indian river/petosky trails???

[i69whitey]

leaving soon for this area, gotta find trails
anybody local with a recommendation of something closer than the trails listed in our guide?
i may have to hit the Shingle on the way back down, but...

heck, any real good deserted road rides that would work for my 6 yr old?
M-119 sounds good, just not sure if he can handle that

thanks,
-whitey

[kalkaskawinterfest]

NCT from Thumb Lake rd north to Petoskey

[punkerfinger]

Not sure if this is too late, but there's a snowmobile/rail-trail that runs from Gaylord, through Indian River, up to Cheboygan, and over to Mackinaw City for a total 1-way distance of 62 miles. The 15-mile portion between Indian River and Cheboygan runs along the coast of Mullett Lake and the Cheboygan River and is very nice. It's not mountain biking, but it's a great long car-free ride that would be good with kids. Great on a cyclocross bike, and there are numerous spots along the trail to grab food and water.
Link

[Mack]

Kipp rd NCT. One of my favs the first climb is a long one but you get to ride down it on the way back .

[SteveF]

There's a beautiful paved trail along the bay between Charlevoix and Petosky called the Little Traverse Wheelway I believe. It would be a great ride for you and your son. See my pics here from riding it a couple of years ago.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40738390@N ... 364249498/

[i69whitey]

so we rode the rail to trail toward the north, my son got bored and wanted to ride trail
but it is a nice scenic ride
we tried to find the HCP to ride north from thumb lake road on the way home sunday
but it started out pretty loose and sandy for a 6 yr old
plus it was downhill for over half a mile to start and i kew what was our return
we went over to the south side and hiked up for a while and played explorer

but the fun was driving down a county road that became a 2-track that became a creek-bed
in my ford focus
if i could have only found the way to unplug that friggin traction control!!!!
the Jude was a little scared until i told him the worst that can happen is we walk back to that farm where the horses were and have the farmer get his tractor.
good thing a 6 yr old doesn't quite comprehend that was about 5 or 8 miles back

heading up to sleeping bear next week, maybe ride that path along the coast

[Zoo1424]

Next time you are up near Indian River, Wildwood Hills Pathway is a couple miles south of Indian River. I've been there one time & while it doesn't appear to get ridden too often, it was a scenic area, and offered a decent mixture of terrain.