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Tags:
Level: Intermediate
Length: 14 mi (22.5 km)
Surface: Other
Configuration: Network
Elevation: +128/ -129 ft
Total: 257 riders
Mountain Biking Stony Creek Metro Park
#20 of 322 mountain bike trails in Michigan
"Hills, gravel, rocks and ruts - heaven to mountain bikers - can be conquered on the mountain bike trails at Stony Creek Metropark. Nearly 14 miles of dirt paths with tight curves and steep hills take you through deep woods and tall pine trees, and along clear streams of the west branch of Stony Creek and hidden ponds. Wildlife, including deer and wild turkeys can be seen along the trails. Open to hikers and cyclists, the trails are used for many competitive events." -- HCMA
Also a new pump track and free riding area to open in the spring of 2008.
First added by fattyclark on Nov 25, 2007. Last updated Oct 20, 2020. → add an update
Before you go
- Drinking water: yes
- Lift service: no
- Night riding: unknown
- Pump track: yes
- Restrooms: yes
- Fat bike grooming: yes
- E-bikes allowed: yes
- Fee required: yes
This trail information is user-generated. Help improve this information by suggesting a correction.
NE of Rochester, north of Utica off Van Dyke Expressway (M53). From M53, take 26 Mile west 1.5 miles to park entrance. Trail starts at West Branch picnic area.
System trails (3)
| ThankFun trail very rocky
| ThankNot a ton of technical stuff, some short uphills and some nice twisty downhill scattered throughout. I must get lost easily because I seem to miss the trail markings on the few times I've been out there.
| ThankGood trail with only one steeper hill.
| ThankGreat trail, great for all levels, decent climbs, a bit of tech on some of the single track.rolling hills. My go to place.
| ThankA fun ride with a variety of different trails. As other people said, it can be a little confusing to find your way around, but they do have signs up at different points to help guide the way. You can use the following map to help out:
http://it.metroparks.com/webdev/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/MTN-Bike-Map-SC.pdf
I park in the NorthEast corner, and start at point 1 (duh), then progress down to 27 since I like riding the singletrack right away. There's only about 5 miles of true mountain bike singletrack, so I usually loop it twice. Bring the map loaded on a smartphone, and you'll be just fine. Don't miss the section of singletrack in the southeast corner, as it has some great rock gullies, log piles, bridges, and other fun features.
The trail is similar to, but slightly easier than Pontiac Trail and Novi Tree Farms. Fun trail, beginner/intermediate overall.
| Thanksomething for everyone here. singletrack to double...place for begiinners to advanced.. variety of trails. also used by hikers, xcntry ski, and winter fat tire biking.
| ThankA little hard to find your way around if you're a beginner but you get the hang of it pretty quick.
| ThankNot the toughest trail and not well marked but fun in spots and well developed
| ThankA lot of trail types here, so if you only want the singletrack, you need to know where to go. Oddly, what seems to be the "start" is in the opposite corner from the parking lots within the park. However, you can enter the park property off Sheldon Road near marker 5, and this map shows a ~5 mile route to catch most of the good singletrack... http://www.cramba.org/storage/maps/stonycreek/CRAMBA_Stony_Creek_29-Jun-2012_Wednesday_Night_Group_Ride.pdf
| ThankIt would have been great, if I knew where I was going! The trail is terribly marked. Prepare to get lost if you don't know the grounds
| ThankModerate climbs, but nothing gut wrenching (unless you are an absolute beginner). The Roller Coaster is a must ride.
Finding your way can be a little tough so I made a color coded number marker (I uploaded it as an image above). All the trail heads have a ## designation and the map I've outlined is a popular group ride that covers some of the landmarks. Tape it to your bars and turn at the number indicated.
| ThankGreat trails for beginners or the more experienced rider. Trails are mostly hard pack with some rock and roots tossed in. Go to the top of My Sheldon for one of the highest points in Oakland county. If you look closely to the south you can see the Ren Center in Detroit. Trails are marked but can be hard to follow, it took me a good 6 times before I got a feel for the layout. Vehicle Entry to the park is $7 daily or $30 annually unless you park at 25m/Shelby and ride into the park. The roadway of the park is a big circle. When you enter, keep left, going clockwise around the lake. Go past the golf course and hang another left. From there its pretty easy to find the trailhead. Definitely pack skeeter spray in the summer, they are bad in the woods.
| ThankVery Fun Trail...riding new trails with a club or group will help avoid navigation frustration. I recommend this trail if your with someone who knows it and how to get around at Stoney.
| ThankThe first few times I rode Stoney Creek were pretty frustrating, it seems like you spend more time trying to find the single track than you do riding it. Once I got the hang of the layout a little better I started to like Stoney more and more. I have a little loop I do that hits all the single track and a couple good climbs on the blue trail and it ends up being 7.1 miles. The roller coaster through to the back nine section is an absolute blast. You can pick up a hefty bit of speed and there's man-made obstacles thrown in here and there. Good spot to ride after work or before/after another trail on the weekend but I find it a bit too short to make a day out of it.
| ThankSingle track is great. Ride the Roller Coaster. Trail really needs to be marked better. Needs to go one direction.
| ThankOverall a nice park. A little crowded with runners and hikers, but not a problem. Trails are well marked but go all over the place. For a rookie like me it was a little tough to get any flow going having to stop and check which way to go. The green trail was mostly a boring 2 track with little to speak of, blue and black sections at times were awesome. I think after a few trips there you could find a great route. They have a skills track which was fun.
| ThankI live 15min from this trail, so I ride it a lot! I really like riding at Stony. My review is from a comparative perspective ... I've ridden numerous singletrack + fire roads in PA and NC as well as the Potowatami, Pontiac Lake, Yankee Springs, Highland Lakes, Bloomer, and Boyne Highland.
| ThankCons: requires thorough knowledge of the trail system to string together a really good ride. As a first timer, I'd be annoyed feeling as if I were wandering around on double track looking for singletrack. Stony is better than Bloomer in that regard, but the longest stretch of singletrack is only about 4 miles. No real bombing downhills to speak of, and no fast/flowy singletrack.
Pros: Once you learn the trails, you can string together a really good ride with a nice variety. This is actually better than a defined singletrack loop from a training perspective. Tailor the trail to your training needs each day! The singletrack sections... Pines, Snake, and Rollercoaster are quite technical. Each has its own personality. A beginner can safely ride the Pines and Snake. An intermediate rider can safely ride the Rollercoaster. An advanced rider can find challenge in each one by working on lines and speed. The Rollercoaster is one of the most technical trails I've ridden, except for sections of Boyne, Poto, and NC.
I leaned toward a rating of 'very difficult' rather than 'more difficult' because of the many trees along the twisty trail. This effectively narrows the trail. I made a video tour of the trails on youtube to help new riders locate various trail sections ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hnjoEPPINg
I'm a huge fan of Stoney Park in general, but this trail is overrated. Its good for beginners to get better and its an easy ride for avg. riders. I'm definitely not "expert level" and I don't race but it just isn't very challenging. I appreciate the trail and the effort done to keep it up, but if you want a better ride then make the drive to Pontiac Lake or Poto.
| ThankGreat trail, very under rated IMO. The trail is kept it awesome condition. It is mid-fall and there are hardly an leaves on the trial surface. Very fun, very fast, flowing trail. Not overly hard but there are some rocks, bridges, and jumps.
| Thank