Michigan Top 5 Michigan Trails?

[nascarnate326]

What are your top 5 Michigan trails and why?

 

Got a new bike, got the wife a new bike..ready to do some trail riding. Have a lot of ground to make up this fall. 

 

We did Tin Cup and plan to be at Gladwin this weekend. 

[yellow ketchup]

Michigan people post on here? Lol

[nascarnate326]

not many, trying to find which ones to skip and which ones to head to before it gets too cold. 

[yellow ketchup]

I'll be on the kalkaska and Frederic loop the 3rd weekend of September. Maybe leetsville as well. They're all decent

[ttreewalkerr]

Gladwin trail off of m61 is all dune type sand with whoops. Go a little north to st.helen trail.

[nascarnate326]

Gladwin trail off of m61 is all dune type sand with whoops. Go a little north to st.helen trail.

 

Have you rode it this year?  Thats a bummer, was hoping to take the wife. 

[ttreewalkerr]

Not this year, past sure,,, it's a quad playground,, the quads turned it to dune sand years ago. Tired the north loop last year, promised to never go back. Said he'll with south loop , packed bikes up and left.

Few min north is so much better.

[uchytil]

What are your top 5 Michigan trails and why?

 

Got a new bike, got the wife a new bike..ready to do some trail riding. Have a lot of ground to make up this fall. 

 

We did Tin Cup and plan to be at Gladwin this weekend. 

When I lived in Sault Ste. Marie I really liked Kinross.  Up there (early 2000's) we rode the tight single track and never really had sand, or whoop, issues.  As a bonus the 2-tracks were also legal. Also the trails south of Kinross but in the U.P. were also go-to.  I always liked the U.P. trails the best.  Now that I live in Muskegon I ride Holton MC trail and it's usually pretty quiet there which I like.  I have not ventured out into other trails yet so following these topics helps.  I don't have any riding partners(now that my son's have grown up, lol) so I've got to be very careful that I return home in one piece!  Good topic to follow.  

[ttreewalkerr]

Same here, that's why I got the WR plated. Ride fire roads and trail, have riderx app on my phone so when I had enough I look at my bars with phone mounted and take roads and two tracks back to cottage,,, In One piece lol.

[Umbalaahh]

Frederick and Kalkaska are awesome loops close together leota and Denton Creek also very nice and close together been on both a few times this year good mix of sand and dirt n not yet destroyed by quads

[Betaguy]

Stay away from Gladwin. It is very loose sand, deep whoops everywhere ,and an accident waiting to happen around every corner. Way too may quads.

Big O, Ambrose lake, tomahawk, muskrat lake, meadows in Mio are my top 5 in no order.

[nascarnate326]

We did both Gladwin loops yesterday. First off, signage is horrible on many of these trails, Gladwin included.  The north loop was a complete disaster, anyone reading this please take everyones advice and just avoid it. 

 

The south loop was pretty good, found a guy that knew where to go so we followed him. We got lost trying to come back so neither loop was an actual loop. 

 

I can honestly say Gladwin was shit. Tin Cup is way better.   Ill do some research on those other trails to see what we do next weekend. 

[uchytil]

Where's Muskrat Lake?  I can't find it on the DNR trail maps.  

[Betaguy]

North of Luzerne

[Treesmacker]

Last week we rode Porterfield Lake, Moss Lake and the Sandstormers Trailfest on the weekend.

Porterfield had great trail but with little to no traffic the ferns hung over the trail.

Moss Lake was a little bit tighter but with more traffic the ferns were not a problem.

The Trailfest was just plain awesome! From flat sandy trails to ROCKS the size of a house!

What a blast! 

[nascarnate326]

Im looking for fast wide trails with big berms...basically a mx track in nature. lol

[Betaguy]

Im looking for fast wide trails with big berms...basically a mx track in nature. lol

Problem with those trails is there is a quad or sxs around ever corner. I avoid those trails like the plague.

[dconklin5421]

I rode Leota a few weekends ago and it was pretty good. It was sandy around the trail head but the farther you went west the better it got. Plus  the section 12 to 4(on the DNR map) has a great hill climb in it. the North West section of the trail was the best part. there is some high bank stuff on the east side loop as well.

[medwaste]

Uchytil,    How was the Holton/Horseshoe trail?  I'm looking for super easy, short and well marked. Do I need to be plated?  

[uchytil]

Uchytil,    How was the Holton/Horseshoe trail?  I'm looking for super easy, short and well marked. Do I need to be plated?  

Two different trails.  Holton is off Brunswick Road (Muskegon County) and Horseshoe is a little bit more north in Newago County.  I have not rode Horseshoe in years but you can ride part of it without a plate.    

 

I rode the part of Holton Loop that does not require a plate.  From the parking area north of Brunswick Road is MC only(no quads) and no plate required.  If you go south of Brunswick Road you need a plate.  It seems really quiet during the week - not sure about weekends.  The trail is basically single track but you can go at your own speed and have a good time.   

 

Check out the online maps and you'll see where the plated sections are.