There is an active group of mountain bikers in the Ann Arbor Ski Club that goes out twice a week: Friday evenings and Sunday mornings. Click here for the current schedule. This page has directions to the trails. For up-to-date listings of other events, see the Michigan Mountain Biking Association web site: www.mmba.org

For the rides in state parks, you need a pass. Most of us get season passes. You also need a pass for the Metro parks.

Island Lake
Meet at the trailhead parking lot in the Island Lake State Park. To get to Island Lake, take the Kensington exit from 96 S. for less than a mile to the park entrance. This has two loops: one is 9 mi, one is 5 mi. They are less hilly than most of the other rides and have some long straight sections (well, long and straight by mountain bike standards, anyways) where road bikers can show off their superior conditioning.

The Poto (Potowatomi Trail)
Pinckney Recreation Area (state park). The park is NW of Dexter, on Dexter-Townhall Rd a mile or so N. of Territorial Rd. This ride has several loops, ranging in distance from 5 mi to 18. We normally do an 8-mi or 14-mi loop (often we split into smaller groups at the cut-off point for the 8-mi return loop). This trail was developed for overnight hikes over 20 years ago, and is now one of the most established mountain bike trails in the state. It is more hilly than most of the other rides. It is also rockier and rootier than most, making it one ot the more challenging rides.

SILVER LAKE parking lot. This is where we usually meet (unless the schedule says otherwise.) To get here, take N. Territorial Rd. west to Dexter Town Hall Road, then North to the Silver Lake Entrance to the Pinckney Recrreation Area. Meet in main parking lot (1st one with a lot of bikers).

HALF MOON LAKE parking lot.  To get here, take N. Territorial Rod. west to Hankerd Road, then north to the Half Moon lake Entrance to the Pinckney Recreation Area.  Meet in the first parking lot.

Brighton (Bishop Lake)
Meet at the Bishop Lake (state park) parking lot, just S of Brighton. From US 23, take the Lee Rd exit west Whitmore Lake Rd. Go S. on Whitmore Lake to Maltby, W. on Maltby to Hamburg Rd. Go left (S) for a few hundred feet to Baur Rd. Turn Rt. on Baur. In a mile or so there is road to the left marked Bishop Lake. Turn left onto it, and follow for a few miles to the Bishop Lake state park.

This area has the most new trails. Beside the "classic", there are two new trails: Torn shirt is 5 miles of hills and tight turns. Murray Lake is a little over 6 miles. It is turny but not as hilly as Torn Shirt.

Maybury
Meet at the main lot for Maybury State Park from 8 Mile Road, a few miles west of Beck Road.(Do Not park in the lots off of Beck Road near the horse staging area.) Get to 8 Mile Road from Beck Rd. off of M-14 or I-96. This 4.5-mi trail is a little hilly and a lot turny.

Hewen's Creek Park
To get to the park, take I-94 to the Huron Street Exit #183 (next to the Visteon Plant and Ford Lake). Go south until Stoney Creek Rd and turn right on Stoney Creek. Just past Rolling Hills Park, turn left on Bemis road and look for the small white Hewens Creek sign about a half mile down. Right now, there are only about four parking spots at the trail head. We have been given permission to use Lincoln High School's parking lot which is at the corner of Bemis and Hitchingham roads. This is a great option as the lot is big and it is only about ¼ mile from the trail head. Meet here and we'll bike to the Park.

The Northeast (New) Loop
Meet at the parking lot located just inside the entrance to Bandemeer Park at the intersection of Barton Drive and Whitmore Lake Road, right off the M-14 expressway at the Barton/Whitmore Lake exit. (The map is courtesy of www.MapQuest.com.)

The NE Park loop is one of our more moderate rides, but it still provides a good workout.  It covers an amazing amount of forest trails, mostly within the city limits of Ann Arbor. 

View a detailed map of the NE park, with all four loops.

Bluffs Park (the "Classic") Loop
The Bluffs Park loop is our more challenging Ann Arbor ride. It includes some steep climbs and descents along the valley wall of the Huron River. It begins by heading south through Bandemeer Park along the Huron River to Summit Street, the into Bluffs Park.  This area contains a myriad of highly technical trails and some interesting hills. After Bluffs Park, the trail becomes easier, passing under M-14 and crossing Kuebler-Langford Park to reach Huron River Drive and the entrance to Barton Park. The trail then crosses the Huron River, meanders through the oxbow, heads north to the Barton Pond dam and eventually back to the Bandemeer Park parking lot.

Highland Recreation Area
Meet at the Livingston Road parking lot for the Highland state park. Although you don't go through an obvious park entrance, a state park pass is required to use the parking lot. Take M59 E from US23 for about 10 mi to Duck Lake Rd. Take Duck Lake S. about a mile to Livingston Rd, go west (right turn) on Livingston for a few hundred feet to the parking lot on the N. side of the road. This has four loops (A, B, C, and D). It is hilly and turny, rocky and run. Rides can be as short as 3 mi, or as long as 18 mi.

Pontiac Recreation Area
Pontiac has been re-worked in the past few years and gotten rave reviews from some of our bikers. The 11-mile mountain bike trail has been ranked as one of the "Top 100 Trails" in the United States. To get to the park from M-59, drive north on Williams Lake Road then turn left on Gale Road. Follow the signs to the entrance.

Holdridge Lake (Holly Recreation Area)
Turny, and big log piles (that have nice ramps and are easy!). There are several loops, ranging from beginner to "interesting." Go North on 23 to exit 78 Fenton, then East through Fenton to Grange Hall Rd. Take Grange Hall Rd East about 5 miles. Just before you would cross I75, turn North on Hess Rd and follow it to the trailhead. This is the Holdridge Lake part of the Holly Recreation area.

Kensington Metro Park
Meet at the Bay Woods parking lot in the Kensington Metro Park. Take the Kensington exit from 96 N. to the park entrance. This ride has many options, covering technical woods trails, local dirt roads, and someday-to-be-cut trails. You pretty much have to learn it with someone who already knows the area.