Best Hiking Trails in the Great Lakes Bay
"Take a hike!" was once a phrase used to send someone on their way. Today, when you Go Great Lakes Bay in Pure Michigan, it's a friendly invitation.
More accurately, it's lots of invitations, for the region abounds in pathways and trails — paved and unpaved, rural and urban, for users on foot, on skates, on bikes, and sometimes, even on horseback.
Bay City State Park | @mi_playground
The Tridge | @mekilouise
A Watershed View
There are a few stand-alone trails in this region, but many (and more each year) are connected. Think of trails like streams and rivers within a watershed, smaller components connected to ever-larger ones.
The Great Lakes Bay Regional Trail comprises or connects to several area trails and is, in turn, part of the DNR-designated Iron Belle Trail — the longest designated state trail in the nation — which stretches from Iron Mountain in the western Upper Peninsula to Belle Isle in southeastern Lower Michigan.
The Great Lakes Bay Regional Trail comprises nearly 100 miles of paved, non-motorized Michigan trails, including the Pere Marquette Rail Trail, the Saginaw Valley Rail Trail, and the Bay City Area Riverwalk/Railtrail — with even more network trails and connectors planned!
Chippewa Nature Center | @megsymarie13
Trails to Explore in Midland
The Grand Curve Trail stretches 4.25 paved miles from The Tridge in Downtown Midland (crossing the Tittabawassee and Chippewa Rivers and the hub of several trails), to Patrick/Illinois streets. It's a delightful place to hike or bike, and dogs are welcome on this pet-friendly trail.
From the distinctive, three-legged Tridge, a relatively new, paved Chippewa Trail leads four miles to Chippewa Nature Center (more on its trails below — see how they all seem connected?).
And then there's what is arguably the granddaddy of the region's trails: the Pere Marquette Rail Trail, whose paved portion begins at the Tridge and stretches 30 miles to Clare (from which a similarly named Pere-Marquette State Trail continues westward to Baldwin). It's a favorite of folks on foot, skates, and bikes.
Chippewa Nature Center has a bountiful network of 19 miles of foot trails traversing its variety of ecosystems — wetland woodlot, prairie and more — open dawn-to-dark and interpreted clearly in maps, pamphlets, and signage.
Midland City Forest has two trail systems, one for mountain biking and one for hiking (and skiing in season). Study the map so you stay on the correct one; they do intertwine. The cross-country ski trails become horse trails in spring, summer, and fall.
Midland City Forest | @brusk1ak
More Midland Trails
Midland County Parks and Recreation operates the Pine Haven Recreational Area, under a permit from the Michigan DNR (it's also open to hunting in season). Its hills, ridges, and gullies are unusual in this generally flat region. First built as a cross-country ski area, its ski-based difficulty-ranking signs are good indicators of what kind of hike or bike awaits you.
Really want to get away from it all? Lace ‘em up and hit the Midland-to-Mackinaw Hiking Trail, which begins within the Kawkawlin Flooding Wildlife Area in northern Midland County and traces a Native American trade route more than 210 miles to Mackinaw City at the tip of the Lower Peninsula. Much of this is dirt, single-track trail.
A Unique Perspective
Whiting Forest of Dow Gardens
Within Midland's Dow Gardens is its 54-acre Whiting Forest, with more than one mile of footpaths and a new visitor twist: a 1,400-foot Canopy Walk that stands the nation's longest. As high as 40 feet above hilly terrain unusual for this area, in one spot, a glass-floored platform overlooks an orchard; in another, cargo nets offer a novel experience aloft; elsewhere, a pond overlook encourages reflection.
Saginaw Valley Rail Trail | @tuckers_journey
Trails to Explore in Saginaw
When hiking trails in Saginaw County, begin with the Saginaw Valley Rail Trail, which stretches from Saginaw to St. Charles. Along the way, it offers a variety of pleasant settings, from the wildlife- and waterfowl-rich Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge and adjacent Shiawassee River State Game Area, through woodlots, farms, and fields.
Typical of trails with railway origins, its level surface is friendly to bikers and strollers (for eight miles an equestrian trail parallels the hiking trail). Trees provide shade in summer, color in fall. A 'tributary' is the 2.3-mile Thomas Township Trail; the main rail trail itself features trailheads (with restrooms and provisions), a fishing platform, and even pocket parks.
Shiawassee NWR | @mi_playground
The Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge itself has a pair of 4.5-mile-long nature trails. One of them, the Woodland Trail, begins near the starting point of the Saginaw Valley Rail Trail.
I'm partial, though, to the Ferguson Bayou Trail at the end of Curtis Road in Saginaw. It's from there that I hiked one memorable day with my dad and my young daughter. I have a black and white photo on my wall capturing their exchange as Elizabeth enlightened Grandpa on the fact that what he called Queen Anne's Lace was, in fact, actually wild carrot. It was a lovely day, made possible by the trail.
Bay City State Park | @woowoogangsta
Trails to Explore in Bay City
The Bay City Area Riverwalk/Railtrail is a 7.7-mile-long rail corridor linking Bay City State Park to Downtown Bay City, where a 9.8-mile Bay City Riverwalk/Railtrail Loop visits the Saginaw River and explores the town, taking you past marinas, restaurants, parks, gardens, logging-era homes, and more.
Bay City State Park, noted as one of "The 20 Best Michigan State Parks," boasts three nature trails. The 3.3-mile-long Tobico Marsh Trail has a pair of observation towers providing overlooks of one of the largest remaining Great Lakes coastal wetlands. The Anderson Nature Trail wanders through a small, restored tallgrass prairie.
More Trail Tips
Trails are definitely a growing phenomenon in this region, with communities rediscovering, redeveloping, resurfacing, and rededicating trails and pathways. It all aims at one more healthy and enjoyable "r": recreation in Michigan.
Before you go, search for the latest maps, trail conditions, and rules. Some are dog-friendly, others dog-free; some open to wheels, others not. If in doubt, contact the local trail-tending authority for the latest.
When you Go Great Lakes Bay in Pure Michigan, with its cities, villages, forests, and farmlands, its abundant wildlife and delightfully interwoven trails, you'll hear in your mind advice that's not the least bit unfriendly: "Take a hike!"
Things To Do
A $20 million, four-year effort, the creation of the Canopy Walk and other features within Whiting Forest of Dow Gardens is the Foundation's largest project ever, officially opened to the public in October 2018.
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Things To Do
Dow Gardens — and its Whiting Forest, Canopy Walk and other features within — offer a year-around menu of novel experiences, a virtual merry-go-round of adventures circling the seasons, a picnic of perspectives.
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Dow Gardens Canopy Walk
Go Great
With sunshine and fresh air beckoning, let this list of favorite outdoor attractions inspire your adventures in Pure Michigan's Great Lakes Bay Region this spring!
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Go Great
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Go Great
Take picturesque hikes & colorful boat tours, peruse apple orchards & sip on cider, pedal trolleys through leafy streets & ride ziplines through the trees! Pull on your boots, bring a light jacket, and be ready for these must-experience fall excursions when you Go Great Lakes Bay in Pure Michigan!
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Go Great
There's a special hush when winter arrives in Pure Michigan's Great Lakes Bay Region, best broken by the sounds of activity-fed laughter. On snowshoe, ski, or sled, skate blades or fat tires, snowboard or toboggan, on land or frozen water — this is the place for snowy fun!
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Author
Steve Griffin
Steve Griffin, a Midland-based, full-time freelance outdoors writer, has been covering that beat for newspapers and magazines for longer than he likes to admit. He began with a manual typewriter and a film camera — and says that in every way outdoors, these are the "good old days"!
