Metro Parks Trail?

[Dave L]

I am new to the concept of trail proposals so forgive my ignorance. I live downriver and do a lot of traveling to the trails we all enjoy. I was recently road riding Lower Huron and Willow and couldn't help but wonder if there is a possiblity of an off-road trail system in the Metro Parks. Has this been explored? Sure would like a trail downriver and this huge stretch of land seems to have room. I know it would be popular. Any thoughts?

[froggyrider]

Hi, Dave,

That sounds intriguing. I know the 275 path gets folks down that way, but it is pavement.

Do you know anyone at those parks who we could talk to? I know it is low land that may flood easily, but I am sure there are some stretches that would be nice.

Let me know if you know anyone at the parks to talk to. We sure could use more trails down that way, and if folks are interested in pursuing this, that would be great.

Claudia

[wingzz]

Typically HCMP has been resistant to adding MTB trails to their parks, the only one that allows off road biking is Stony Creek.
There is a new director at HCMP and she might be more receptive to adding off road bike trails to more HCMP parks but I don't think anyone has approached her on this yet, John Gonway or Marne should have a contact name there if you want to see if there would be interest in this
I do know the director at indian springs has expressed interest in adding trails to that park, and Kensington has stated they would be willing to listen to a proposal if we want to put something together
I'm sorry I do not remember her name at the moment but John or Marne should know her name

[Dave L]

Hi, Dave,

That sounds intriguing. I know the 275 path gets folks down that way, but it is pavement.

Do you know anyone at those parks who we could talk to? I know it is low land that may flood easily, but I am sure there are some stretches that would be nice.

Let me know if you know anyone at the parks to talk to. We sure could use more trails down that way, and if folks are interested in pursuing this, that would be great.

Claudia

I took a good look at the land surrounding the trail. There is more high ground than one would think. However there is plenty of low ground too. This is nothing new though. Most of the MTB trails around SE MI are in swampy areas. ILRA follows the Huron for a good chunk of the trail. This time of year it's easy to see the landscape due to zero foliage. There could be a seriously fun trail there if done right with more climbing than you could imagine for these parts.

I'll do some research on who to talk to.

[froggyrider]

Sounds good. I am out of town, but I'll get a hold of John or Marne as Mike suggests next week to find out the park contact name. This would be a huge project, so we'd need a lot of help. Thanks for looking into it as well, Dave.

[Dave L]

I have no idea on what it takes to get something like this going. i'm sure there is plenty of red tape. However, I think if presented we could certainly have plenty of interest in a trail downriver. What motivates park officials. Do they want more people visiting their park? Seems like they would but I just don't have any idea what would be in it for them.

[turbospartan]

Dave / Froggy: Did anything ever come of this?

http://www.metroparks.com/images/maps/lower_huron.pdf

I think all of the "hike-bike" trails are paved.

I live in Romulus which is right next to New Boston, so I'd be willing to help at Lower Huron / Willow, as they are less than 5 minutes from me.

[froggyrider]

Not yet- we've been pretty busy with trail day season. We can look into it, but have you made any connections over there?

What are your usual MB trails to ride?

[turbospartan]

I actually just started getting into biking so I don't have any usual trails as of yet.

But I do know that both of those metroparks are very close to my house and I'd definitely be interested in riding them frequently as the next closest trail to me is the Morton-Taylor trails in Canton.

[froggyrider]

Great! I used to ride on the Metro Park pathways a lot. I need to go back to Canton- I did a trail day out there a while ago but I understand it has grown a lot.

I'll put this on my "rainy day so I can't ride my bike" list of things to look into.

[johnnyg]

Dave L and Turbospartan: please shoot me a PM with your contact information and I'll get you going on your project. Thanks for stepping up.

[Hiker Mike]

Hi guys.

As a hiker, I would love to see more dirt trails in the Metroparks, especially those in the Lower Huron, Willow, Oakwoods, Lake Erie corridor. In fact, I'd love to see one long dirt trail that would connect to the Downriver Linked Greenways on the east and Washtenaw County's B2B Trail on the west.

Note: The metroparks do have seasonal cross country ski trail systems that are different from those marked the rest of the year. In some spots, this does provide for dirt hiking paths. Maybe these could become the basis for established dirt hike/bike trails?

Mike

[turbospartan]

First of all let me start this by saying I've never built a trail, so what I say below may or may not be relevant to starting a trail system.

Looking at the google maps (maps.google.com) of these Metroparks, I think the best opportunity may be the Southern section (south of Willow road) of the Willow Metropark.

The Lower Huron Metropark and the Northern section of the Willow Metropark as much more populated (if I remember correctly) and the river winds and bends in a way that would make it difficult to create trails I would think (many bridges would be required, or you would have to design the trail to either stick to one side of the river or the other).

Now if you find the Willow Metropark on google maps, and then click the "more" button on the top right section of the map, and put a check mark in the "terrain" box - it will show you the topography of the land. There is a 600' ridgeline that runs along the Huron River, which may be suitable to start a trail.

I haven't been out there to see the terrain in person - so I can't provide much insight right now as to whether it would be a good start or not. But I do know that it looks better, at least from the satellite view of google maps, than the other Metroparks in the area, because it is more forested and has fields instead of well manicured grass and a lot of paved trails (which the other 2 have).


Here is a Microsoft Paint cut-out from google maps of the "terrain":




If we were to follow that ridgeline for the most part (obviously we'd add turns and try to use the lay of the land to choose the path so we had more "flow") - could we create something here?

Those are just my thoughts as of right now.... anyone care to comment, provide advice, or give tips?

[froggyrider]

I like your map.

Has anyone made contact with any park officals yet to feel out if they would consider this?

Thanks,

Claudia

[turbospartan]

ok update: the park south of willow road is actually called Oakwood Metropark.

Road the paved trail thru there today and it is WET. Standing water on both sides of the paved trail at multiple spots and some were up to 6" deep.

Now if you look at the map...the paved trail is on the opposite side of the "ridgeline" I pointed out, so it may be dryer over there, but the spots near the paved trails are almost wetland type areas.

As far as getting a hold of anyone with any authority - I have not done anything and I don't know of anyone who has.