails to trails, there is NO rail grade anywhere, this shouldn't even be listed as one. This trail is far beyond need of rehabilitation, parts of the trail seem to have been ripped up making for uneven and nasty surfaces...and that was some of the better spots. 6" high "speedbumps" cover the trail where roots came up under the trail, tons of large deep cracks as well. Even watching and knowing the trail was unmarked, we had to backtrack as we missed the turn.
This is by far the worst trail I've rode in years, I will not be back and shame on RTT for even listing it.
As Badh mentioned below..the 2X4 that was used to repair the small bridge just north of Cedar Springs, is a killer. Heading north, the leading edge of the bridge is the flat edge of said board. Anything over 10 mph, figure on damage to your bike rim.
And then, a few miles further, it's 2 track with Amish horse and buggy trail.
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