Anyone ride trails in Michigan?

Johndeere506
Edited Date/Time 9/4/2022 9:39am
Is anyone familiar with Michigan trails? I took my young kids to St Helens, and it was super sandy. They are just learning to ride so it wasnt the best for them, and Im recovering from a bad elbow injury from MX so it wasnt helping me either helping them so much. Any suggestions on where to take them for a less sandy trail system?
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c0ncEpT
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c0ncEpT 9/10/2020 7:51pm
9/10/2020 7:51pm
Most trails in lower Michigan are going to be sandy. You can try Kalkaska but you'll be trading sand for tree roots.
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Raceline
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Raceline 9/10/2020 7:57pm
9/10/2020 7:57pm
If youre on Facebook theres a group called Michigan Motorcycle Trail Riders. Join that and you'll get a lot of help on trails I'm sure.
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KMC440
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KMC440 9/11/2020 5:00am
9/11/2020 5:00am
Rode where they ran the Loose Moose years ago. That was a good day, not too sandy at all. There's a fun loop(short though) at Cedar River below Escanaba in on Camp o Lane B2 road. Part of the fun on this trail is the wood "bridge" sections built over the swamp areas. Definitely a kid friendly set of trails.
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MudPup545
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MudPup545 9/11/2020 5:16am
9/11/2020 5:16am
The closer you get into the town of St Helen, the worse the sand gets. The trails widen and it gets really deep. Follow the curve out of town a few short miles and ride the Geels 50” wide loops.
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MudPup545
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MudPup545 9/11/2020 5:19am
9/11/2020 5:19am Edited Date/Time 9/11/2020 5:25am
It’s Michigan, you’ll never avoid the sand completely but, this is a great loop.


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SCAM124
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SCAM124 9/11/2020 5:27am
9/11/2020 5:27am
I ride trails a lot.
What bikes are they on? I ask because I didnt take my boys out on the marked trails until they were on 85's. The Michigan sand eats up the little wheels unless they're fast kids. Mine were good riders but not what i'd call rippers. i did take them up north a bunch but kept to fire roads and 2 tracks.

As said previously, lots of sand in lower peninsula. Gotta go more north to get into the heavily wooded trails. It gets better on tighter soil conditions, but still what i would consider sand.

Three loops in the Tomahawk system. Gets a little tight and difficult for kids though in B & C. Heard the A loop is wider but might be sandier as a result. Haven't ridden it.

Atlanta has some good loops for beginners but depending on which "leg" of the trail it can get sandy still.

Do you guys ride tracks?

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dboivin
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dboivin 9/11/2020 6:11am
9/11/2020 6:11am
atlanta loops won't be full of sand. more rocky and tons of single/dual track.
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nofearccracer 9/11/2020 6:32am
9/11/2020 6:32am
MudPup545 wrote:
It’s Michigan, you’ll never avoid the sand completely but, this is a great loop. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/09/11/448765/s1200_FF193710_A22A_4947_832E_46F76F75E1A0.jpg[/img]
It’s Michigan, you’ll never avoid the sand completely but, this is a great loop.


This ^ Geels is a great trail and the loop on the North side of the road where the main parking lot is, has much less sand than the south side of the road. However the North loop does tend to have some areas that hold water pretty bad.
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joe stanley
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joe stanley 9/11/2020 7:10am
9/11/2020 7:10am
Tomahawk A loop is very sandy. B and C loop are not beginner friendly in my opinion. Little O is a good choice but be watchful of quad traffic. Grand Traverse loop is sandy.
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sowers711
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sowers711 9/11/2020 8:04am
9/11/2020 8:04am
Are there any trails in south east Michigan? I always rode MX and want to start trail riding but don’t know where to go.
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krgperformance
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krgperformance 9/11/2020 8:17am
9/11/2020 8:17am
i would check out ambros lake trails orv in michigan the trails not the route for a nice less sandy trail ride
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hellion
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hellion 9/11/2020 9:24am
9/11/2020 9:24am
My ride group has done a few trips up to the U.P. Over the years. It used to be awesome. Not sure what happen, but we went up last summer and found that most of the trails were overgrown and had not been maintained at all. The quad and sxs paths on the other hand looked very well used. This was heart breaking as the U.P. Used to have great single track.
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ehr400
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ehr400 9/11/2020 10:46am
9/11/2020 10:46am
sowers711 wrote:
Are there any trails in south east Michigan? I always rode MX and want to start trail riding but don’t know where to go.
Not going to find any ORV trails in SE Michigan, everything is pretty much private land other then some state parks.
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Zook La Douche 9/11/2020 11:54am
9/11/2020 11:54am
The canoe camp ORV trails in mid Michigan, in Leota (just north of Harrison). There is sand but one of the loops is fairly tight with good earth. One time I was forced to ride on a dual purpose bike with trials tires and was fine.
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Ramrod
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Ramrod 9/11/2020 12:18pm
9/11/2020 12:18pm
You are riding with your kids I would recommend the Kalkaska trails. They are more solid ground and not tight and technical, kinda like atv's can fit through there. Only caveat is there is not 1 direction of the trail, I met up with someone oncoming and was a close call once.

The overall trail system in Michigan is fantastic and I've got no problem with sand or whoops which many have.
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9mileroad$
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9mileroad$ 9/12/2020 6:35am
9/12/2020 6:35am
It’s gonna be hard to avoid sand in the lower peninsula. The. U.P. Is somewhat less sandy. Depends on the trail. Little o is fun but can be scary. It’s very fast. I’ve had a few close calls with oncoming traffic. I’d recommend trying to go to motorcycle only trails as little o has quad traffic. I prefer Lincoln hills in that area but it’s quite sandy in spots. I’d recommend trying to hit the sand after a good rain it’s much easier to deal with than dry sugar sand. I also like tomahawk and Evart trails but those are pretty technical trails. My advice for sand is your either on the gas or on the brakes no inbetween.
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MudPup545
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MudPup545 9/12/2020 6:46am
9/12/2020 6:46am
http://www.ogemawsport.com/

We rode/camped here a few times when the kids were little. Kids track is very beginner friendly and it offers great trails and tracks for all levels. Added bonus is that it’s very close to state land trails (Ambrose Lake if I remember correctly 🤔).
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motomad724 9/12/2020 7:13am
9/12/2020 7:13am
sowers711 wrote:
Are there any trails in south east Michigan? I always rode MX and want to start trail riding but don’t know where to go.
ehr400 wrote:
Not going to find any ORV trails in SE Michigan, everything is pretty much private land other then some state parks.
The Holly Oaks ORV park opens Sept 17th, but I expect it'll be very busy. It's an old gravel pit on the back side of Mt Holly (between the ski hill and I-75), and is a mix of terrain. I understand there will be 50" trails and also under 50" single track only; hopefully the park isn't taken over by the Jeep crowd like the Mounds which is another downstate ORV park NW of Flint.
https://www.oakgov.com/parks/parksandtrails/holly-oaks-orv-park/Pages/d…
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motomad724 9/12/2020 7:22am
9/12/2020 7:22am
Ramrod wrote:
You are riding with your kids I would recommend the Kalkaska trails. They are more solid ground and not tight and technical, kinda like atv's can...
You are riding with your kids I would recommend the Kalkaska trails. They are more solid ground and not tight and technical, kinda like atv's can fit through there. Only caveat is there is not 1 direction of the trail, I met up with someone oncoming and was a close call once.

The overall trail system in Michigan is fantastic and I've got no problem with sand or whoops which many have.
+1 for Kalkaska, but I think the south loop is less sandy/root covered/hilly than the Kalkaska north loop. The east side of the Kalkaska central loop is partially a shared snowmobile trail and very sandy.

Tomahawk is further north past Gaylord and more advanced singletrack only.

I'm not aware of any one way/directional trails in Michigan, so ALWAYS be on the lookout from someone coming toward you. Head ons are no fun, and happen in the blink of an eye if both parties are hauling the mail
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blusmbl
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blusmbl 9/12/2020 7:48am
9/12/2020 7:48am
Evart is all dirt/hardpack with one small ridiculous rock section. I rode it and liked it but it's all slow speed, technical stuff.

https://www.riderplanet-usa.com/atv/trails/info/michigan_03071/ride_065…

Ogemaw is a decent suggestion, but only the kid's track is not sandy. Even the little trail practice loop is sandy, from the last time I was there.

As most others have mentioned, it is really hard to avoid sand in lower Michigan, and it can be discouraging for new riders too.
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Ramrod
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Ramrod 9/12/2020 9:49am
9/12/2020 9:49am
Ramrod wrote:
You are riding with your kids I would recommend the Kalkaska trails. They are more solid ground and not tight and technical, kinda like atv's can...
You are riding with your kids I would recommend the Kalkaska trails. They are more solid ground and not tight and technical, kinda like atv's can fit through there. Only caveat is there is not 1 direction of the trail, I met up with someone oncoming and was a close call once.

The overall trail system in Michigan is fantastic and I've got no problem with sand or whoops which many have.
motomad724 wrote:
+1 for Kalkaska, but I think the south loop is less sandy/root covered/hilly than the Kalkaska north loop. The east side of the Kalkaska central loop...
+1 for Kalkaska, but I think the south loop is less sandy/root covered/hilly than the Kalkaska north loop. The east side of the Kalkaska central loop is partially a shared snowmobile trail and very sandy.

Tomahawk is further north past Gaylord and more advanced singletrack only.

I'm not aware of any one way/directional trails in Michigan, so ALWAYS be on the lookout from someone coming toward you. Head ons are no fun, and happen in the blink of an eye if both parties are hauling the mail
Right you are about the directional trails, always beware. I like to ride if we go during the weekdays, less squirrels.

The Tomahawk trail is more advanced and technical, I agree. I call that area Wolverine because it is just off I75.
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devotid
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devotid 9/12/2020 12:03pm
9/12/2020 12:03pm
Gladwin for me.

Here is one of my quick "after work loops". If you Park at the southern Trail head parking.... and then ride Center Fire Lane Rd south a bit and cut into the trail to the right... there is a great loop that is not too blown out. Tree covered and not too sandy.

I made a map of it. Yellow is all 4wheel blown out sand whoops and the pink area is where I try to stick to. about a 25 mile loop iirc.



Here is a video of that area on an old shitty project bike I built years ago for a memorial project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERSCREVMkXY
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motomad724 9/13/2020 6:46am
9/13/2020 6:46am
devotid wrote:
Gladwin for me. Here is one of my quick "after work loops". If you Park at the southern Trail head parking.... and then ride Center Fire...
Gladwin for me.

Here is one of my quick "after work loops". If you Park at the southern Trail head parking.... and then ride Center Fire Lane Rd south a bit and cut into the trail to the right... there is a great loop that is not too blown out. Tree covered and not too sandy.

I made a map of it. Yellow is all 4wheel blown out sand whoops and the pink area is where I try to stick to. about a 25 mile loop iirc.



Here is a video of that area on an old shitty project bike I built years ago for a memorial project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERSCREVMkXY
Good tip! I've never ridden Gladwin due to hearing it's soooo sandy, but being the furthest south and this revelation will have to give it a try! Thanks man
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dfr136 9/13/2020 7:17am
9/13/2020 7:17am
I ride Mi quite a bit, the only trail I've ridden that wasn't sandy was holton loop in the Muskegon area, it was hard pack but 25 miles of whoops. There is 3 trails in the Muskegon area, holton loop, cear creek which is a 50" trail-sandy but gets groomed, and horseshoe lake. Those 3 are your furthest south. If you check out the cycle conservation club of Michigan http://cccmi.net/ they put on a lot of really fun events and I think they have some geared more for kids.
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crowe660
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crowe660 9/13/2020 7:41am
9/13/2020 7:41am
dfr136 wrote:
I ride Mi quite a bit, the only trail I've ridden that wasn't sandy was holton loop in the Muskegon area, it was hard pack but...
I ride Mi quite a bit, the only trail I've ridden that wasn't sandy was holton loop in the Muskegon area, it was hard pack but 25 miles of whoops. There is 3 trails in the Muskegon area, holton loop, cear creek which is a 50" trail-sandy but gets groomed, and horseshoe lake. Those 3 are your furthest south. If you check out the cycle conservation club of Michigan http://cccmi.net/ they put on a lot of really fun events and I think they have some geared more for kids.
Cedar Creek is my “home loop”. Few days there after the snow melts and you’re in shape for Moto.
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dfr136 9/13/2020 8:21am
9/13/2020 8:21am Edited Date/Time 9/13/2020 8:22am
crowe660 wrote:
Cedar Creek is my “home loop”. Few days there after the snow melts and you’re in shape for Moto.
For sure it’s a fun fast loop, I always have a good time on it.
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2old4this
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2old4this 9/13/2020 10:55am
9/13/2020 10:55am Edited Date/Time 9/13/2020 10:58am
We like Grand Traverse. The North side parking area is way better than the South. We have three women in our group who are all just a notch above novice riders on TTR-125 LE's with Rekluse clutches. They really enjoy it....no trouble at all.........There is sand....but the trails are mostly pretty hard packed for Michigan.....and as an added bonus....unlike Kalkaska, which has much deeper sand.......NO QUADS ALLOWED......really nice...see here:



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