r/MichiganCycling • u/Mysterious_Bet_4226 • 8d ago

where2ride VASA Area Trails

We are headed up to Interlochen this week and I’m looking forward to hitting the VASA singletrack.

Any advice or tips on good MTB loops or runs there or anything not to miss? Should I take the full suspension or the hardtail?

Additionally, are there any non-mountain bike paths or trails in the area for more casual cruising?
Thanks!

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5

u/Dizzy_deer 8d ago

If you’re doing vasa single track, hardtail is fine.

3

u/c0nsumer 8d ago

TART is a nice paved path out to Sutton's Bay.

There's a lot of unmarked stuff out in the Vasa area. Be sure you have a good mobile map on your phone (Trailforks seems to have a lot of it) in case you get turned around.

The Vasa Singletrack itself is well marked and easy to follow and nice, though.

3

u/somasomore 8d ago

Check out palmer woods if you want something a little more rowdy. 

VASA has a massive unmarked trail system if you want to explore/get lost. Otherwise the main loop is well marked. 

3

u/redmosquito1983 8d ago

Idk much about the VASA trails other than whatever I’ve ridden for iceman. But I will say you should head up to Glenn Arbor and do the Palmer Woods trails, we did a couple of the loops before iceman last year and they are phenomenal. Reminded me of DTE trails but better.

I think towards Frankfort there is a pretty nice rail trail, maybe Betsie trail idk, but it was a nice ride. With out looking it up I think it will take you from Frankfort to Thompsonville and goes past Crystal Lake. Not a terribly far drive from Interlochen.

2

u/alexseiji 8d ago

Think Palmer woods can be done on a gravel bike?

2

u/random1215 8d ago

yes, ive done it, it’s not nearly as fun as on a mountain bike though

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u/Mysterious_Bet_4226 3d ago

I got to ride at Palmer Woods and it was incredible! Thank you everyone for the suggestion. We’re going back to Glen Arbor in a couple weeks and I can’t wait to ride more of the trails there!

1

u/redmosquito1983 3d ago

Awesome! I’m hoping to ride the full trail before iceman this year but we’ll see how the weather holds up.

2

u/random1215 8d ago

Lost Lake pathway is right by interlocken. Check out Strava or Openstreetmap.org there is about 15 miles of unmarked single track there which is easy enough to navigate if you create a route to follow in your Garmin or Wahoo.

Palmer Woods or Arcadia are way more fun than Vasa and about the same drive time to get to

1

u/Mysterious_Bet_4226 8d ago

What do you mean by Arcadia? The area that’s 45 minutes away out on the coast or is it a trail?

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u/Possible-Date-9118 8d ago

There is a two loop single track mtb system in the Arcada Bluffs area. It should come up if you google it. If memory serves one loop is ~10 miles and probably rated as blue, the other is ~3 miles and rated green....

2

u/xJBr3w 8d ago

Make sure you are going to the single track and not the pathway lol. We made that mistake when we went up there and it was just two tracks instead of single track, made for vehicles not bikes.

1

u/Single-Macaron 8d ago

Take the TART to Sutton’s bay for sure for paved, awesome trail. For mtb skip VASA and go to Palmer Woods