Hanson Hills Recreation Area — Attraction in Grayling Charter Township

This review is for the mtb trails, from the point of view of a non-spandex-wearing dad who just loves riding through the woods.

First of all, this is a great, old-school singletrack with plenty of climbs and lots of curves and sand and trees and loam. All loops start by a nice little pond and are on shared use trails, so keep an eye out. The outer loop (red) was my flavor of choice, and I'd to it again any day. The sand and the hills made for a lower speed ride and bigger workout than I'm used to in the Grand Rapids area, but the location was worth it. You'll encounter lots of medium climbs and some fun descents, just watch for pockets of deeper sand at the bottom of these. The roots aren't too bad, and a full suspension bike is not at all required (though there were some spots where the added traction definitely helped). Wider, knobby tires are recommended and I would not attempt the red loop on a gravel bike or hybrid with narrow tires. If you feel yourself washing out too much, a little pressure off the ol tires should help, just don't go too soft as you don't want a pinch flat on the rootier/Rocky sections. I imagine the intermediate loop (yellow?) would be much the same, but green could be passible by almost any off-road bike.

There was one gorgeous overlook att he top of the ski hill. It was worth the little climb on foot to get there - most trails in Michigan don't have much of a view since we don't get above the treeline, so this was a treat. There's no drinking water or streams for you survivalists once you leave the starting area, so bring plenty of water.

The new trail back to the parkinglot from the overlook was a lot of fun, more modern in feel and flow.

I will say that the ferns and the undergrowth were high in August and I felt the need to spray my legs with bug repellent, something I generally avoid (but always bring with me). But other than that my full finger gloves protected me just fine from the foliage and I had a grand time overall.

Do note, this is right next to an army reserve base, and they might be doing exercises or range shooting, so don't be alarmed if you hear gunfire. Parking is free and there's no trail fee but they do accept donatations (suggested $2 per person) at the trail head.

The old ski lodge was really nice and nostalgic (although empty) and I could imagine it must have been a hoot in its hayday! The one employee I encountered was very friendly and super helpful! Perfect way for a northern Michigan boy like me to enjoy...

Nice little place for beginners.we had two beautiful days there and according to the staff they were very busy., But there were no lines to get up the hills and plenty of room to ski. They have skiing, snowboard, and tubing. They have about three or four runs for skiing. No chair lifts, all T bars and rope tows, but like I said it's good for beginners. The tubing is a blast,(be sure to call ahead and make a reservation because space is limited.) they have four runs for the tubing, but only two tow ropes going up, but they move very quick. All the ski runs are easy enough that my smallest is 8 could run them and she just started skiing that day. I guess there's one longer run down the back side where you end up around front, but I couldn't see it because I wasn't skiing. Prices are right and the specials are great Friday nights I believe skiing is $2 from 6 to 9 and ski rental is only $9 that night. They run that another night during the week too, I'm not sure but even just to ski for a full day was $45 a person with ski rental. The ticket line and ski rental can be a bit packed, but the guys in their move pretty quick. Super nice staff...Lines move quicker especially if you know what you want or need. Nice little clubhouse that you can see just about everything from, they have fireplaces and warming areas small little place to get food, lots of tables to sit we brought our own food in and also ordered food. Lot's to do out there besides skiing there is snow biking and cross-country skiing and probably tons other stuff we never saw. but would definitely recommend for beginners or just a quick ski trip. We stayed at the Ramada inn Grayling right off of i-75 and it was literally a short 5 minutes away. not sure of the summer activities because we were only there in the winter but from the brochure it looks like they have a ton of stuff to do there...

My family and I went earlier today and enjoyed their tubing hill. It was really fun and more intense than I was expecting. However, the staff don’t do much to ensure safety. On my first ride down, I didn’t get up fast enough and got knocked down by another tuber. Sure it was my fault for not looking, but there was no warning by the staff as I have never been tubing. There was no staff at the bottom of the hill watching for the tubers safety, nor was the staff at the top of the hill letting the tubers know when they can go down the hill. While standing in line I saw 2 tubers collide at the bottom of the hill, colliding face to face. 2 accidents within the hour I was there. Both of these could have been avoided if the staff was directing tubers to go down the hill at proper times, instead of going down freely. Wouldn’t recommend for anyone who is even slightly concerned about safety, build a hill at...