Big M — Attraction in Norman Township

I wanted to add this review to the Udell Lookout Tower "page" but because the tower is closed to climbers, it won't allow any new reviews. We visited in late June and parked in the dirt lot on Fire Tower Road, close to the tower. We hiked for a couple hours on several trails including the Big M. There are some great elevation changes and the paths were relative wide and mostly clear of debris. On the wider sections we saw multiple mountain bikes so you need to be alert. The mosquitos were bad when we weren't moving but they were mostly just annoying. If you start your hike at the tower, please note that the trail begins on the left hand side and behind the tower when you first approach it from the parking lot. I mention this because we missed the trail head and began our walk down a fairly steep hill following the power lines. Once we realized we weren't on the trail we were able to slowly work our way over towards the Oh Me II trail and ultimately find our way back to the tower. We didn't see much wildlife but we heard turkeys and we kicked up some grouse or similar birds hiding within some ground cover. A great area for a peaceful stroll...

Very scenic and well marked. Long gradual climbs with fast flowing descents. Checked out the tower on my ride, it was interesting. Some spots you had to keep on your toes riding through soft sand, it happens out in the woods in the low sections. I rode the outer red loop and it came out to roughly 20 miles. Make sure you have plenty of fluids. The last section "Swedish Fish" I didn't really care for. It was a jarring ride, didn't flow well and I couldn't carry much speed. Also they do charge 5 dollar day use fee. I will definitely be back to ride the other sections...

Generally fast and somewhat flowy old school mtb trail. You’ll likely experience 3+ hours of riding and probably not hit any section twice. Signage is ok but easy to miss if using some of the two tracks to connect to different trails. I did not see any “maintained”sections; ie berms or other engineered features other than a boardwalk section or two through low-lying areas. The prize here for mtb’ers is with the epic distance and some grinding climbs and...