A happy dog sitting on a wooden deck, wearing a blue harness and a red leash. The dog has a short brown coat with white markings, and its tongue is out, giving a cheerful expression. In the background, there is a bicycle partially visible and green foliage. Morton-Taylor Trail mountain bike trail.
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Tags:
Level: Intermediate
Length: 6 mi (9.7 km)
Surface: Singletrack
Configuration: Network
Elevation: +10/ -0 ft
Total: 87 riders
 

Mountain Biking Morton-Taylor Trail

***   Add a review
#58 of 322 mountain bike trails in Michigan
#2,366 in the world

Newer Trail, constructed by conservation group, with several singletrack bridges,
log ramps, rivers, bridges. This is an incredible oasis hidden in the middle of the
city. YOu'll feel 100 miles away, when you get caught up in the quick turns,
accelerations needed to ascend the quick hills. It's pretty flat, but plenty of tight
turns, and 10's of trails to mix it up. It would take 3-4 days to ride it all. There's
also a cool Carved Eagle and animal wooden carved bench for the much needed
rest about 1 mile west of the trailhead. Highly recommended for all skill levels
due to the groomed double track road when its' time for the much needed rest
from the singletrack trails.

First added by lpcolorado on Jul 5, 2012. Last updated May 11, 2020. → add an update
Before you go
  • Drinking water: unknown
  • Lift service: unknown
  • Night riding: unknown
  • Pump track: yes
  • Restrooms: yes
  • Fat bike grooming: unknown
  • E-bikes allowed: unknown
  • Fee required: unknown
This trail information is user-generated. Help improve this information by suggesting a correction.
Getting there
From I-275 Exit West on Michigan Ave. 1/2 Mile, take Right into Rouge River Trail
head. Parking is Just west of Lilly Rd


Morton-Taylor Trail Trail map

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Trail conditions

Good (Sep 9, 2022)
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Mountain Bike Trails Near Canton, Michigan

| 2 mi
| 5 mi

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Reviews

  • Motobecane29er
    ****

    Over last five years I've mixed up my rides between both the trails and gravel paths on a weekly bases. Majority of trails are technical with some decent climbs. Workouts relative to how hard you push yourself. Yesterday I noticed bridges were repaired with addition of couple new ones. Recently groomed. Highly recommend for any first time riders.

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  • keng1988
    **

    Not bad but the trail is very hard to navigate. Trail breaks off into many side trails. It's not a good start to finish trail.

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  • Ritched
    *

    The trails aren't well marked and are mostly over grown with vegetation. The gravel on the roads will scratch and chip your bike frame paint job.

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  • eav1154
    ***

    I'm pretty new to singletrack but this trail was very poorly marked. Had no clue where I was going.

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  • Sgray863
    *****

    As of August 25th 2016 the trail is great but part of dragon tail is covered in leaves and on the west loop one of the bridges was broken in many places but after a close inspection for splintered wood it made a fun feature

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  • [email protected]
    ****

    I roamed around in there last summer for couple of hours. It's confusing but fun, you can dive off the paved path in any number of areas. It was dry the day I was there, but I think it would be a mess after the rains. It didn't seem very actively ridden, I didn't see another person the day I was there and parts of it were very over grown. Since then I've read that it's been trimmed back. Nothing too difficult even for a relatively new rider like myself. I'd definitely ride it again if I get down that way.

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  • PhatPedals
    ****

    Great place to ride in lower SE Michigan! Nothing too crazy or technical here just tight twisty singletrack with occasional hills, bridges, log obstacles and a fun short DH section called Up N Over featuring a ramp over fallen trees. The pump track was nice and there were several areas worth riding around as to hit all the multi-directional trails that weave through the woods connecting the different loops. Nothing else I know of like it south of Brighton in Michigan so it's a great option for Metro Detroit folks.

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  • zbiky
    ***

    A great little trail with lots of adventure. Easy, multi-direction, twisty, with some beginner obstacles. Not very well marked, but the trails interlink with each other all over.

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  • Aakyl
    ****

    This trail is an adventure exploration. It's choose your own adventure with no set direction to any of the tracks (2 way traffic). It may be difficult to find trailheads and there are a number of them off the main trails. Most of the trails seem pretty well maintained, but there was own that I went through that was overgrown with prickers. Not a lot of climbs, but some neat log piles and technical things (not too difficult) in certain areas. No clear maps of the entire trail system exist that I saw.
    Despite its (possible) shortcomings (depending on the person), It was fun for me to find new trails and try them out You feel like an explorer. Worth checking out for a new experience and there is a lot of potential with more clear signage.

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  • daleydan
    ****

    I enjoyed myself and logged about 11 miles. Some of those I was lost and just biking through the woods. I didn't see many trail markers for the MTB trails. It got confusing in some spots, there were hiking trails, trails to nowhere, 4 wheeler trails and the Rouge path. I ended up in a couple people's backyards. What I did find was fun and well maintained. I'll be going back to see if I can find the rest.

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  • Mitchell David Hicks
    ****

    My first mountain biking trail. I can say I had a great time. Trail was a bit wet in spots do to the recent rain but I managed to log about 8 miles back and forth through the various routes. There's a good amount of log piles and several ramps. The wetlands trail was a nice departure from the woodland area. As a new biker I learned a lot on this venture and could find myself enjoying a lot of return trips. It's very close to the city but makes it feel a lot further away. The lower Rouge trail and itc trails are very smooth and fun to run as well.

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  • BeefyBoy
    ***

    The wife and I checked out this place this weekend. The singletrack is in wetlands and is still way to muddy to ride. She read on another forum that someone expected it to be wet till July. That being said, we tip toed around some of the trails just to see what it was like. mostly flat, but plenty of log piles and turns to keep it interesting. There is a 6 foot wide gravel trail that was fine for the easy ride around in the sun...
    The wood carved benches on the main gravel loop, are cool to stop and check out.
    I hope to make it back in the area when its dry sometime.

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  • David A. Woodruff
    ***

    Pretty short easy ride. There are simple trails - like the kind to pull a baby carriage on - ann then several bike/hike trails siz-zagging between.

    I enjoyed the 'buckshaver' trail, although before I got my timing straight, the manmade obstacles would have me calling it 'crank shaver'.

    Several bridges throughout.

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  • Nash_Magnum
    ****

    This series if trails can be ridden in several different ways, with many small sections leading to one another. Trail is well maintained, nothing too serious as far as climbs and descents. The winding, tight, corner heavy, and obstacle filled single track will keep you guessing. Seems like more and more trail is being built all of the time.

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  • MIEngy
    ****

    Also known as "Morton Taylor Trails." Great trail system for beginner and intermediate riders. First trail I ever rode and I've been coming back at least once a week ever since. I would not consider any of the trails here to be flowy or fast. It's probably 95% technical trails with a few short bursts of downhill. Lots of tight & twisty stuff with log piles, narrow wood bridges, and big roots. The gravel paths cut through the singletrack in many locations so it's very easy to jump off and ride back to the parking lot if you get too tired. Keep en eye out on the gravel paths, people are often out jogging and stuff. I blasted out of Crooked Vulture onto the path right by bridge #5 and almost ran right into someone walking their dog.

    The trails to the east of the parking lot(East Loop, Crooked Vulture) and the southern trail are good for beginners. I improved my balance and cornering skills on those trails.

    The trails north/north west of the parking lot(Wetlands Loop, West loop, Whitetail, Lucky Dawg) were much more challenging for me as a beginner. The farther west you go the harder it gets, Lucky Dawg being the most challenging.

    The trail is well maintained. Volunteers are out there every week cleaning up the trails and making repairs.

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Rider questions

Q: Map shows a trailhead off of Hines just before I-275. Is that actually part of this trail or just a way to get there if you're biking along the I-275 trail?
A: It's the current eastern end of the trail, and also an access point from the 275 trail, which is all concrete.