Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park — Attraction in Big Rapids

Have been working on completing this whole trail for about a month now. We just drive up and ride one way and back so actually we will have completed it twice when we are done. The trail is beautiful with lots to see and quaint places to eat and visit. We were down to the section between Howard City and Big Rapids. After reading all of the reviews on how bad the trail was between those cities we saved the best for last. We found that the trail was still very easily maneuvered and enjoyed most all of it. The worst section is between Morely and Stanwood. The trail was dangerous only because of 4 inch ruts in most of it from the Amish Buggies using the trail heavily. The center of the trail is chopped up from the shoes on the horses. We also ran into a group of horses being ridden by some youngsters. They were at least on the shoulder where they were doing no damage to the trail. Being a horse girl myself I realize there are not many trails for them to ride on. The Amish on the other hand have full right of way down the roads. They need to stay off the...

I've ridden from Belmont north to Sand Lake several times. Good 17+ mile with some rough paved areas. Another ride from Sand Lake to Morley and back to test dirt portion with new gravel bike. Impressed with facilities at Howard City. Ride from Cadillac to SW side of Grand Rapids aborted at Morley due to flat tire on support vehicle on 131. Only got 62 miles in. Most of paved section is acceptable with some very good. Signage in Reed City needs to be improved. Missed Big Rapids route and headed to Evert. Dirt portion is not bad with some areas of sand that one has to watch out for. I ran 38mm tires and would say that 35mm are just about the narrowest that can comfortably used. Narrower than 35mm and in my opinion, the sandy areas can become a real problem. One thing that needs to be publicized is water locations along the entire route. Water is important for cyclists and we need to know in advance where it is available. I will ride it again in 2022 and get the...

On. 8/21-22/2025 I gravel biked the entire trail, south to north and north to south (Grand Rapids, Cadillac, Grand Rapids). While the newly and recently paved portions are excellent, some portions (older/oldest) are bone rattling due to root upheavals, failed joint, pot holes, ignored or inadequate "repairs," eroded ramping on and off bridges, etc. One spot has a sign stating "rough trail" and that is a severe understatement. Also, on returning to Grand Rapids 10 of the last 15 miles are brutally hard on bodies and bikes. I hoe there is plan now being implemented to repair, refurbish, replace the old, broken, painful sections. On a different point, bring plenty of water. While some small town provide drinking water near the trail, some otherwise nice communities have not been able to do so. On a positive note, the trail is traffic free, iconic rural midwest American, and a concept primed to one day...