RJoeC

I am looking for info about the Waterloo Rec Area in Michigan. I am from the Detroit area and it is a bit of a hike to go out there with out some plan in mind. But in one of these threads someone mentioned dirt roads and that got me curious. Are there a lot of such roads and where might be a good place to park to access them? I know the DTE trail is there but I am not a mountain biker…am an old guy with a bike. Any tips would be appreciated.

mrv 

Howdy RJoeC -- in case you have not stumbled across "Gravel Maps": https://gravelmap.com/#11.46/42.3477/-84.1482 -- always helpful for finding dirt roads.

- Parking
You can park in Chelsea if you want to grab a coffee at the start or the end of your ride. ZouZou's Pedals. Petals? not sure - great coffee and food, I think, even after they expanded.
There's a nature center toward the eastern part of Waterloo rec area - good parking spot.
A ranger station kind of north / central part of the the rea area. Park there also.
If you have a state rec area passport, you should be able to park at the campgrounds (Sugarloaf is central; Portage Lk is on the western edge)
- Cautions:
The paved roads through the rec area have no shoulder. Don't ride on North Territorial. Avoid it.
I'll be surprised if you don't see a group of motorcycles if you're on a paved road. They like to go to Hell, I think.

A few other comments:
To the north & a bit to the west is the Lakeland Tr. It's pretty good.
The Border to Border Trail has a new MUP heading north out of Chelsea heading up the the DTE trail. It's really nice. You're in traffic a little to get to it, then you have to negotiate a round about to get on the trail. Presently the lay out is really poor, so proceed with Caution.
I occasionally kick off from near Plymouth and ride to Chelsea, making a near dirt-century loop. So the dirt network is presently really good. But development is . . . "progressing" (it's progress right? more suburbs? more car-centric living? high speed road? that's.... "progress" isn't it?).

Let me know if that helps.
If you want to me to send you some RWGPS data I can.
cheers.
ride safe.

RJoeC

Thank you, And thank you for the Gravel Map site…think I may have a lot of fun with it

mrv 

while out riding this afternoon i recalled there's a race in the waterloo rec area - the waterloo grit & gravel -
so here's a 30 mile loop for you! https://epicraces.com/wp-content/uplo...ap-final_4.png

race details.... https://epicraces.com/events/waterloo-g-g/

enjoy!

RJoeC

Thanks again. Gave part of the race trail a try and then went over to the Lakeland trail today. Fun was had

JLDickmon

And then the WaterMOO endurance race in the fall.. 111 miles
https://thewatermoo.com/

Troul 

you'd have to be MOOving fast to be in that RACE.