Hiking & Biking
Three headline facts set the table: the Iron Belle Trail is the longest state-designated trail in America (2,000-plus miles, Belle Isle to Ironwood, roughly 71% complete across 48 counties); Michigan carries more of the North Country National Scenic Trail than any other state (about 1,150 of its ~4,800 miles); and Michigan ranks first in the nation in rail-trail miles — the gift of the railroads that hauled our pine and ore. You almost certainly live near a piece of all three.
The rulebook
No helmet law (really), the 3-foot passing rule, the e-bike class table everyone's Googling — including the August 2024 change that opened most state natural-surface trails to Class 1 — and the etiquette that keeps shared trails working.
Read the rulebook →The crown quirk
The 8.2-mile loop around Mackinac Island is the only state highway in America where motor vehicles are banned — you ride it, walk it, or clop it. It might be the single best easy bike ride in the Midwest, fudge stops included.
A full Porch Note is coming — the trails engine starts here.
The trains graded them a century ago; now they're 30 flat, car-free miles out of half the small towns in Michigan.
Kalamazoo to South Haven — 34 miles ending at the big lake.
Read the note →92 miles, Grand Rapids' edge to Cadillac — a linear state park.
Read the note →Midland's Tridge to Clare, smooth and flat the whole way.
Read the note →Charlevoix to Harbor Springs along the bay — the view ride. (Note coming.)
The U.P.'s 107-mile giant along the Wisconsin border. (Note coming.)
The long ones — by water and by land.
Washtenaw County's growing riverside spine, Ypsilanti toward Dexter.
Read the note →A National Water Trail, 100-plus paddleable miles.
Read the note →Belle Isle to Ironwood, 2,000+ miles, two routes. (Note coming.)
~1,150 miles — more than any other state. (Note coming.)
Places the trails made.
Salmon below the dam, a rail-trail through downtown.
Read the note →8.2 miles around the island — the only car-free state highway in America. (Note coming.)
Michigan's favorite backpacking weekend. (Note coming.)
Cliff-top Superior — the hike of a Michigan lifetime.
Read the note →Find every trail on the DNR's state trails pages and the Mi-TRAILS map; the Iron Belle lives at the DNR's Iron Belle page; bike law is explained best by the League of Michigan Bicyclists. Your Recreation Passport covers the trailhead parking. See also Camping, ORV & Trails, and Boating.
