A cyclist riding a mountain bike along a dirt trail, surrounded by dense trees and foliage. In the background, there is a pile of rocks at the edge of the path, indicating a potential jump or obstacle. The scene captures the lush greenery of a forested area, emphasizing an outdoor adventure environment. DTE Energy Foundation Trail mountain bike trail.
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Tags:
Level: Intermediate
Length: 22 mi (35.4 km)
Surface: Singletrack
Configuration: Network
Elevation: +363/ -54 ft
Total: 303 riders
 

Mountain Biking DTE Energy Foundation Trail

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#3 of 322 mountain bike trails in Michigan
#187 in the world

Exceptional, professional built single-track. The cutting-edge, sustainable trail is open to mountain bikers, trail runners, hikers and cross-country skiers. The nonmotorized, single-track trail will be approximately 25 miles long and is slated for completion in 2020. It will consist of five distinctively different loops over varying terrain. Known as "flow trail," the surface of the trail is mechanically cut to create highly structured grades and out slopes, which are low-maintenance and sustainable. The loops alternate direction each day and are well marked, with Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday being clockwise, while Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday are counterclockwise. The Green Lake loop is 5.25 mi. It is a beginner friendly trail without any serious hills. It is very flowy with many small hills and a few small jumps which can be rolled over. There are a couple man made features, (with bypasses) log steps over a log, a drop off/ skinny/ wall ride, and a rock roll. The 4.75 mi Big Kame loop is more technical with two large rock gardens and many small to large jumps which can be rolled over. It has several small hills and one very large one with big jumps. Wynn Loop is about 8 miles long. It has many large berms and big hills. There are lots jumps some of which look like they came straight from a downhill park (still rollable). Also, there are quite a few rock jumps and some skinnies of varying lengths. The newest and most advanced trail is Sugarloaf. It is 4 miles and is rated as a black diamond. It has several large hills with massive berms and large jumps as well as many rock features and a large dropoff. Most of the hard parts have bypasses so you can work up to them. Overall the trail system is easily one of the best in the lower peninsula. PS. If you want to get to the blue loop on a counterclockwise day without taking the full green loop, there is a short cut if you go straight along the fire road through a farm field and turn right when you hit the trail.

First added by alvin.santoy on Jun 16, 2016. Last updated May 11, 2020. → add an update
Before you go
  • Drinking water: yes
  • Lift service: unknown
  • Night riding: yes
  • Pump track: unknown
  • Restrooms: yes
  • Fat bike grooming: yes
  • E-bikes allowed: unknown
  • Fee required: unknown
This trail information is user-generated. Help improve this information by suggesting a correction.
Getting there
I-94 exit 159 Chelsea exit n on 52 ( main st. ) about 6 miles to entrance and parking on the left, west side of rd after a small pond. The main parking lot is always full on weekends. There is a new lot if you turn left off 52 onto waterloo road then right on Cassidy road (the lot is on the right).
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DTE Energy Foundation Trail Trail map

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Trail conditions

Good (Sep 18, 2024)
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Coming soon!

DTE Energy Foundation Trail videos

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Rider questions

Q: Where is the best place to start if you want to ride all the trails at once? Is this possible now without packing the bike up and moving to another trailhead?
A: You can start at either trail head and ride all the traills. I usually start at the grren lake trail head and ride the green loop first as a warm up.

Q: Is this Trail directional? what day has the direction of the jump trail
A: Yes. I may be wrong, but I believe Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are counter clockwise and Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday are all clockwise. Days and directions are posted at the trail as well.