The new 10-mile mountain bike loop at Arcadia Dunes is both a challenging and scenic ride.
The trail loops over Day Hill offering scenic views of orchards and valleys and farm land along the top of the hill. It even offers a few long distance glimpses of Upper Herring Lake from the higher elevations.
It also offers lots of uphill with some good sustained climbs. Called Day Hill Trail, it's much more challenging than the VASA Single Track Trail, but you shouldn't let that deter you from exploring the trail. There's nothing wrong with walking up the steeper climbs. That's what I did and was able to get around the whole trail. It was well worth the effort.
There are two loops. The short two-mile loop, which is called Chestnut Trail, is a microcosm of the longer trail. It, however, doesn't cross any open meadows like the longer trail and offer views of orchards and farm land. It stays in deep woods almost the entire route except for right at the start of the trail and at the ending, which crosses a meadow.
The trailhead, complete with a new parking area, is off St. Pierre Road, which is a quarter mile off M-22 just south of Joyfield Road. The trail is well marked with signs at least every mile and at all road crossings, of which there are three -- all dirt roads. You would have a hard time getting lost even though you pass no houses, and there's little sign of civilization except for a few orchards and some farm fields.
The trail, which was laid out and designed by IMBA (International Mountain Biking Association), is a beauty. It's easy to ride and negotiate except for the hills, which is a quirk of the land, not the trail design. They followed the easiest routes possible with lots of switchbacks to help with the climbing.
I was impressed with the layout and trail system. The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, which oversees the land management of Arcadia Dunes, had the IMBA design and layout all the sustainable trails within the 3,000-acre preserve for both hiking and mountain biking. They are often shared pathways.
The first three miles of Day Hill Trail seem like a lot of uphill as you slowly climb to the higher points along the trail. After the first mile-and-a-half you will start to see below you through the trees orchards along the hillside, and this is where you can sporadically catch a glint from Upper Herring Lake if the sun is shining. Occasionally you will spot vehicles far below you moving along Joyfield Road.
At around four miles you climb out of the forest and into a huge open meadow with a long downhill run as the trail meanders back and forth through the meadow. It's a welcome relief after all the uphill climbing to get to this point. Farm land and corn fields also make an appearance along the top of the ridge.
You reach Taylor Road about the halfway point of the ride. The next five miles are much like the first five. It's a combination of uphill climbing, some nice downhill runs, open fields, much forested land and more orchards along the forest fringe. At nine miles, after having crossed Taylor Road for a second time, you cross Matzinger Road and quickly intersect the two-mile Chestnut Trail loop. It's only a mile back to the trailhead at that point. However, you still have one more hill climb left, but the good news is that then it's an easy glide to the parking area.
Conservancy stewardship assistant Steve Lagerquist helped build the trail and continues to help oversee its use.
"We opened some of the trail late last year, the rest this past spring and it's already starting to get some use," he pointed out. "I see cars in the parking lot from Manistee and even as far south as Grand Rapids, but not much from Traverse City yet. It will come. Word is starting to spread among the mountain biking community."
Lagerquist, an avid mountain biker, can ride the trail in a little over an hour, but understands that it may be more intimidating to others.
"I always tell people they can get off and walk the trail if the riding becomes a little hard, but get out and see at least some of this beautiful land," he said. "That's what the two-mile trail is for. It's also a great hiking trail, and fall colors will be magnificent in here."
Even though Day Hill Trail is a tough route -- at least it was for me -- it's worth every ounce of energy you expend doing the ride. It took me an afternoon to get around the new trail, whereas it took the Conservancy stewardship assistant just a little over an hour.
The funny thing was that as we talked recently at the trailhead about our experience of riding the trail, Lagerquist said he hadn't noticed the glint off Upper Herring Lake or that you can see the distant valley through the trees from the upper portions of the trail.
"I was probably going a little fast and paying more attention to the trail than the view," laughed Lagerquist.
Sometimes slow is good, especially if you want to enjoy the view. The older I get, the more important that becomes.
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