Macomb Orchard Trail (a.k.a. MOT) is one of the most popular rail-to-trails in southeast Michigan. The main reasons for that are: the trail is paved, and it is well maintained.
It was built on the path of the old Michigan Air Line Railway.
The trail starts right on the border of the city of Rochester in Oakland County and Shelby Township in Macomb County, just south of 24 Mile Rd/Parkdale Rd. The trail ends in Richmond, a smaller town located northeast of Detroit suburbs, a few miles north of Anchor Bay on Lake St. Clair.
The trail is linear about 24 miles long. So, if you ride the whole distance out and back, you get about 48 miles – a pretty good distance on a single suburban trail.
Macomb Orchard Trail
The trail surface is paved and is kept in very good shape.
Since the Macomb Orchard Trail is a rail trail, it is quite flat. The only “bigger hill” on the trail is an overpass over Van Dyke (M-53) freeway.
The smooth paved surface and lack of hills provide for quite an easy and smooth ride.
The trail has few permanent metal maps on posts along it, usually at a trailhead.
The maps show parking locations, restrooms, etc.
There are also distance markers every half-mile.
The trail starts in the city but quickly moves into a wooded corridor.
After about ten miles you enter farm country. There is a town here and there, that it passes by. However, it mostly goes through woods, and when it enters an open area, it is usually along farm fields.
At its beginning (western end), the trail is connected to the Clinton River Trail and through the CRT with a few other trails in the Detroit Metro area.
It is also a part of the Michigan Lake-to-Lake Trail Route from South Haven to Port Huron.
Also, with some sidewalk riding (about 1 mile), it connects to a paved trail (6-mile loop) in Stony Creek Metropark.
Trail Usage
The trail’s most busy section is from the beginning at Dequindre Rd and the Onyx Ice Arena (western end) to the M-53 overpass; then at the other end, from Richmond for a few miles east.
Then, there are sections where you will not see many riders.
Macomb Orchard Trail – Trailheads and Parking Lots
Like with many other trails, not all the trailheads/parking lots are obvious.
The Michigan Trails Magazine shows a parking lot in Stony Creek Metropark, as the starting trailhead. While you can start in the park and ride out to the trail, it is not what is considered the starting point of the trail. Plus, to drive into the park you have to pay the entrance fee.
All the local riders, if they want to ride from the beginning of the trail, park at the Onyx Ice Arena, on the west side of Dequindre Rd, just south of Parkdale Rd.
While this is a private business, they allow cyclists to park there, when going for a ride.
This is what most local riders consider the unofficial starting trailhead of Macomb Orchard Trail.
By the way, when you get to the trail from the parking lot, you can see another trail going west. This is the Clinton River Trail.
The MOT trailheads going from west to east are:
- Onyx Ice Arena (unofficial) at 52999 Dequindre Rd in Rochester (42.681124, -83.094711) – plenty of parking space, but sometimes quite busy.
- Rainbow Plaza (unofficial) at the SE corner of Shelby Rd and 25 Mile Rd, Shelby Twp (42.697105,-83.068945) – again plenty of parking space, practically never very busy, a popular place to park to ride the trail.
- Ross Memorial Park (on Google Maps just called “Parking Lot”), north of West Rd, Washington (42.724569, -83.043827) – small parking with about 10 parking spots, usually busy. There is a restroom, a pavilion, a water fountain, and bike repair tools.
- Romeo Trailside Park, of Clinton St, Romeo (42.803754, -83.006078) – parking lot with 25 spaces. Usually not busy. There is also a small pavilion and a few benches.
- Armada Parking Area, west of Fulton St, Armada (42.836690, -82.884891) – parking area for about 20 vehicles. Usually, not busy. There are a few benches there. On the east side of Fulton St, there is a trail map.
- Armada Ridge Staging Area, of Armada Ridge Rd, Richmond Twp. (42.821491, -82.802366) – small parking lot, but never busy. There is a restroom there.
- Richmond Trailhead, north of Division Rd, west of Main St, Richmond Twp. (42.809485, -82.757611). This is the end of the trail. However, there is no official parking. Cyclists park either Citizens Bank parking lot of Main St (42.829871, -82.757515), or in a bigger parking lot further north, of Parker St and Monroe St (42.810732, -82.758236), At the trailhead, there is a restroom, small pavilion, and a water fountain. There is also a trail map on display.
Amenities
The restrooms along the trail are located (from west to east):
- Onyx Ice Arena (when open)
- just south of 24 Mile Rd
- just north of West Rd (Ross Memorial Park)
- east of Armada Ridge Rd
- Richmond Trailhead
Besides bathrooms along the trail located in some parking areas, there are few bike repair stations.
There are also benches along the whole trail.
There are a few water fountains: one in the Ross Memorial Park at West Rd, the second one – just south of 29 Mile Rd, and the third one – located at the end of the trail, in Richmond.
The trail passes through a few towns, once it gets outside the city – Romeo, Armada, and Richmond.
In all of those, there are some services, like convenience stores, restaurants, or diners. In all of them, you need to get off the trail.
There are few food places, including ice cream, along the trail. They are either visible from the trail or have a sign next to the trail. There is Trailside Dairy with some delicious ice cream and milkshakes, and also Sorrento Pizza, just north of Campground Rd. Then, north of 29 Mile Rd and east of Van Dyke, there is Verellen Orchards & Cider Mill with a cold apple cider slush, hot side, baked goods and more. Then further, a little bit north of 31 Milr Rd, there is the Frontier Town Ice Cream Parlor.
This is it, as far as places right off the trail. There are many more along the whole trail, just with a short side trip – too many to list here.
There is one bicycle shop at 26 Mile Rd and Mound Rd – Main Street Bicycles – if you need any bike service.
Final Thoughts
The Macomb Orchard Trail is a great trail to ride (albeit a little boring since it is along pretty long straight sections) whether it is a short, or longer ride, training, or a relaxed one with friends. The trail is fairly popular in warm weather, especially on weekends, but still is not too crowded, that the traffic would impede your progress.
One, important thing that I need to mention, is that the trails cross some busy roads, and Michigan drivers are not the patient and attentive kind, so you need to be extremely careful when crossing the road, even if you have the signal to go.
My Ratings
Scenery (0-boring, 10-breathtaking): 4.0 (going mostly through rural towns, wooded areas, farm fields)
Easy-to-Follow (0-no maps, often broken into sections without clear directions, 10-well marked with maps showing current location): 9.0 (many parking areas allowing for fairly easy access, continuous trail, no chance to get lost. I gave it only “9” because there are no printed maps available, even though you will see boxes for them here and there along the trail.)
Food Access (0-no food facilities at all, 10-food available every few miles): 8.0 (many choices in Washington Twp., Romeo, and Richmond, and some limited ones in Armada. Many more just a little bit of the trail and therefore not visible.)
Restrooms (0-none, 10-modern restrooms every few miles): 5.0 (few parking areas have restrooms or portas; there is a 10-mile stretch from Washington Twp to Armada without a restroom)
Surface Quality: 10.0 (it is a paved trail with a very smooth surface)
Accessibility: 10.0 (frequent parking areas)
Usage (0-not used at all, 10-extremely popular): 7.0 (some sections get a lot of traffic, especially on weekends)
Hills (0-completely flat, 10-Extremely hilly): 1.0 (one bigger hill in the form of a man-made bridge, otherwise practically flat)
Sun/Shade (0-no shade at all, 10-completely shaded): 6.0 (some open areas, but relatively good amount of shade otherwise)
Resources
- Michigan Trail Magazine – Macomb Orchard Trail
- Macomb County Michigan – Macomb Orchard Trail Map
If you are interested in Macomb Orchard Trail, you might want to check out my posts about other trails in the area:
