The Cadillac Pathway and its surprising hills

Most of lower Michigan does not have the terrain for serious cross-country skiing. That is what makes the Cadillac Pathway a little improbable. A few miles east of town, on state forest land managed by the DNR, the trail climbs and drops through real hill country. The route tops 1,400 feet of elevation more than once and strings together long, leg-burning grades across its six interlocking loops. One stretch between Seeley Road and a signpost out in the woods climbs 130 feet on its own. That is enough relief to put it among the most southerly groomed state pathways in Michigan — about the last place going south where the hills hold up for skiing.

A local crew started cutting it in the late 1970s, and it has grown into a genuine four-season network. In winter, volunteers groom the classic ski tracks after every fresh snow and again on Fridays, so the trail is dialed in for the weekend. A separate winter sports trail gets packed down for fat bikers and snowshoers. Come spring the snow melts off and the same hills become singletrack for mountain bikes, with newer miles of purpose-built trail folded in over the past few years.

The upkeep is its own quiet story. Keeping a trail like this rideable falls to a partnership of the DNR, a local career-tech center whose students pitch in, and a friends group. They do the unglamorous work — clearing blowdowns, running the grooming sled at odd hours.

What you get out of all that is simple. On a cold clear morning after a snow, you can kick and glide through the hardwoods with nobody else around, your breath hanging in the air. You climb a hill that has no business being this big in this part of the state. Then you point your skis downhill and let it pay you back.