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The Watkins Lake County Preserve and State Park has a 5.8-mile linear rail-trail that offers scenic views of the lake and landscape as it runs through meadows, woods and wetlands. The trail surface is crushed stone, gravel, dirt and grass.
About the Route
From its western end at the official entrance to the Watkins Lake County Preserve and State Park, the trail heads northeast through meadows, woods and wetlands. The eastern end of the trail is on W Austin Rd in Manchester.
For about 5 miles of the route, the trail follows a former railroad corridor.
Connections
The plans for the trail include a connection with the Manchester Bike Trail.
The Watkins Lake County Preserve and State Park runs between 14801 Arnold Rd (Brooklyn), where parking is available, and W Austin Rd (Manchester).
Please note that a Michigan Recreation Passport is required to park in the Watkins Lake County Preserve and State Park visitor parking lot on Arnold Rd.
Visit the TrailLink map for detailed directions.
The trail is made up of three segments of roughly (?) equal length.
There are no benches, trashcans, or water fountains on this trail, so be plan accordingly.
Signage gives warning about the possibility of ticks on this train, so maybe stick to the main path, ignore any offshoots, and don’t brush against any plants.
I found the trail to very enjoyable from start to finish, with my only two complaints being: it’s rather short, being maybe six miles roundtrip, and the other being that the surface is dirt and stone, so unless you have a gravel, dirt, or fat tire bike, you might want consider walking this one.
Road crossings are rare.
I would recommend the trail to anybody looking to avoid an urban trail and connect with nature.
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