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Brace yourselves... SUMMER IN DETROIT IS BACK!! With the floodgates wide open for amazing outdoor experiences this June, we have nailed down these " Top Ten Outdoor Events near Detroit " for kicking off your perfect summer spent outdoors! "So Dan...what even is there to do around Detroit?" A close friend currently living in Los Angeles asked me that question a few months back, and I nearly did a spit-take as my initial response. Instead, I blankly stared back for a few moments, completely lost regarding (1) where to even begin with the wealth of world-class experiences found within the Detroit region and (2) whether this "close friend" was oblivious to the existence of Expedition Detroit and our exclusive focus on Detroit's immense outdoor opportunities. For example, let's just zero-in on the month of June. As I type these words, on June 4th, several year-defining outdoor events have ALREADY HAPPENED. We're referring to the competitive Flirt with Dirt 5K/10K races, the scenic Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon , a weekend's worth of " International Trails Day " guided events, and the celebrated Milford Bike Fest - a " Pure Michigan Trail Town " qualifying event. So, yeah - one could say there's something to do around Detroit. In fact, June has so much going on in Detroit's outdoors that it's truly a "blink and you'll miss it" kind of month. But that's exactly what we're here for: to blaze a trail through the forest of opportunities, guiding you towards an unforgettable month spent outside. Without further delay, here are the Top 10 Outdoor Events near Detroit going down this June! 1. Race Along the Detroit Riverfront June 8th | Cullen Plaza, Detroit, Michigan | 8:40 a.m. After a record attendance last year, the Detroit Riverfront Run  is back and better than ever for 2024!  Join our friends at the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy  in actively celebrating their 21st anniversary with family-friendly 5K and 10K events. The race route will showcase the world-famous Detroit Riverwalk , William G. Milliken State Park, and the Dequindre Cut Greenway . All participants will receive a commemorative T-shirt, a participating medal, post race snacks, and other goodies offered at the event! 2. Celebrate the Clinton River and Lake St. Clair during "River Day" June 8th | Rochester Hills, Michigan | 10:00 a.m. For many Detroit region outdoor enthusiasts, enjoying the waves of Lake St. Clair and flowing streams of the Clinton River isn't just a favorite past time. No - these waterways are a recreational necessity. The lifeblood of generational boating, paddling , and fishing experiences. Geographic blessings that have forged their way into becoming cultural bedrocks. In this spirit, the Clinton River Watershed Council launched its inaugural "River Day” celebration 26 years ago. The ensuring quarter century only heightened its supporters' love for their adopted waterways - and their namesake event. This June, join hundreds of individuals, businesses, community groups, and local governments across the watershed in celebrating the Clinton River and Lake St. Clair at River Day ! Featured activities range from nature hikes, fishing derbies, and outdoor education to river clean-ups, invasive species pulls, and native landscaping. Events and programs from a variety of sources within the watershed will be compiled by the CRWC. 3. Get the Family Hooked on Fishing at the Outdoor Adventure Center June 8th | Outdoor Adventure Center, Detroit, Michigan | 1:30 p.m. In honor of the State of Michigan's " Free Fishing Weekend " - yes, no fishing licenses required - the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center is inviting the whole family to come down to the Detroit Riverfront for some free fishin'! This special event will provide opportunities to learn more about the native fish found in Detroit River and how to fish, including insights into how to properly identify fish. This is a catch-and-release fishing program that includes equipment, bait, and instruction, so beginners are welcome! Children must be accompanied by an adult. Preregistration is required and the cost is $5 per person. 4. Voyage Across Oakwoods Metropark June 8th | Oakwoods Metropark | 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. This month, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks  invite you to travel both back in time AND across the Metroparks' waterways in their 34 foot replica of a Great Lakes voyageur canoe! These guided paddles will occur on June 8th at Oakwoods  Metropark . The experience will provide exploratory and educational opportunities regarding unique wetland habitats, European and early American voyageurs who paddled those canoes during Michigan’s fur trade era, and wildlife viewing for animals like beavers, muskrats, egrets, and swans. The voyages will be setting off at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. , so there are ample opportunities to see varying wildlife and scenic river views. Limited seating is available and all ages must wear a lifejacket.   5. Protect Your Parks at a DNR Volunteer Workday Throughout June   | Bald Mountain, Pinckney, and Waterloo State Recreation Areas | 9 a.m. As outdoor enthusiasts, we should all care immensely for our wildest, most pristine outdoor destinations - as well as for the team at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources  that so diligently cares for them. In that spirit, any opportunity to assist the DNR with their operations is an opportunity well-worth seizing . Fortunately for all of us, the DNR has taken the lead in sponsoring several official "Volunteer Stewardship Workday" events across the Detroit region at the following locations: Waterloo State Recreation Area  (June 7th) Bald Mountain State Recreation Area  (June 8th) Pinckney State Recreation Area (June 15th) Work crew activities will focus on eliminating highly invasive garlic mustard that threatens to take over woodland environments. Rain boots or other waterproof boots are recommended for these events, and preregistration is required. 6. Prove that You're a Triple Threat at the Motor City Triathlon June 9th | Belle Isle Park | 7:30 a.m. Completing an outdoor race of any kind typically represents one of the crowning achievements of a month well spent . With a triathlon - especially at a destination as idyllic and well-suited for swimming, biking, and running as Belle Isle Park - you get a 3-for-1 special that's honestly a bucket list-worthy accomplishment. Anyone who's completed such a feat will back us up on this point. As the temperatures continue to rise well in June, treat yourself to an unforgettable experience by diving into the cool waters of the Detroit River during the Motor City Triathlon at Belle Isle Park. Believed to be the fastest triathlon course in the U.S., this race represents the perfect opportunity for seasoned athletes to obtain that coveted PR. There's also a duathlon option for this event (swimming omitted) that kicks off at 7:56 am. 7. Embrace the Mud at a Tough Mudder Race June 15-16th   | Oxford, MI | 8:00 a.m.   There comes a certain moment in every race where you mentally give in to the experience.  A "point of no return" where you realize that you're locked into running the miles, or swimming the laps, or pedaling up the hill that's in front of you. In military terms, this resiliency-building moment  is commonly referred to as "embracing the suck." For Tough Mudder  racers, you're forced to "embrace the mud " right from the get-go  - and we strongly advise doing so with open arms and disposable running shoes. This month, Tough Mudder will host its sole Michigan event  on the weekend of June 15th and 16th in Oxford at Koenig Materials . Runners can choose between 5K, 10K, and 15K events that feature obstacles ranging from ice pits, 40-foot nets, cage crawls, and, of course, lots and lots of mud. Embrace the mud. Live this unforgettable outdoor experience. 8. Celebrate Summer at the Longest Day 5K Run June 20th   | Gunnar Mettala Park, Wixom, MI | 7:00 p.m. Night owls, rejoice - this is the race for you! In honor of the summer solstice, our #ExpeditionPartner Running Venture is hosting a special " Longest Day 5K " that kicks off at - wait for it - 7:30 IN THE EVENING! That's right, no alarm clocks and questionable coffee cups required for this full-sun event. The solstice race events technically kick off at 7 p.m. with a 1 Mile "Fun Run" at Gunnar Mettala Park in Wixom. All runners will receive a custom shirt, finisher award, and complimentary refreshments. There will also be special awards for the top male and female finishers in each event, along with top 3 in each age group.     EXPEDITION DETROIT+  SUBSCRIBERS SAVE 20% ON THIS EVENT! 9. Drop into the MTB Life at a Dynamic Mountain Biking Clinic June 29-30th   | Brighton Recreation Area | 7:00 a.m.   If you've ever been interested in launching into the mountain biking life - but, like so many of us, have limited confidence hitting your first trail alone - then Dynamic Cycling Adventures has planned the perfect weekend for you! This June, head over to Brighton Recreation Area for a weekend full of mountain biking clinics taught by local certified coaches! Saturday will be a fundamentals clinic appropriate for all skills and abilities. Sunday will be an intermediate/advanced clinic to explore more advanced mountain bike skills like cornering, jumping, caps, and rock rollovers. Better yet, combine the two clinics for a great two-day experience to take your riding to the next level! All participants should bring helmets, appropriate bike shoes (preferably flats), plenty of water, snacks, lunch, and rain gear. This event does require online preregistration . The cost is $249 for one day or $449 for two days. 10. Gaze into the Cosmos at a Dark Sky Preserve June 29th   | Point Pelee National Park | 7:30 p.m.   The days may be reaching peak length as we approach the Summer Solstice this month, but the stars at Point Pelee National Park  - the single best stargazing destination in the Detroit region  - are still shining as bright as ever!  Point Pelee's " Dark Sky Nights " are especially catered towards star-gazing tourists willing to brave variable conditions at night, with amenities including extended visitor hours ( open until midnight this month ), seasonal star charts, and the combined natural beauty of the park and the cosmos. Who knows. ..maybe we'll even be treated to another primetime showing of the Northern Lights  again this month! BONUS: EXPLORE YOUR MICHIGAN STATE PARKS WITH US! Throughout June (and beyond) | 11 Michigan State Parks and Recreation Areas June in the Detroit region means adventure - so we're doubling down to offer you EVEN MORE opportunities to #OptOutside and explore your wild outdoors! Looking to experience June's outdoor magic for yourself?  Check out our openings for guided trips  covering the Detroit region's most beautiful state parks . This month we will be expanding upon our full repertoire of guided   hiking , night hiking , backpacking , and trail running   day trips throughout Metro Detroit .   The Expedition Detroit  team is proud to represent the Michigan DNR's largest commercial provider  of guided hikes, backpacking expeditions, and trail running coach across ELEVEN  of the Detroit region's most pristine state parks and recreation areas. Each of our guides has the field experience, wilderness first aid training, park knowledge, and outdoor passion that you can - and should - expect from any world-class trail experience . P.S. Subscribers to our content  get discounts on our guided trips AND  online store  items... Do you host an upcoming outdoor event that you would like to be featured in a future article? If yes, then we would love to hear from you! Please contact us at info@expeditiondetroit.com to discuss Expedition Detroit feature opportunities.

Spring has sprung along with the return of prime time in Detroit's outdoors! As our trails, campgrounds, and waterways reopen this month for the masses, these "Top Five Outdoor Events near Detroit" will serve as your guide for navigating this month's super-bloom of recreation opportunities. For Detroiters of a certain age - I'm looking at you, fellow Millennials - the phrase "April in the D" strikes the same nostalgia chord as Saturday morning cartoons or firing up the N64. We're starting to enter another golden age of Detroit sports, but for our younger readers, there was a period when April meant recreational dominance for our professional clubs. Tigers' opening day home runs fueling the wildest fan dreams for the fresh season. Yzerman, Fedorov, and the Red Wings' hall of fame line up making deep playoff runs. And, yes - even the Pistons were shocking the NBA with consecutive Finals appearances. Fast forward a few decades and that same excitement for April in the D is as strong as ever. But here's the twist - the Detroit region now has SO MUCH MORE to celebrate this month than just our sports teams. Beyond hosting the NFL Draft this month, our region's outdoor destinations are positioned to experience record-breaking engagement in 2024. The surge of national headlines covering Detroit's emergence into the outdoor adventure area has only fueled the post-pandemic interest in recreation. And when does this all kick off? Right now. April provides the starting line for the great migration back to our trails. Hiking, trail running, backpacking, cycling, mountain biking, paddling, canoe camping...even hunting is back on the agenda for April. Yes, you should probably acquire some rain gear and waterproof boots. But our wild places will be fully-open for business again this month, which is absolutely worth celebrating. Welcome back to prime time in your outdoors, friends - we can't wait to see you at these "Top 5 Outdoor Events near Detroit" this month! 1. Run Out of this World at the Martian Invasion of Races April 13th | Dearborn, Michigan | 8:00 a.m. Once a year, Dearborn literally becomes the center of the universe: the destination for an intergalactic coalition of Earthlings and Martians. Each jumping to hyperspeed for cosmic journeys of 5K to full marathon-length expeditions. Regardless of whether you will be embarking on that all-important "one small step" for your fitness journey, or a "giant leap" towards conquering your distance running goals, the Martian Invasion of Races has an event for every outdoor - and outer space - enthusiast! 2. Gaze into the Cosmos at a Dark Sky Preserve April 13th  | Point Pelee National Park | 7:30 p.m. The days may finally be getting lighter, but the stars at Point Pelee National Park - the best stargazing destination in the Detroit region - are still shining as bright as ever! Point Pelee's "Dark Sky Nights" are especially catered towards star-gazing tourists willing to brave near-freezing temperatures at night, with amenities including extended visitor hours, seasonal star charts, and the combined natural beauty of the park and the cosmos. 3. Get in the Woods for Opening Day of Turkey Season April 20th  | Throughout Michigan Turkeys in April...? For non-hunters, this inclusion likely strikes you as an out-of-place callback to fall foliage, unavoidable family arguments, and the Lions' push towards a Super Bowl berth (this season for sure - last year we called their playoff run). For hunters, April is primetime to get back into the woods for spring turkey season. In the Detroit region, opening day officially kicks off at 6:10 a.m. on the 20th. Beyond the recreational enjoyment and plentiful harvest that turkey season entails, we also wanted to highlight the immense conservation value of regulated turkey hunting - often dubbed the "Greatest Conservation Success Story." When the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded in 1973, only 1.3 million wild turkeys remained in the continent. Now, after 50 years of careful conservation and management, there are approximately 7 million wild turkeys throughout North America. Science-backed conservation works, and we at Expedition Detroit are proud to support it. Especially when it's fun. 4. Celebrate the Earth by Volunteering at an Earth Day Cleanup April 20th | Throughout the Detroit Region Winter provides a double-edged sword when it comes to the beautification of our favorite outdoor spaces. On one hand, the clean slate of a fresh blanket of snow provides postcard-worthy images of untainted beauty. On the other hand, there's the spring thaw: the muddy exposure of the debris that powder had conveniently hidden from our collective consciousness. We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we're still in the latter of those two circumstances now. Fortunately for all outdoor enthusiasts, several Detroit region-based organizations are spear-heading MULTIPLE opportunities to celebrate Earth Day by cleaning up favorite outdoor destinations! The Huron-Clinton Metroparks are hosting their two events at Stony Creek Metropark (9 a.m.) and Lake Erie Metropark (10 a.m.). The Michigan DNR's Outdoor Adventure Center will be crossing Atwater Street to clean up Milliken State Park (9 a.m.). Last but certainly not least, crews with the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy will also be working just north of Milliken along the Dequindre Cut Greenway (11 a.m.). 5. Kick Off Trail Racing Season at Trail Weekend April 27th | Pinckney State Recreation Area | 8:00 a.m. In full transparency, this may be the single event that we're most looking forward to this month for a few very subjective reasons. First, the 2019 "Road End 5-Mile" event was the first trail race that I ever completed and fundamentally changed my love, appreciation, and understanding of trail running. Second, the "Trail Weekend" festival of races formally kicks off RF Events' "GOAT Trail Series," a season-long trail running series where runners collect points to compete for a prestigious "GOAT" (Greatest Of All Time) title. Trail Weekend includes 5 Mile, Half-Marathon, Marathon, and 50K events, so there's a race for every genre of trail runner. Our team had a ton of fun - and found some extra running motivation - while participating in the 2023 GOAT Series. We'll see you all at the official starting line of the 2024 trail season! BONUS: Explore Your State Parks with Expedition Detroit! All April | 11 Michigan State Parks and Recreation Areas Can we let you in on a poorly-kept secret? April may very well be the BEST MONTH OF THE YEAR to explore the Detroit region's state parks and recreation areas! We tested this theory last year as we thru-hiked the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail. We discovered abundant wildlife, blooming wildflowers, budding trees, comfortable temperatures, and best of all, ZERO crowds alone the trails. Seriously. We had the trails and campgrounds all to ourselves. Looking to experience April's outdoor magic for yourself? Check out our openings for guided trips covering the Detroit region's most beautiful state parks. This month, we are planning on opening up our full repertoire of guided hiking, night hiking, backpacking, and trail running day trips throughout Metro Detroit. The Expedition Detroit team is proud to represent the Michigan DNR's largest commercial provider of guided hikes, backpacking expeditions, and trail running coach across ELEVEN of the Detroit region's most pristine state parks and recreation areas. Each of our guides has the field experience, wilderness first aid training, park knowledge, and outdoor passion that you can - and should - expect from any world-class trail experience. P.S. Subscribers to our content get discounts on our guided trips AND online store items... Do you host an upcoming outdoor event that you would like to be featured in a future article? If yes, then we would love to hear from you! Please contact us at info@expeditiondetroit.com to discuss Expedition Detroit feature opportunities.

Welcome back to our #TrailTuesday Series! This edition explores one of the Huron-Clinton Metroparks' premiere riverside trails: the Woods Creek Rustic Trail of Lower Huron Metropark. Join us as we the rugged ravines, gardens, and riverside views of this Southeast Michigan gem! This may be a polarizing way to start an article, but I'm an unapologetic "List Person." Long-time readers know this all too well by this point, given Expedition Detroit's monthly "Top Outdoor Events" and similar list-orientated articles. What can I say - regardless of planning out an effective workday or the trip of a lifetime, I'm a huge fan of the organization and prioritization that lists can provide. Especially when a singular item, task, or experience checks off multiple items at once. You already know where this is going. Fellow outdoor enthusiasts, we'd like to formally reintroduce a trail that belongs on every list maker's agenda: the Woods Creek Rustic Trail of Lower Huron Metropark. Why? For starters, our resident trail runners will immediately notice that the trail is 3.1 miles long, i.e. a 5K distance. Kayakers and Huron River aficionados will love the trail's uninterrupted mile of riverside access. Oh, and this route is also ordained as one of the coveted 13 "Challenge Trails" included in the Metroparks' 2024 "Trail Challenge" series. And, last but not least, we're proud to feature the Woods Creek Rustic Trail within our #TrailTuesday series! MEET LOWER HURON METROPARK Established in 1951, Lower Huron Metropark constituted the third Metropark and the first to open its gates to the public within Wayne County. Fortuitously straddling both banks of the Huron River in Belleville, Michigan, the park's designers envisioned Lower Huron Metropark's expansive fields and old growth forest to provide an idyllic picnicking location within a short drive from Detroit, Dearborn, and Ann Arbor. The future completion of I-94 and I-275, and their proximity to the Metropark's boundaries, ensured Lower Huron Metropark's popularity with Metro Detroit's recreational community for generations to come. Jumping ahead to 2024, Lower Huron Metropark has retained its picnicking legacy - as well as a lifetime of recreational opportunities within its 1,256 acres. Visitors can run or inline skate along a paved hike-bike trail - which forms a scenic portion of the Iron Belle Trail and will eventually connect directly to the Border to Border Trail. Other favorite past times at Lower Huron include shoreline fishing, paddling along the Huron, and observing waterfowl and other wildlife on the water. Summer at the metropark also features zipping down two waterslides, drifting along a lazy river, and getting soaked under the 300-gallon dumping bucket at the Turtle Cove Family Aquatic Center. All idyllic family-friendly activities to pair with your natural experience hiking along the Woods Creek Rustic Trail. Now let's get to the trail. HIT THE TRAIL Total Distance: 3.1 miles Elevation Gain: 164 feet Trail Rating: Easy Route Orientation: Loop Parking Specifics: Parking available at trailhead parking lots (Metroparks Pass required) From the Woods Creek Rd. Trailhead - prominently marked by the Metroparks' trademark kiosk - the only way to head is down. According to AllTrails, that means a 40 foot drop-off just past the eastern end of the parking lot. For Expedition Detroit, we hiked due north past the kiosk towards the "Metroparks Trail Challenge" sign before descending the boardwalk stairs turning east on the first natural trail that we came across. Regardless of your chosen approach to the Woods Creek Rustic Trail, all routes will converge by the 0.1 mile marker. You'll then cross a scenic bridge, stumble upon a panoramic view of the Huron River, and then turn west for the most fun - and challenging - segment of the trail. Don't let the gorgeous views of the Huron distract you too much - the roots are coming. Once you start trekking parallel to the river, the next mile of hiking consists of a roller coaster of dramatic, scenic, and root-filled hiking. The chasm that hits at the 0.3 mile marker is particularly memorable, although the sharp climbs and descents throughout this segment of the trail all stand out in their own right. You'll know that you're getting close to the Huron River turnoff when you hit a series of successive hills - three to be exact - starting at the 0.6 mile marker. Each one slightly lower in elevation than the last, until you finally reach the lowest point of the entire trail along the banks of the Huron River. As you might expect, the next 0.3 miles consists largely of a climb from the river, through the woods, until finally reaching a segment that we've dubbed "The Plateau." If you're a trail runner, then this is the perfect stretch for you: 0.8 miles of largely uninterrupted, consistent, and flowing wooded trail. We don't know what the Strava record is for this segment, but it's probably ripe for the breaking. Regardless of the pace that you'll be running or hiking at, The Plateau is a great opportunity for your legs to recoup their strength and stability after the earlier "rollercoaster" segment. Absolutely take advantage of The Plateau's predictability if needed, because the final 0.8 miles (which starts at the bottom of the most extended descent of the trail) brings back - you guessed it - more rollercoaster hills. Don't worry though, they're a much tamer subset of the previous rolling terrain that you conquered at the start of the hike. You'll know that the rollercoaster is slowing to a halt when the parking lot comes back into sight. MORE ON THE METROPARKS National Parks. State Parks. Municipal Parks. For most states, these are your sole recreational options, and anyone who has ample access to them should consider themselves as recreationally blessed. Although beautiful, these parks are often either spatially limited (municipal parks), remotely located (state parks), or exceedingly rare (national parks). The net result? Aspiring outdoor enthusiasts living in an urban area like Metro Detroit often find themselves stranded without quick access to world-class outdoor opportunities. Fortunately for all of us, the Metropark Authority has actively addressed this problem in the Detroit region for nearly a century. Starting in the late 1930s, Dr. Henry S. Curtis and Professor Harlow O. Whittemore set out to create a new "metropolitan park system" consisting of at least four connected parks, each spanning roughly 1,000 acres of land along the Huron and Clinton River watersheds. This vision evolved into 25,000 interconnected park system, spanning 5 counties and establishing one of the largest regional park systems in the country. Kensington Metropark, the first Metropark, opened it forests and waterways for recreational business in 1947; Wolcott Mill Metropark, the 13th and most recent Metropark, continued the tradition in 1989. The mission of the Metroparks includes the conservation and provision of excellent recreational and educational opportunities, while simultaneously serving as stewards of Southeast Michigan's natural resources. The Metroparks welcome over 7.3 million annual visitors through their parkways, as well as facilitate access to world-class hiking, mountain biking, cycling, kayaking, picnicking, fishing, swimming, boating, golf, disc golf, winter sports, and a host of special outdoor program opportunities. Looking forward to later this year, the Metroparks will continue their history of progression with establishing their first presence within the City of Detroit. As announced last winter, part of the forthcoming Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park along the world-famous Detroit Riverfront will include a 2.5 acre "water garden" that will officially be named the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Water Garden. This exciting development, including its walking paths, seating areas, educational signage, and open-air classrooms intended to engage visitors, represents the latest phase of the dynamic and transformative partnership between the Metroparks and Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. The #TrailTuesday Series idea started as a recommendation from readers looking for a deeper analysis into the individual trails that define Detroit's vast network. One of our main goals for this platform is to produce content that reflects the outdoor interests and desires of our community, so please continue to provide us with your suggestions via our contact form or here in the comments!

With the Detroit region positioned to set the international standard for world-class trail infrastructure, Washtenaw County's transformative "Border to Border Trail" provides a glimpse into the ground-breaking future of our outdoor ecosystem. Here are our key takeaways from the B2B Trail's annual kick-off event! Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024. Just after 5PM. Like the eerie calm before a tsunami strikes, nearly all of the Detroit region is bracing itself for the tidal wave of record-breaking visitors set to attend the 2024 NFL Draft in Downtown Detroit. Surely all of Detroit's recreational fandom would be caught up in the football-frenzied fray, especially in the wake of such a historic season. Believe it or not, the NFL Draft did not capture the entirety of Southeast Michigan's sports attention. Even the visionary owner of the Detroit Lions took her attention - definitely a well-deserved break - off of the historic event. Instead, Mrs. Hamp has joined a hundred or so zealous recreational advocates, in Ann Arbor, at an event called "Maps & Taps": the spring 2024 kick-off event for the Border to Border Trail, i.e. the "B2B Trail," one of the Detroit region's most transformative trail-building initiatives. What is the Border to Border Trail? None other than Washtenaw County's most ambitious, community-enriching, and industry-redefining trail infrastructure project since, well, ever. A visionary 55-mile (once complete), 10 foot wide, ADA accessible, paved pathway connecting far more than just Rawsonville in the county's southeast to Stockbridge and Pinckney in the northwest. The B2B will provide the critical link between the Mike Levine Lakelands Trail State Park and Waterloo State Recreation Area, Pinckney State Recreation Area, thee Huron-Clinton Metroparks, the Huron River National Water Trail, and countless municipal parks. A non-motorized transportation corridor linking praised trail towns like Chelsea, Dexter, Ann Arbor, and Ypsilanti. The full Border to Border Trail System The Expedition Detroit team was lucky enough to score a ticket to this year's Maps & Taps. As in we snagged one of the last of the highly-sought tickets. And we're so thankful that we did - beyond the festive atmosphere, complete with cornhole, ping pong, darts, beer tickets, silent auction for live art, and a selfie station, Maps & Taps was more of a "Washtenaw County Trails Summit" than simply an informational session. A constructive gathering of movers, shakers, and cheerleaders emotionally and/or financially invested in the generational impact of the Border to Border Trail. By the time that we left Maps & Taps, the forthcoming NFL Draft was legitimately an after-thought - merely a prelude to the sustainable regional change that is already drawing headlines to Michigan's outdoor industry. Now, with our heads still buzzing with enthusiasm for what's in store next for the Border to Border Trail, here are Expedition Detroit's key takeaways on the B2B's 2024 agenda and the future of Detroit's trail infrastructure. 1. CRITICAL LINKS IN PROCESS FOR THE "GREAT TRAILS STATE" Michigan is in the midst of a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the Michigan DNR's 2021 "Trails Plan" for the 2022-2032 decade, one of the agency's stated goals included that "Michigan will solidify its national recognition as the Trails State by providing diverse and sustainable trail experiences to encourage health and wellness." The cornerstone of this masterplan is the forthcoming Iron Belle Trail - a 2,000 mile hiking experience that will constitute the longest state-designated trail in the U.S. - connecting Downtown Detroit with Ironwood in the Upper Peninsula. But wait, there's more. The trail equivalent of a Russian matryoshka doll, the completed Iron Belle Trail will form a material portion of the North Country National Scenic Trail: a 4,800 behemoth of a trail stretching from the Green Mountains in Vermont, through both Michigan peninsulas, and reaching its western terminus in the buttes of North Dakota. The North Country Trail connects directly to the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in the east and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail in the west. And - as the cherry on top - the Iron Belle Trail will connect directly to the 14,996 mile-long Trans Canada Trail via the Gordie Howe International Bridge. With that scale in mind, the hyper-focus on the Border to Border Trail's development compounds in significance. Why? Because the B2B Trail represents the critical missing link between all of North America's great trails. That's right. If someone ever wanted to hike the TCT, then the NCT, all while on their way to the AT or a western trail, that ridiculously nomadic thru-hiker would have to trek the B2B first. In 2024, the Border to Border Trail will make significantly strides in connecting those critical links. Here's a rundown of the high-ticket construction items currently in progress: Ann Arbor: 0.63 mile segment that will cross the Barton Nature Area and the construction of the Barton Bandemer Tunnel under the railroad lin, connecting Bandemer Park to Huron River Drive Chelsea-Stockbridge Connection: 1.6 mile segment from North Territorial Road to Boyce Road long M-52, which will provide 6.3 miles of continuous trail. Dexter-Ann Arbor Connection: 1.3 mile segment from Zeeb Road to Delhi Metropark, including the 4th B2B Trail bridge over the Huron River and a connection between 3 Metroparks - a key component of a larger plan to connect all 13 Huron-Clinton Metroparks via a single trail. Dexter-Chelsea Connection: 0.7 mile segment that will complete the remaining distance from Wylie to Parker Road along Dexter Chelsea Road. Dexter Connection: 0.8 mile segment crossing Mill Creek, including the addition of a B2B Trail bridge and completing the connection into Downtown Dexter. 2. CONSTRUCTING AN INCLUSIVE OUTDOOR DESTINATION Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives - commonly referred to as "DEI" - have held a central pillar in the progression of the outdoor economy for several years now. From industry-leading retailers and advocacy groups to governmental agencies, the outdoor industry as a whole has sought to advocate for and implement such policies throughout every facet of their operations. For the Border to Border Team, advocating for DEI initiatives isn't just part of their core beliefs. It's a concept worth commemorating - prominently - through the construction of Title IX Plaza within Dexter-Huron Metropark. Resulting from a joint project between the B2B Team, Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative (HWPI), Huron-Clinton Metroparks, and Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, Title IX Plaza will honor the positive impact of Title IX's legislation on women's sports in southeast Michigan. The plaza is expected to open this summer 2024. DEI-focused projects like the Title IX Place are both fantastic and undeniably necessary for the growth and sustainability of the outdoor recreation industry. While the great outdoors represents a hallowed destination to find peace and refuge from modern society, the sad truth remains that this has not - and for certain demographics, still does not - reflect the experience of all aspiring athletes and recreationists. Discrimination based on gender, race, sexual orientation, and identity has left a deep stain on our outdoor culture. Our outdoor community must commit to continued intentional action - such as publicly commemorating historic feats in combating discrimination - for creating an inclusive and vibrant outdoors for all. 3. IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A TRAIL Nonprofit organizations are one of society's most effective agents of change. With the "profit" variable omitted from the operational equation, nonprofits have the freedom to align their values solely with their mission. For the team at Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative, that means pouring every dollar into imagining, designing, building, and maintaining the B2B Trail for Washtenaw County. The elimination of "profit" can have its drawbacks though. Without the consistent cash flow of for-profit companies, project timelines and implementation can be dramatically slowed by any lulls in donor funding or volunteer availability. That's where we - the trail users and ultimate beneficiaries of their mission - can make our greatest impact. The truth simply is that the B2B Trail would likely still be in its genesis if it weren't for the support of private donors, impactful partners, and the recreationally-passionate residents of Washtenaw County. Since 2000, the Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation and the Roads and Non-Motorized Trails millages have allowed the county to invest more than $40M in the planning, design, and construction of trail projects like the B2B Trail. The millions of dollars of private donations - as well countless volunteer hours spent at trail stewardship events - have exponentially turned the B2B from a trailside vision to its current reality. Wondering how you can best support the B2B Trail? Here are a few of our suggestions: Sign Up to be a Trail Volunteer: The B2B Trail Team hosts volunteer trail events throughout the year! Sign up here to get your name on the shortlist for upcoming events. Pioneer a Personal Cleanup Event: Ready to make an immediate impact on your favorite trail? All that you need are good trekking shoes, gloves, a trash bag, and your preferred segment of the B2B. Don't forget to share your cleanup success with the team! Share Your Adventures: We can't underestimate how important it is to publicize your amazing time spent outdoors! While social media can be a hot topic, one aspect underlining its importance is that it broadcasts exciting opportunities or experiences to a broad audience. Don't forget to tag @B2BTrail in your posts - you know what, tag @expeditiondetroit too while you're at it. Become a Donor: Simply put, there's no better way to make a lasting impact than to become a regular donor of a transformative organization like the Border to Border Trail. All financial donations to the B2B Trail are administered by the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative (HWPI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so contributions are 100% tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law. Expedition Detroit is proud to work with important trail advocacy organizations like the Border to Border Trail, Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative, and other organizations that stand on the frontlines of transforming the Detroit region into a preeminent outdoor destination. If you have an organization that is aligned with our mission to create and accelerate value for Detroit’s emerging outdoor industry, then we invite you to contact us at info@expeditiondetroit.com.

Hailing from the rugged hills of the Keweenaw Peninsula to the wetlands of Metro Detroit, Michigan's foremost outdoor organizations just gathered in Traverse City for the 2023 Michigan Outdoor Summit. We were lucky enough to join them and gather these invaluable takeaways from the Summit. "Think of us like a base camp for the outdoors - we've got a big tent, so everyone should fit just fine. Come curious, leave inspired." That is how the talented marketing team for the 2023 Michigan Outdoor Summit promoted the event, and we at Expedition Detroit found ourselves immediately hooked. Although let's be honest, selling a mid-week, early fall conference in Traverse City shouldn't pose too much of a challenge. Especially when the summit features an opportunity for all sectors of the outdoor economy in Michigan to connect, learn, grow, and collaboratively build a vision for the future, health, and vitality of Michigan’s outdoors. We were down to book after the first Instagram posting crossed our feed back in July. Like any startup, our primary goal at the Michigan Outdoor Summit was simply to introduce ourselves, make connections, and learn more about we can solidify a strategic place in Michigan's outdoor economy. I can confidently report that we accomplished all three objectives, but the learn component truly characterized the predominant value of the Summit. Through presentations sponsored by formidable institutions like the nation's leading outdoor advocacy organization, Outdoor Industry Association, and the Michigan Outdoor Industry Office, to more intimate panels featuring representatives from small nonprofits like Friendship Miles and podcasts like Points North, the Michigan Outdoor Summit successfully and beautifully depicted the full spectrum of our state's outdoor industry. The successes. The challenges. The culture. And the opportunities for continued, sustainable growth. By the time the Michigan Outdoor Summit wrapped up on Wednesday evening, I packed up my truck with two bags of merch, a stack of business cards from new contacts, a head filled to the brim with inspiration, and a notebook filled with my chicken-scratch takeaways from the conference. This article synthesizes those notes into our most important takeaways from the Summit. Key themes that will undeniably impact the future of Michigan's outdoor economy for years, if not generations, to come. Four significant aspects of our industry that Expedition Detroit proudly endorses and will continue to support as integral to our mission. 1. PANDEMIC PASSION FOR THE OUTDOORS REMAINS STRONG In case you missed it, Michigan's outdoor economy boomed in the midst of the pandemic - and the pace hasn't let up. Our state's outdoor recreation industry contributed $10.8 Billion in value-add in 2021, supporting 110,000 jobs and $4.7 billion in compensation to employee households. Michigan's outdoor recreation economy also continues to impact local retailers across the state - to the tune of $2.7 Billion - accounting for nearly 32% of the total value-add impact. Retail jobs supporting outdoor recreation totaled just under 41,000, while there are more than 7,000 outdoor recreation industry companies in Michigan ranging from manufacturing to hospitality and service providers. These exciting stats follow the macroeconomic trend for the United States' outdoor recreation industry as a whole. As Rich Harper of the Outdoor Industry Association stated during his presentation at the Michigan Outdoor Summit, the outdoor industry now represents an $862 Billion force to be reckoned with, including a 2.3% industry growth in 2022. The post-pandemic spike in outdoor recreation across the country means that our industry has earned immensely more leverage in the national and international arena, including its ability to positively influence legislation, industrial sustainability, and conservation practices. For the attendees at the Michigan Outdoor Summit, these statistics reinforce the fundamental economic notion that the market is rewarding our investment in outdoor recreational innovation. Simply put, the pandemic introduced millions of Americans to the physical, mental, and general lifestyle benefits of a life spent in the great outdoors. Nearly four years later, those lasting experiences continue to influence the habits of consumers, especially those that fell in love with the Detroit region's parks, trails, and waterways. This is amazing news for our team and everyone working within the outdoor recreation industry. Better yet, these trends all but ensure that your favorite retailers, park managers, and outdoor media companies like Expedition Detroit will continue fine-tuning our products and processes for your benefit. Who doesn't love a win-win scenario? 2. NECESSITY OF BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE OUTDOOR STATE Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives - commonly referred to as "DEI" - have held a central pillar in the progression of the outdoor economy for several years now. From industry-leading retailers and advocacy groups to governmental agencies, the outdoor industry as a whole has sought to advocate for and implement such policies throughout every facet of their operations. For example, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources prominently stated within their "Five Year Strategic Plan" that the DNR will remain "committed to fostering and promoting an environment focused on equity and inclusion to expand and broaden the diversity of its visitors and workforce," including the implementation of improvements "to ensure the provision of acceptable service to all visitors, regardless of ability, ethnic background, and location." DEI initiatives on their face are fantastic and undeniably necessary for the growth and sustainability of the outdoor recreation industry. While the great outdoors represents a hallowed destination for millions of Americans to find peace and refuge from modern society, the sad truth remains that this has not - and for certain demographics, still does not - reflect the experience of all aspiring American recreationists. Discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and identity has left a deep stain on our outdoor culture. One requiring intentional action to alleviate and overcome towards creating an inclusive and vibrant industry. While the attendees at the Michigan Outdoor Summit appeared unanimously in support of DEI initiatives across our industry, there was a glaring elephant in the conference room. One that the summit's main spokesperson so eloquently stated: "Guys, I know that the last person to be speaking on this at an outdoor summit is another white man in a flannel." As I looked around the room, the vast majority of conference participants were also white men - and to a lesser degree, white women - in flannels (myself included). The point that the presenter was making didn't reflect the early fall fashion choices of white men, but rather that even after years of advocating for DEI throughout Michigan's outdoor industry, the demographics at its most important summit still reflected how much work in this arena remains unfulfilled. The point struck home, and we at Expedition Detroit truly believe that our industry will immensely benefit from the expanded consumer base, breadth of ideas, and exponential recreational engagement stemming from successful DEI implementation. While us white men in flannels will most likely continue to fill many seats at the Michigan Outdoor Summit for years to come, I personally am looking forward to learning and collaborating with a more diverse pool of summit participants and presenters in the years to come. 3. DEFINING THE FUTURE OF MICHIGAN'S OUTDOOR CULTURE When Expedition Detroit launched roughly a year ago, we designed our platform to predominantly connect with two demographics. In line with our second takeaway, the first demographic involves Metro Detroit residents that may have also internalized a societal stigma that "the outdoors aren't for us." Whether that rationale originated from discriminatory, social, economic, or familial sentiments, we wanted to create a company that demonstrated that Detroit's world class outdoor ecosystem is accessible for everyone. The second demographic may surprise you, but it is equally important for the sustainability of Michigan's outdoor economy. A demographic that often wields the most power in effectuating change, regardless of whether that change benefits or harms a region's outdoor culture. The demographic that I, and most of the constituents at the Michigan Outdoor Summit, fall into: the established outdoor enthusiasts. Who fits into this demographic? Recreationists of every race, gender, and background that were fortunate enough to either grow up experiencing the outdoors or find a way to dedicate years of their lives to developing their passion for an outdoor lifestyle. If you've ever gone on a backpacking trip up north, a ski trip out west, multiple extended hunting or fishing trips, or carry a REI Co-op Card, then yes, you're in this demographic. For better or for worse, this "established" demographic will define the culture of Michigan's outdoor industry for the foreseeable future. Beyond deciding how and where to spend their recreational dollars, this demographic also carries the responsibility of acting as the de facto ambassadors for our state's outdoor recreation industry. Will we continue to discount and devalue the spectacular beauty of Michigan's natural environment when compared to the mountainous regions of our continent? Will we perpetuate the long-held and ill-founded stereotypes and prejudices that once defined an outdoor lifestyle as an exclusive "Boy's Club"? Or will we initiate a new chapter in the long and storied history of Michigan's outdoors? One where a vibrant, diverse, and accomplished consumer base demonstrates to the world that often overlooked destinations like the Detroit region contain adventurous, accessible, and conservation-worthy ecosystems. An era where the Great Lakes region sets the new golden standard for how to reimagine and develop a sustainable outdoor industry. Accomplished outdoor enthusiast Stacy Bare, a presenter at the Michigan Outdoor Summit, described this sentiment perfectly in his article "The Great Lakes Called. We Answered." for The Boardman Review. We'll let Stacy close out this section in his own words: The outdoor people, you, and me, can and should be the leaders in all these reconciliations necessary in Michigan . . . This means we need to not just talk about, but also show, that the experience in a neighborhood or county park in Detroit or Bay City, can be just as incredible as a multi-day hike through the Porkies, which can be just as fine as a drift boat on the Grand or sitting in a deer stand on your uncle's farm just outside Grayling. 4. MASSIVE INVESTMENTS IN MICHIGAN'S OUTDOOR ECONOMY Of all of the takeaways from the Michigan Outdoor Summit, this fourth and final one may be the one that we're the most excited about. Beyond encompassing each of the earlier takeaways - the future of Michigan's outdoor economy depends on continuing growth metrics, an inclusive consumer base, and proactive culture - broad institutional investment in the future of the industry means that key stakeholders are willing to bet their dollars on our outdoors. As demonstrated by the actions of large institutional organizations and international coalitions, major "game-changers" are actively investing in the future of the Great Lakes Region's outdoor economy. The most public example of this trend includes the binational collaboration involving the forthcoming Gordie Howe International Bridge. Stemming from a multinational investment into the creation of a "Great Lakes Tourism Experience," the completed bridge will feature a toll-free, multi-use, and two-way path for pedestrians and cyclists to walk or bike across the Windsor-Detroit border and connect onto adjacent road and trail networks like the Trans-Canada Trail and Iron Belle Trail. This collaboration also entails shared investment into marketing strategies, technology geared towards enhancing the trail-user experience, development of eco-tourism, and the promotion of conservation. Within the state, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II recently announced a new $1,225,000 grant program and strategic collaboration aimed towards positioning Michigan as the country's leading state for outdoor recreation innovation, vehicle technology, and sustainability. Northern Michigan University - a presented at the Michigan Outdoor Summit - also offers an undergraduate degree in "Outdoor Recreation Leadership and Management" and a master's degree in "Administration of Outdoor Recreation and Nature Based Tourism." Last, a massive $250 million in funding from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act will benefit a significant portion of the Michigan State Parks’ infrastructure needs. These massive investments in Michigan's outdoor economy - especially in outdoor infrastructure throughout the Detroit region - have positioned our state to become an international leader in outdoor innovation and sustainable growth. The macroeconomic pieces are all falling into place, from cross-industry collaborations involving facilitative governmental action to small business dynamism partnering with effective grassroots advocacy. Like these new and improved Detroit Lions taking a formidable lead into the 4th quarter, all that we in the industry need to focus on is maintaining this momentum. The Lions do that via big sacks and steady drives; we accomplish that through developing industry-redefining opportunities, technologies, and experiences. If we manage to reach that goal - and we at Expedition Detroit don't see any reason why we couldn't - then the sky is the limit for all that Michigan's outdoor industry can accomplish in this next century. While we wish you could've joined us at the Michigan Outdoor Summit, our sincere hope is that this article ignites the same fire within you that inspires our passion for Michigan's growing outdoor industry. Our state's best days on the trail are truly ahead of us, thanks largely to the cross-industry consumers and providers that reinforce our commitment to Michigan's thriving outdoor economy on a daily basis. We'd like to close out this article with a special thank you to Land of Outsiders, Heart of the Lakes, the Michigan Outdoor Industry Office, and the other sponsors of the Michigan Outdoor Summit. Simply put, you all crushed it with an engaging, collaborative, and inspiring conference. Well done. We can't wait see you all next year.

Welcome back to our weekly #TrailTuesday Series! This edition explores one of the most accessible, beautiful, and popular trails in the Detroit region: Island Lake's Yellow Trail Loop. Join us as we rediscover this cherished biking, hiking, and running destination! Let's get right to it: if you could only visit one Detroit region park in your entire life, then Island Lake State Recreation Area should be said park. If you have ever had the pleasure of recreating at Island Lake, then that shouldn't come off as a rash statement. At all. My love story with Island Lake started during the peak Covid "lockdown" era. If you recall last week's #TrailTuesday special on Pontiac Lake, one of my best friends served as my mountain biking mentor during my first few months breaking into the sport. After we lapped Maybury's awesome MTB track to near memory, my buddy decided that it was time for his padawan to expand his horizon. To my surprise, Maybury was not his go-to trail; that would be found 15 miles northwest in one of the Detroit region's most beloved parks, Island Lake. I prefer to explore trails before blindly riding them, so the first time that I formally met the Yellow Trail loop, I left the bike at home. The trail was clearly built by mountain bikers, for mountain bikers, so I completed my second traverse on two wheels. Three years later, my preferred arrival at Island Lake includes a trifecta of running, mountain biking, and paddling equipment. To summarize, Island Lake has burrowed deeply into an immoveable, special place in this recreationist's heart. Some of the best days of my life have been spent paddling its idyllic stretches on the Huron, hammocking with friends at Spring Mill Pond, trekking through "the Badlands," and, of course, lapping its pristine Blue and Yellow Trails. No, especially the Yellow Trail. And I'm far from being the only outdoor enthusiast to take that stance. It is our honor to reintroduce Island Lake State Recreation Area now. MEET ISLAND LAKE STATE RECREATION AREA If Yellowstone National Park is widely considered the "Grandfather of the National Parks," then Island Lake State Recreation Area is undoubtedly the "Grandaddy of the Detroit Region's Parks." This designation goes far beyond the park's size, location, and recreational capacity. The history of Island Lake is objectively fascinating. Traveling back to eastern Livingston County of the 1800s, most of the area had been purchased by livestock and grain producing farmers. However, along the sandy beaches just south of Kent Lake, the Federal government had ordained a small portion of the growing county with a very distinct purpose. The U.S. army utilized this area as for summer encampments and training for its soldiers, including Michigan regiments shipping overseas in 1898 for the Spanish American War. Following its military use, the park also briefly hosted a boys' academy before its purchase in 1922 by Dodge Motor Company. Similar to several other areas in Livingston and Oakland Counties, the Dodge Motor Company decided to donate the area surrounding Island Lake and nine other distinct recreation areas to the State of Michigan. Island Lake was the first and one of the larger parcels to be donated, therefore earning the designation "Dodge Park #1" between 1923 through 1943 - the Detroit region's first state park. Due to the increased interest in the Detroit region's park system and corresponding conservation acquisitions made by the state during those two decades, the Michigan Department of Conservation formally reopened the park as Island Lake State Recreation Area in 1944, including an acquisition of 1,868 additional acres. In 2023, Island Lake preserves more than 4,000 acres along the banks of the Huron River. The park has retained its popularity over the past 80 years through its accessibility from I-96 and plethora of recreational activities. The park represents a world-class destination for mountain biking, paddling, hiking, swimming, triathlon training, picnicking, hunting, fishing, trapping, and target shooting. Despite its improvements over the years, Island Lake has excelled in maintaining a backcountry and natural feel, featuring four inland lakes and a mixture of open brush, mature hardwood forest, pockets of open meadows, and its famous "Badlands" region that belongs more in the Dakotas or Colorado than southeast Michigan. With a lifetime of recreational activities, Island Lake has the potential to overwhelm its visitors. We get it, and that's where this article comes in handy. Again, if you only have time to visit one outdoor destination in the Detroit region, then you should visit Island Lake. And, if you only have time for one activity while at Island Lake, then you should bike, hike, or run the Yellow Trail. Now let's get to the trail. HIT THE TRAIL Total Distance: 5.5 miles Elevation Gain: 278 feet Trail Rating: Moderate Route Orientation: Loop Parking Specifics: Parking available at main mountain biking trailhead (Michigan Recreation Passport required) Here is a key insider tip: as a whole, the best trails throughout our region were built for and continue to be maintained by mountain bikers. We can all collectively thank our friends at the MCMBA, CRAMBA, and PMBA for each of their pristine, volunteer-maintained trails. Similar to non-hunters buying deer tags to fund the DNR's conversation operations, if you regularly hike or run any trail maintained by a mountain biking organization, then please consider joining their organization. The Yellow Trail - along with its longer and easier sibling, the Blue Trail - are both maintained by the MCMBA. As such, both of these trails launch at the same trailhead parking lot and are utilized predominantly by mountain bikers. Like the AllTrails map depicted above, this article will follow the orientation that mountain bikers should follow; hikers and trail runners should travel in the opposite direction of MTB traffic (i.e., start the trail adjacent to the trailhead restrooms vs. the main trailhead). MOUNTAIN BIKERS - unless a DNR-posted sign states otherwise, you should NEVER ride in the opposite direction of biking traffic (emergency situations aside). While hiking this trail yesterday, I witnessed an elderly riding risking his safety and that of two small children riding in the opposite direction of this single-track trail - despite my warnings and those of other riders. Such actions are inexcusably reckless and are begging for a lawsuit. Please don't do that. Passing by the main trailhead's kiosk, the Yellow Trail kicks off with a perfectly flowy, forested downhill towards the paved hiking trail. Keep left after crossing the paved trail to stay on the Yellow Trail (there's a fun little jump into this turn), and this initial downhill fun will continue largely until you cross over the Huron River bridge at a convergence point with the Blue Trail. Note: the stretch leading up to the bridge, starting at 0.3 miles into the trail, can flood after extensive rain. We hope that you enjoyed the downhill, because the first of the Yellow Trail's three moderate climbs hits right at the other side of the bridge. Will this first climb isn't the most intense, it is my least favorite due to its sand accumulation tendency. Your efforts will be rewarded, however, with a prolonged decline alongside the western banks of the Huron, which will carry you until the 1.4 mile marker. You'll know that this decline is coming to an end when you reach a short boardwalk crossing Woodruff Creek. Although the climb only lasts 0.1 miles, my buddy and I have nicknamed the second hill the "Hill of Pain." Certainly not worthy of the "Hill of Death" moniker that we have bestowed upon other inclines that drop-kick ego in the groin, but also not a cakewalk at a 12% incline. This climb marks the northernmost point of the trail alongside Grand River Avenue, so your grunts will be accompanied by the sound of cars zooming near you. Know that both this climb and its noise pollution soundtrack end quickly - a park bench marks the completion of the incline, and another prolonged decline into the heart of one of the most beautiful stretches of Island Lake's hardwood forest paradise. A third and final large climb starts to manifest at the 2.1 mile marker. You'll reach the "summit" of the trail during this segment, although the heavily-forested nature of the climb will obstruct its significance amidst the massive pine trees overhead. As expected, a 1.3 mile decline will congratulate you on passing this trail milestone, during which pass over the Huron again on the picturesque wooden footbridge adjacent to Kensington Rd. Great photo op spot. After spending so much of your ride under the canopy of a mature forest, the half mile section of birch trees and open fields will come as a welcomed change of scenery on a sunny day. The Yellow Trail runs along the northern edge of Island Lake's largest span of uninterrupted and rolling grassland pastures. This portion of the trail is stunningly beautiful - you wouldn't be off-base if you felt like you were biking through the foothills of the Alps. There are also a few off-shoot trails to the right that lead to beautiful vistas of the Huron, so feel free to take your time enjoying this unique stretch of the trail. Back under the canopy, the next 1.3 miles of the trail reinforce that you are indeed traveling along a mountain biking trail. The trail throws consistent climbs and declines at its riders, as well as quick turns, rock beds, and plenty of roots to navigate. While the Yellow Trail certainly isn't a difficult MTB trail, this stretch is undoubtedly the most technical portion. Less experienced riders, remember that slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Take your time; enjoy the ride. The Yellow Trail concludes with a moderate incline at the 5 mile marker before crossing the paved again and to enter a final patch of hardwoods. As is tradition, each of the Yellow Trail's inclines - even the brief ones - finish with a rewarding decline. With this final micro-climb, riders can expect a 0.4 mile decline to the parking lot through a curving hardwood trail. Congratulations - you've now completed one of the Detroit region's staple trails. All that's left to do now is enjoy that post-trail brew. EXPLORE ISLAND LAKE'S YELLOW TRAIL WITH EXPEDITION DETROIT! WEEKEND BONUS TIPS Although we're not supposed to admit this, several parks in the Detroit region can be comprehensively visited in a day - even the larger ones. That being said, Island Lake is NOT one of those parks. The wealth of recreational opportunities available Island Lake means that the park is best visited over a weekend, especially if you are luck enough to camp at the park's canoe campground or stay in its rustic cabins. With a full weekend at your disposal, we recommend following in our footsteps in completing the "Island Lake Trifecta" of recreational feats. These include mountain biking both the Yellow and Blue Trails (13.5 miles), kayaking the entirety of the Huron River within the park (5.4 miles), and hiking the Hickory Ridge Trail (5.1 miles). You could also sight your firearm at Island Lake's shooting range, bring your road bike for cycling the park's scenic roadways, and paddling the inner waterways of Spring Mill Pond, Trout Lake, Kent Lake, and, of course, Island Lake. The weekend's adventures only continue at the northwestern corner of the park. At the end of Kent Lake Beach Road, the paved Island Lake Pathway bifurcates into the Huron Valley Trail and the Kensington Trail. While the Huron Valley Trail will take cyclists to either South Lyon or Wixom, the Kensington Trail starts right on the otherside of the I-96 underpass and provides direct access to the wide world of outdoor sports at Kensington Metropark. But wait, there's more. The Kensington Trail connects directly to the Milford Trail, which leads riders into the heart of Downtown Milford, its proprietary Mountain Bike Trail, and within the purview of both Proud Lake and Highland State Recreation Areas. Here's our point - while Island Lake contains an itinerary's worth of adventure opportunities in its own right, intrepid recreationists could also use the park as a launching point for near-endless outdoor pursuits. Just to drive this point home, the Milford Bike Festival's "Century Challenge" annually proves that there are over 100 miles of singletrack mountain biking trails that Island Lake directly connects to. There's a whole world to explore out there, friends. And as always, we can't wait to see you out there. The #TrailTuesday Series idea started as a recommendation from readers looking for a deeper analysis into the individual trails that define Detroit's vast network. One of our main goals for this platform is to produce content that reflects the outdoor interests and desires of our community, so please continue to provide us with your suggestions via our contact form or here in the comments!

Looking to shake up your everyday life with new adventures - especially right here in Metro Detroit? Look no further - here are the amazing ways that a guided hike tour will elevate your outdoor experience! Claire was so nervous that she almost didn’t go. The butterflies crept up from her stomach and up into her throat. With a deep breath, she pushed herself out of the car and walked to the trailhead to meet the group. Claire had wanted to get into hiking and other “outdoorsy stuff” for some time, but she didn't have any friends or family that were into that sort of thing. So she kept putting it off, hoping one day for the opportunity or inspiration to strike. Well, one day turned into one month, then one year...so before the decade threshold, she decided to take a leap of faith and venture out of her comfort zone. She committed herself to pursuing this new passion, even if it meant taking the initiative alone. But she wouldn't be alone. She booked a guided hike, and a new world of adventure opportunities followed. Does this sound like you? That’s the difference a guided hike can make. They help you take action and set out on that new adventure you've been dying to try. On a guided hike, you’ll have a guide in your corner to show you the way. Plus, you'll meet a group of people who, like you, are there to experience all that nature has to offer. That's right - you don't have to explore alone. In this article, you’ll discover: The differences between a guided hike and a “regular” hike The benefits of guided hikes and how they elevate your outdoor experience Guided hike tours available in the Metro Detroit area How you can go on your own guided adventure Let's dive in! Guided Hikes vs. Regular Hikes Hiking gets you out in nature to enjoy the fresh air and exercise. Both guided hikes and regular (or self-guided) hikes are a great way to get outdoors, but there are some key differences between the two experiences. A guided hike takes you on a pre-planned route with a guide and a group of fellow hikers. At any experience level, you can find benefits within a guided hike tour - but they are particularly helpful if you're a beginner. Guided hikes give you an added layer to the hiking experience: you'll always have someone who can share their expertise. Plus, you get the opportunity to meet people who also share an interest in outdoor activities! 1. Guided Hikes Personalize Your Experience When you go on a guided hike tour, you get a customized outdoor adventure. Hiking guides tailor the activity to the group to accommodate all participants. To personalize your experience, they take into account several aspects of the group. Hiking guides personalize your tour based on: Experience level & physical ability Age Location Interests of the group A hiking guide makes adjustments to meet the needs of the group. For example, the guide can lead with a slower pace if kids are present. This way everyone has an enjoyable hike and leaves feeling great! 2. A Guided Hike Puts You in a Group Setting One of the best benefits of going on a guided hike tour is the group dynamic. Since you go with a group, you get the added benefits of connection and community. Plus, fostering a sense of connection helps combat feelings of isolation and loneliness. As humans, we’re social creatures by nature. Even if you don't meet your new best friend, you will still get the benefits just by being around other people. Here are the core benefits of hiking with a group: You'll meet new people with a common interest in hiking Creates a sense of community through shared experiences Combats feelings of isolation and loneliness You get the chance to meet other people who - just like you - have an interest in hiking and the outdoors. Having something in common makes it SO much easier to get the conversation going and make new friends! 3. Hiking Guides Share their Expert Trail Knowledge with You Hiking guides know the areas they lead you through like the back of their hand. They’ve dedicated a significant portion of their life exploring and learning about the areas that they take you through. They are often familiar with the area’s local history, plants, animals, and geographic terrain. Oh, and guides share their wealth of in-depth knowledge with you seamlessly while you’re hiking. Your guide's expertise helps you to get more out of your guided hike experience by: Helping you be more mindful of your surroundings Increasing your knowledge of local flora and fauna Deepening your appreciation for nature In other words, you get to learn a lot of new things through first-hand experience. No research required on your part. You simply get to enjoy the experience — all while your guide tells the story and paints the picture for you! 4. Your Safety is the Top Priority on a Guided Hike Reputable hiking guides always make sure your safety comes first. Your guide will educate you on any possible dangers or safety concerns throughout your guided hike. For example, Expedition Detroit's guides will let you know if there’s any poison ivy in the area, tripping hazards, or hidden animal habitats that you need to keep an eye out for. Additional safety equipment can also be provided by your guide based on your selected adventure (for example, headlamps for night hiking). Your guide takes into account several safety considerations including: Trail conditions Possible hazards Necessary safety equipment Daylight You can fully relax and enjoy the hike because you know your guide is watching out for your safety! 5. A Guided Hike Helps You Discover Hidden Gems Guided hike tours often explore areas that you may have never been to - or even heard of - otherwise. A guided hike is a great way to discover hidden gems in your own backyard. Or, if you're on vacation, a guided hike will give you an opportunity to experience local natural areas. A guided hike can help you: Discover hidden gems you never would have been to otherwise Avoid lengthy research sessions to find the best trails — all you have to do is show up Here's the bottom line: opting for a guided hike saves you time and energy. They let you experience some awesome new places with minimal effort. Guided Hike Tours with Expedition Detroit Expedition Detroit offers you fifteen unique guided hiking experiences in Southeast Michigan! No matter if you’re a complete beginner to exploring the outdoors or a seasoned pro —  we have something for everyone to enjoy. Beginner & Family Friendly Guided Hikes Welcome to the world of hiking! These guided hiking tours are a perfect option for beginners, as well as those with little ones, trail pups, or anyone who prefers a more laid-back nature experience. Night Hike Safari: Maybury State Park Guided Hike: Proud Lake Marsh Loop Guided Hike: Maybury State Park Guided Hike: Bell Isle Park Guided Hike: Highland North Loop Intermediate Guided Hikes Looking for more of a challenge? These intermediate guided hikes are longer with more technically challenging trails. Moderate Hike: Brighton Penosha Trail Moderate Hike: Highland Haven Hill Loop Moderate Hike: Crooked Lake Trail Moderate Hike: Proud Lake Grand Tour Moderate Hike: Island Lake Yellow Trail Moderate Hike: Highland Mt. Kanzer Moderate Hike: Pontiac Lake Trail Moderate Hike: Proud Lake West Loops Advanced Guided Hikes Already a hiking pro? No problem! These advanced guided hikes are perfect for those who want to test their strength and endurance. Advanced Hike: Pontiac Lake MTB Loop Advanced Hike: Highland A-B-C-D Loops Are You Ready to Level Up Your Next Outdoor Adventure? A guided hike elevates your outdoor experience by adding layers of benefits. Plus, they save you boatloads of time and energy. They are perfect for beginners and experts alike since your guide will tailor each experience to your group. Especially if you’re on the fence about going out on your own, guided hikes are a great way to get started! Are you ready to take on a new outdoor experience? Click the button below to snag your spot on Expedition Detroit's next guided hike!

Brace yourself, Detroit - the 2024 NFL Draft kicks off TOMORROW, including the arrival of 500,000+ football fans to the heart of downtown. With all of the region's best amenities available to the masses, here is our guide to the best adventure experiences available only during Draft Weekend. In case you've been sleeping under a rock this entire year, allow us to provide you with a critical update: the eyes of the sporting world are about to be fixed solely on Detroit. We're talking Super Bowl XL-levels of engagement. Half a million NFL fans to be exact - on top of our resident, super-charged fan base - are expected to descend upon the Motor City tomorrow through Sunday. In fact, Detroit Metro Airport has already been invaded by legions of football fans from across the globe. That's right, folks: the 2024 NFL Draft has finally arrived to the heart of Downtown Detroit. Slated as a "once in a generation" event, the NFL Draft experience will feature far more than just Commissioner Goodell rattling off the names of the best and brightest recruits from the main stage. The "2024 NFL Draft Experience" presented by Rocket Mortgage at Hart Plaza will invite Detroit residents and visitors alike to participate in immersive exhibits, take photos with the Vince Lombardi Trophy, enjoy a youth-focused Play 60 Zone, shop exclusive merchandise, and score autographs from current NFL players and legends. These official "Draft Experience" events are just the tip of the experiential iceberg for all that's going down across the Detroit region this weekend. In fact, there are so many culinary, cultural, musical, interactive, and/or entertainment events occurring that locals and first-time visitors alike could easily become overwhelmed by the wealth of opportunities available throughout Metro Detroit this weekend. Especially for recreationists that prefer to avoid crowds and explore the wilder, lesser-known, and more intrepid areas of a destination. That's where this guide comes in. In conjunction with the litany of the Detroit region's "fan-based experiences" being marketed by our #ExpeditionPartner Visit Detroit, we've huddled up to curate this "Ultimate Adventure Guide to the 2024 NFL Draft." Experiences that appeal to both football fans and outdoor enthusiasts alike. Welcome to Draft Weekend, NFL fandom - we invite you to "go the distance" and explore the world-class outdoor opportunities found throughout the Detroit region while you're here! 1. Cycle through the "City of Champions" with Wheel House Detroit April 26th | Wheelhouse Detroit | Noon In the 1930s, the City of Detroit represented America's undisputed "City of Champions." Headline-grabbing championships won by the Tigers, Red Wings, Lions, and boxer Joe Louis cemented the Motor City as a destination for excellence - in industry, architecture, recreation, and professional athletics. With the professional sports world fixated on our city yet again, Wheelhouse Detroit invites NFL Draft attendees to explore the historic sites where Detroit's greatest athletes dazzled spectators and hoisted championship trophies. Their "Sports Heritage Tour" includes 15-mile, 3 hour cycling tour that will visit the site of Recreation Park, former home of the Michigan Wolverines; Turkey Stearnes Field at Hamtramck Stadium, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and was home to the Detroit Wolves and Stars; Keyworth Stadium, home of the Detroit City Football Club; as well as the historic sites of Tiger Stadium, Olympia Stadium, and Joe Louis Arena. Neighborhoods visited will include Corktown, NW Goldberg, Midtown, Hamtramck, and Downtown. Don't forget to bring cash for a stop at Nemo's, ranked the third best sports bar in the nation by Sports Illustrated! Cost: $45/$55 with bike rental 2. Run the #1 Riverwalk in America with Detroit Riverfront Conservancy April 27th  | Cullen Plaza | 9 a.m. If you are a first-time visitor to Detroit, please - if you do absolutely nothing else - treat yo'self by visiting the award-winning Detroit Riverwalk. Beyond representing the nexus of all of Detroit's headlines-grabbing recreational development, the Riverwalk is our go-to destination for year-round, family-friendly events, races, and outdoor relaxation. Especially at times when the whole city bursts to life like during the NFL Draft. This weekend, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is hosting a special "Football Fan Fun Run" along the Riverwalk Trail. Starting at Cullen Plaza, the event will feature 2 mile walk/run route on a loop along the Riverfront (anyone looking for a longer distance should continue through Milliken State Park and the Dequindre Cut). After the run, enjoy free rides on the Cullen Family Carousel and refreshments for purchase from the Riverwalk Cafe. All ages welcome and registration is not required. Fans are also encouraged to show up in spirit by wearing gear from your favorite team! From locals in Honolulu Blue to teams from across the country, all fans are welcome to the Fun Run! Cost: Free 3. Rediscover Detroit's Black History with City Institute April 27th  | Second Baptist Church | 1 p.m. Detroit has a deeply rich, living history. From our geography to demographics, our city's origins as a fur trading outpost, to military fortress, to modern industrial metropolis has been largely shaped by its people. Native Americans, European colonizers, immigrant laborers, and Black refugees from the American South have all left their distinct imprint on modern Detroit. Specifically focusing on the 20th and 21st centuries, Detroit's Black residents have had the most significant impact on Detroit's cultural, societal, and defining institutions. Originating with Detroit's prominent position as a final stop on the Underground Railroad, our city's Black neighborhoods have made left their undeniable mark on the world through their music (Motown Records), athletics (Joe Louis), and entrepreneurial spirit. Fortunately for all of us, our friends at City Institute provide the perfect tour for experiencing the impact of Detroit's Black history firsthand. Led by lifelong Detroiter Glen Hendricks, tour guests on the "Black History by the People that Lived It" walking tour will benefit from his personal stories and memories about Detroit over the last 70 years. On this one-of-a-kind tour, you’ll walk through downtown hearing about Glen’s experiences with some people and places that are well-known like Black Bottom, Hudson’s, and Coleman Young. You’ll also hear about Black businesses and inspirational people that even many locals have forgotten, or perhaps never knew about at all. Cost: Free 4. Explore Detroit's World-Famous Architecture with City Institute April 28th  | Book Tower Lobby | 11 a.m. As any visitor to Motown can attest, there's no skyline quite like that of Downtown Detroit. Not because it's the largest skyline in the Americas. Or the tallest. Or the fastest developing (although ground-breaking projects like the "Hudson's Site" are announced daily). Our skyline is particularly special because of its grit. Yes - inanimate objects like buildings can absolutely reflect the core values of its residents, and Detroiters are synonymous with grit. From the art deco visionaries of the early 20th century to the modern engineering marvels that are inspiring the next generation, Detroit's architectural marvels reflect a city that has reached the pinnacle of industrial might, lost it all on its road to bankruptcy, and now is redefining its glorious future. Looking to stretch your legs while exploring Detroit's architectural wonders? Book an "Art and Architecture" walking tour with our friends at City Institute. On their 2-hour, 1.5 mile tour, you will explore some of the great contributions of both prolific architects and emerging artists - while expert guides put it all in context along the way. You’ll visit The Belt Art Alley, see the works of some of the nation's most influential Black artists, discuss the monuments at Capitol Park, and experience the grandeur of the majestic Book Tower. Whether you’ve lived in Detroit your whole life or are visiting for the first time, this tour will show you why Detroit is the only city in the U.S. to be named a UNESCO City of Design. Cost: Starting at $20 5. Explore Detroit's State Parks with Expedition Detroit! All Draft Weekend | 11 Michigan State Parks and Recreation Areas near Detroit Last but certainly not least, we invite you to JOIN US in exploring the Detroit region's BEST STATE PARKS all Draft Weekend (and beyond)! Conveniently located directly along the recently-expanded Detroit Riverfront Trail, Belle Isle State Park - the gem of the Detroit River - provides an idyllic escape from the hustle and bustle of Downtown. Better yet, Expedition Detroit is licensed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to lead guided nature hikes of the island's most wild, beautiful, and least-frequented zones. Looking to experience the Detroit region's outdoor magic for yourself during the NFL Draft? Check out our openings for guided trips covering the Detroit region's most beautiful state parks. Better yet, use discount code "DETROIT2024" to save 24% on any guided adventure booked between now and April 30th (yes, even for trips that will take place after Draft Weekend). The Expedition Detroit team is proud to represent the Michigan DNR's largest commercial provider of guided hikes, backpacking expeditions, and trail running coach across ELEVEN of the Detroit region's most pristine state parks and recreation areas. Each of our guides has the field experience, wilderness first aid training, park knowledge, and outdoor passion that you can - and should - expect from any world-class trail experience. P.S. Subscribers to our content get discounts on our guided trips AND online store items... BOOK A GUIDED HIKE OF BELLE ISLE WITH EXPEDITION DETROIT! 24% DISCOUNT WITH CODE "DETROIT2024" Do you host an upcoming outdoor event that you would like to be featured in a future article? If yes, then we would love to hear from you! Please contact us at info@expeditiondetroit.com to discuss Expedition Detroit feature opportunities.

While any run is better than no run, here are the key reasons why you should trade your neighborhood route for a natural path the next time that you lace up your shoes for a trail run. Recreationists, rejoice! October in Detroit is in full swing, along with the full harvest of outdoor activities that accompany this incredible month. While October signals the start of several hunting seasons and annual pilgrimages to beautiful destinations for hiking, biking, or paddling under the changing colors, this month also marks the final training lap for primetime road and trail races. As I write these words, runners have already completed the Ann Arbor Marathon on October 2nd, while volunteers for the Detroit Free Press Marathon and Grand Rapids Marathon are actively setting up the course for this weekend’s upcoming race. Oh, and don’t forget several Halloween-themed local races , trail races, and relays that are also occurring throughout the Detroit region this month. With these races all coming to fruition, we understand that runners by this point likely have a training routine locked in. However, despite the mileage logged and lessons learned along the journey, dare we add one more piece of unsolicited advice: Make your next run a trail run. MY ROAD TO TRAIL CONVERSION STORY It amazes me how few runners actually switch up their pavement routes for an occasional trail run. Admittedly, I trained almost exclusively on concrete for my first half-marathon - I enjoyed the speed that I was able to employ along my familiar paved routes, benefitted further by the consistent elevation while running on “tamed” surfaces. In the end, that prolonged approach to training resulted in my fastest half-marathon on record, but also shattered shins, months of recovery, and an aversion to ever running farther than a 5K again. I didn’t run again for over a year. Yes, I had a bucket list goal to complete a full marathon ( still chasing it …), but the hours spent monotonously running along the same, repetitive, bland suburban routes were as appealing as studying for the LSAT again. Relatively fresh memories of grueling physical recovery were also a massive turn off to running. But, just as the final nail in the coffin containing my running aspirations was about to be struck, I noticed a Facebook ad for a different kind of race. A 10K trail race, with obstacles, known as the Warrior Dash . Looked like fun - and the polar opposite of my first racing experience. “Screw it,” I said out loud as I signed myself and my unknowing wife up for the race. Fast forward a month or so to race day and, wouldn’t you know, I’m falling in love with running all over again (much to my wife’s dismay). Apart from the festive atmosphere and plethora of obstacles to keep my mind preoccupied, my favorite aspect of the Warrior Dash trail race was that my legs didn’t hurt afterwards . Yes, this 10K race had lots of intermittent non-running obstacles, but my gut told me that the absence of concrete played a role in improving my post-race physical condition. So, I started incorporating regular trail runs into my training regimen to test this hypothesis. Well, 5 half-marathons, seven 10Ks, and dozens of 5Ks later, I whole-heartedly stand by my theory. The injuries that plagued me during my first half-marathon have never returned, along with the disinterest and boredom that characterized each of that race’s preceding road runs. After years of simply accepting the benefits of trail running for my physical and mental health, I finally decided to conduct some layman’s research on why trail runs were a critical tenant of my training regimen. THE CASE FOR TRAIL RUNNING Here are the five overarching arguments for why your next run - and most runs - should be a trail run: 1. Less Impact from Each Stride Let’s start with the obvious: running on natural surfaces consisting of dirt, leaves, mud, or grass entails less wear and tear on your joints than running on concrete. Likewise, running on softer surfaces also decreases the requisite recovery time in between runs due to the lessened risk of prolonged injury. The science behind these benefits is actually pretty simple. When you stride forward and land on your outstretched foot, the force coming down on your foot and leg is many times your body weight. That force must be absorbed, and since hard running surfaces like pavement have virtually no shock absorption qualities, all of the force from each stride must be absorbed into your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. On the other hand, softer running surfaces like dirt paths alleviate each stride’s impact so that your legs absorb less force, therefore decreasing your recovery time and likelihood of overuse injuries. 2. Improved Running Form and Total-Body Strength Full disclosure, I have been singing the praises of trail running as a means of improving running form for years, so I’m really thankful that the research supports those claims … While variable underfoot conditions pose a clear risk to a runner’s safety vs. road running (e.g., uneven terrain, loose rocks, roots, thick mud), the changing conditions of trail running force runners to slow down and intentionally place each stride during their run. The cumulative effect of constantly adjusting your strides is that your body is engaging a wider variety of muscles beyond just the quads, hips, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. More specifically, trail running engages your core muscles as stabilizers throughout your run due to the varied trail conditions, including the micro-stabilizing muscles that exist in your ankles and feet. Trail runs also give runners more bang for their buck when it comes to maximizing the cardiovascular and strength benefits obtained from a run. Trail running is a much more intense total-body workout than road running, as evidenced by the greater demand on muscles needed to tackle steeper climbs on less durable surfaces. Consequently, trail runs result in greater calorie burns than road runs, therefore allowing runners to simultaneously build more muscle while burning more calories - the ultimate win-win scenario. 3. Enhanced Psychological Benefits What happens when you remove the congestion of people, cars, advertisements, and the general overstimulation of your senses from your runs? Well, research overwhelmingly supports that the mental health benefits already received from general exercise are exponentially compounded by running in a natural environment. Especially when running through green spaces or beside water, outdoor runs have been scientifically proven to increase feelings of revitalization, energy, positive engagement, while simultaneously decreasing tension, confusion, anger, and depression. Concentrating on a rocky, muddy, or twisting trail also has a grounding effect that will take your mind off of work, domestic life, or any other real-world problems that a monotonous run can allow to creep in. Additionally, studies suggest that nature runs boost one’s creativity and capacity to think clearly via a phenomenon called “Attention Restoration Theory.” This article is a testament to that phenomenon - I first thought of this topic while on a trail run, as well as several other articles on this platform that have either been published or are in the works. Put differently, trail runs get the creative juices flowing (along with sweat). We strongly advise tapping into that power. 4. Addition of Exploration to Your Training Regimen While road running is king for immediate route accessibility, trail running adds a sense of adventure and freedom to running that jogging through your subdivision (or, god forbid, on a treadmill) can’t hold a candle to. Road running is often burdened by logistical barriers like stop lights, traffic, crowds, and air pollution that collectively damper the spirit of freedom and autonomy that characterizes every good run. Not so with trail running - yes, you may need to pass a hiker or two along the journey, but the trail will largely be yours and yours alone to explore and enjoy. Simply pick a destination, breath in the fresh air, and fully bask in the natural solitude that accompanies running through the Detroit region’s most scenic trails. Just be sure to keep your eyes open for the wildlife that you’ll surely encounter - I’ve almost tripped over squirrels, rabbits, and woodchucks several times, while a massive buck nearly trucked me like a linebacker just the other day… 5. Failed Runs Become Successful Hikes We’ve all been there - you set out on a long run where everything went wrong. Regardless of whether the temperature came in hotter than you anticipated, you took a wrong turn that added a mile or two, or you had one too many the night before and forgot that your college era recovery skills didn’t graduate too, you’ve now found yourself in a situation where you bit off more than you can chew for this run. Absent a medical emergency, most runners end up walking the rest of the planned route back to their car or house. Not necessarily a walk of shame, but definitely something similar. With trail runs, this unfortunate situation fortunately and simply turns the remainder of your run into a hike. Especially if you planned to run into a new destination that you’ve been eyeing to explore for a while, the running gods have now gifted you with an opportunity to slow down and fully-immerse yourself in a beautiful natural environment. You will still reap the physical and psychological benefits described above, but just to a slightly lesser degree. Trust us, a hike under any conditions beats the hell out of walking alongside a busy highway. We wish you nothing but success as you close out the 2022 racing season, and we hope that you find this article useful for improving your training regimen for every running event. Be sure to check out our Destinations page if you need some inspiration for the location of your next trail run. Whether on the trail or at the finish line, we can’t wait to see you out there.

This is not an April Fool's joke! After years of purposeful investment in Michigan's recreational ecosystem, major publications are finally recognizing our state's emergence as a world-class outdoor destination. The best part? We're still just getting started. "Come on, Dan, Michigan just isn't Colorado..." Staring back at me with a slight grin on his face was one of my oldest mentors. I had just finished presenting the 30,000 ft. pitch of my latest business idea - a "TBD" project informally titled "Expedition Detroit" - for a small group of outdoor enthusiasts. Although he was merely playing devil's advocate, I can admit that he had a compelling argument. As if to accentuate his point, we were sitting in a rustic Colorado ranch with a 360º view of snowcapped mountains. We had spent the day riding ATVs through the San Isabel National Forest. Truly an adventurer's paradise. "Yeah, but Colorado also isn't Michigan." I turned to make eye contact with the only other Michigander presiding over our mini episode of "Shark Tank." A Grand Rapids-born, personal wellness coach that now resides near Colorado Springs. Our conversations about the outdoor opportunities in Michigan prompted this impromptu business discussion. She gave me a wink after delivering this rebuttal, as if to say "Don't worry - they have no idea what they're missing out on." DETROIT'S (FINALLY) ON THE OUTDOOR MAP Well friends, someone, somewhere, spilled the beans on America's best kept outdoor secret. Since that June 2022 discussion, Michigan - and the Detroit region specifically - has been featured in several high profile publications as a hotspot destination for sustainable travel. From the Detroit Riverwalk's three-peat title as USA Today's "Best Riverwalk in America" to Condé Nast Traveler naming Detroit as one of its "Best Places to Go 2024," the Motor City's headlines have been driving in the right direction. Our favorite aspect of these honors? They explicitly name Detroit's recreational ecosystem as a fundamental reason for the city's resurgence and arrival on the international tourism trail. The specifically-mentioned highlights include the Riverwalk's adjacent parks and natural areas, the highly-anticipated Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park project, and the region's general initiative to "give more Detroiters access to the outdoors." But wait, there's more! Just within the last two weeks, Outside Magazine - the most infallible media juggernaut on all matters outdoor adventure - delivered TWO MORE crowning titles to our region. First, Michigan's LOWER peninsula (yes, you read that correctly - the L.P.) was named one of Outside's "23 Best Places to Travel in 2024" for adventure travel. Here's their #1 reason for the Lower Peninsula's inclusion: The Detroit Riverwalk, the city’s crown jewel, now connects to nearby Belle Isle, the southern terminus of the nearly completed 2,000-mile Iron Belle Trail. The statewide project, with hiking and biking paths to the Upper Peninsula, is over 70 percent ready following new route additions in 2023. . . The expansion of the Detroit Riverwalk—a 3.5-mile riverfront promenade voted one of the nation’s most beautiful—means easier access to Belle Isle, a 982-acre park. EXPLORE BELLE ISLE PARK WITH EXPEDITION DETROIT Don't worry, Yoopers - Outside gave you all plenty of fair credit within their supporting arguments for ALSO naming Michigan within its "8 Most Adventurous States in America," specifically claiming top prize in the Midwest. The listed "Wow Factors" include 13.6 million acres of public land, 1 national park, 2 national lakeshores, 103 state parks, 5,292 miles of hiking trails, 9,345 miles of mountain-bike trails, 3,288 miles of pure Great Lakes coastline, 51,438 miles of rivers, and 43 ski areas - the second most in the U.S. MAINTAINING MICHIGAN'S RECREATIONAL MOMENTUM As exhilarating as these recognitions are, anyone actively or recreationally involved in Michigan's outdoor ecosystem shouldn't be surprised by them. As early as 2011, Michigan shocked the recreational world by "Good Morning America" naming Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore the "Most Beautiful Place in America." The skiing world received a similar shock this past December when the U.P.'s Mount Bohemia was voted as the "No. 1 Ski Resort in North America" by USA Today. The truth is that decades of tireless, risky, and unassured hard work has been methodically invested into Michigan's outdoor industry. From large government bodies like the Department of Natural Resources and Huron-Clinton Metroparks to volunteer organizations like the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and Motor City Mountain Biking Association, our parks, trails, and waterways have been meticulously cared for by countless service hours. Just like every other aspect of our great region, these accolades weren't bestowed upon us by chance. The Detroit region's outdoors, while stunningly beautiful, do not contain the postcard-ready vistas of snowcapped peaks, tropical beaches, or colorful deserts of America's "Instagram-ready" outdoor destinations. We have had to demonstrate grit in curating our environment: preserving our parks, re-envisioning our trails, healing our rivers, and repurposing our blighted spaces. All while enduring national stigmas so unjustly bequeathed to us. The end result of our region's perseverance? We get to enjoy an internationally-celebrated outdoor ecosystem located right here in our own backyards. The fruit of consistent investment into the recreational economy of "The Trails State." An increasingly more unified, collaborative, inclusive, and sustainable outdoor industry. This article is already jam-packed with feel good headlines, but one last one to leave you with: we're still only getting started. As underlined during the 2023 Michigan Outdoor Summit, our state's outdoor recreation leaders are dedicated to establishing Michigan as a national leader in inclusivity and connectivity initiatives. We are building proverbial bridges across communities through outdoor infrastructure and outreach initiatives, while simultaneously building actual bridges connecting world-class trail networks. If you're reading this and have volunteered any amount of time toward's Michigan's outdoor industry - from trail angels to ski patrol, community organizers to philanthropists - thank you. Sincerely, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Your hard work is paying off. And we're here to support you every step of the way.

In honor of Earth Week, we embraced the challenge of thru-hiking the Detroit's region's most rigorous backpacking route: the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail. This second installment of our series on the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail traverses the most strenuous terrain of the entire journey - as well as discovering welcomed surprises to ease the "Survival Day." Rainstorms while camping: possibly the greatest paradox in the backpacking experience. On one hand, you'll never find a better "white noise" machine than Mother Nature maintaining a steady droplet beat against your rainfly. A wonderfully-deafening rhythm that beckons all weary hikers to further embed themselves into the cocoon of their warm sleeping bag. On the other hand...you're camping. Scratch that, you're backpacking. You need to emerge from the depths of your bag, pack up everything within eyesight into your backpack - including the shelter currently keeping you dry - and hit the trail. The muddy, sandy, hilly, 12-mile Waterloo-Pinckney Trail preselected as your "survival day." Yeah. Burrowing further into the sleeping bag sounded pretty good. I checked the radar, saw that the storms were scheduled to dissipate in a few hours, and succumbed to the temptation. Fast forward a few hours and it's 9:30 a.m. The backcountry equivalent of sleeping in until noon. The natural drumroll that had lulled me back to sleep has calmed to an inconsistent drip, and a lone bird call alerts me that all systems are clear for a prospective launch from the tent. The light in my cavernous backpacker's tent is noticeably brighter now too. As a final precaution, I check the radar again. Bad news. The storms are expected to linger until 2:30 p.m., albeit with brief respite periods like the next 30 minutes. The temptress known professionally as Big Agnes starts to whisper sweet nothings into my ear again, coaxing me back to my 20º-rated bag and Klymit air mattress. "No," I say so audibly that the bird quits singing, confused with the faceless tent is suddenly speaking. "This is why I brought rain gear. Time to go." The first battle of the day had been won. There would be several more to fight throughout one epic Day 2 on the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail. THE WPT: PINES RUSTIC CAMPGROUND TO GREEN LAKE Total Distance: 12.01 miles Elevation Gain: 1,405 feet Trail Rating: Moderate-Hard Route Orientation: Point-to-Point When I first started planning my thru-hike in early March, I predetermined that Day 2 would serve as the "Survival Day" of the trip. For me, this concept means allocating as many obstacles or variables to handle into one finite period as possible. The main advantage to this concept is that, theoretically, you only need to work up the gusto once to supersede the most difficult moments of the journey, thereby rewarding the effort with easier days on the backend. The main disadvantage is, well, that you need to do it. Survival Days should start with a handful small wins that carry the positive momentum forward into the larger endeavors. After successfully emerging from my sleeping bag, Day 2 kicked off with a general best practice of packing up as much as I could into my pack before leaving the tent. Once I successfully converted my backcountry bedroom into a fully-packed bag, I emerged from the tent to fire up my Jetboil and make some instant coffee (an absolute necessity). As my coffee cooled, I carefully broke down camp - folding the rainfly towards the inside to minimize soaking the rest of the tent bag - and secured my rain cover over my pack before the storm could pick up again. Which the storm did, of course, moments after I drained my last sip of coffee. I tightened up my pack, made one last sweep of the Pines Campground to confirm that Expedition Detroit had indeed "Left No Trace," and started hiking. The Waterloo-Pinckney Trail from Pines Campground starts at the day's lowest point before a gradual two-mile ascent towards the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail's highest point: Prospect Hill. Fair warning, Waterloo Recreation Area's equestrian faithful have left a heavy toll on this initial segment of the trail. The frequent rainstorms that I hiked through actually improved the sandy conditions that horse traffic have unleashed on Waterloo's bridle paths. I trekked through the first mile of marshlands with ease, although the landmines of horse poop kept me sharp-eyed and light footed. Once you cross Clear Lake Road, the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail starts getting fun. I mean really fun, or at least for anyone who enjoys rigorous trekking in the U.P. or Out West. Starting at 1.4 miles into the day, you will initiate your assault on Prospect Hill, complete with rocky straightaways and - for my first time ever in the Detroit region - legitimate trail switchbacks. While I usually dread switchbacks when backpacking Out West due to their repetitious nature, this feature of the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail provided further confirmation of one of Expedition Detroit's core beliefs: that the Detroit region has world-class outdoor experiences akin to other renown destinations. If a trail has switchbacks - and a 17% grade climb to its peak - then that constitutes a trail worth hiking. As you complete the climb, a small stone marker will gradually start to peak over the trail. This humble marker rests at the top of Prospect Hill at an elevation of 1,150 feet. This marker also signals that you have reached the "summit" of the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail. Yes, you will still need to descend and reascend several more challenging moraines before reaching Silver Lake, but take some time to celebrate this achievement. Again, Survival Days are best survived with compounding "wins," and reaching the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail's peak is most certainly a win. I celebrated by eating an "Aussie Bite" breakfast. Your next "win" - which for me was honestly more satisfying than summiting Prospect Hill - comes in the form of a weathered sign bringing tidings of comfort and joy. As you draw closer to the sign, you may start crying tears of joy because the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail FINALLY breaks off from Waterloo's bridle trails. Yes, non-equestrian friends: no more dodging horse poop, trudging through sand, or keeping your head on a swivel for riding traffic. The Waterloo-Pinckney Trail is yours and yours alone for the remainder of Waterloo Rec. The Waterloo-Pinckney Trail's string of ascents and descents leading to Crooked Lake provides one of the most beautiful and solitary segments of the entire trail experience. Especially around the 14.4 mile marker, you descend from an upper panoramic ridge line into what feels like a forested bowl, trekking alone within your own micro-wilderness. The surroundings invite you to be completely present - to indulge in the natural confines that invoke stillness, reflection, contentment, and gratitude for the experience that you've embarked on. Your arrival at the banks of Crooked Lake provides a reminder that you are still backpacking within a larger metropolitan area. A fox sighting made this moment memorable for me, but otherwise I found myself eager to start the ascent away from the lake and its several cottages and homesteads. At this point in the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail, I found myself preferring the solitude of the woods more and more with each passing mile. The trance-inducing rhythm of the intermittent rain hitting the top of my rain jacket's hood further grounded me to nature and apart from the distractions of a developed world. Or at least until I reached the Gerald E. Eddy Discovery Center roughly 7 miles into the day and remembered all of the benefits of a modern society. Roofed picnic shelter with benches perfect for drying out equipment and clothing? Check. A water fountain for filling up my bottle and cooking a proper re-hydrated lunch? Check. The cleanest bathroom that I have ever encountered in a park setting? Check. After conquering the morning's rigors on a relatively empty stomach, I allotted myself an hour to indulge in the Discovery Center's amenities. I strongly encourage you to do the same. Golden hour at Green Lake Campground The remaining four miles on Day 2 lead largely due north towards Green Lake. There is one more daunting moraine to summit approximately two miles past the Discovery Center, but as a whole this segment consists of wetland boardwalks and ridge line traverses. Similar to the prior day's experience, my calorie-depleted mind started to drift during this segment, therefore diminishing my memory now. After thoroughly examining the breadth of my relationships and life choices (yikes), I channeled this trail-induced hypnosis towards brainstorming future article ideas and innovative products or services for Expedition Detroit. Let's just say that if you're ever reading a future article and think "Where did this idea come from??", the answer is probably circa Miles 19 or 20 on the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail. Roughly five and a half hours after setting off from Pines Campground, I had finally reached the service road into Green Lake Campground. Spoiler alert, reaching this road does not mark the finish line for the day. I hiked another 0.4 miles to reach my Green Lake Campground site - the isolated Site #8 - which was conveniently located across the camp drive from the outhouses and water pump. The site also had a plethora of downed sticks to build a roaring fire with inside its industrial fire pit. Green Lake Campground was very crowded that night, including what appeared to be a family reunion at its famous yurt next to me, but I still managed to find some solitude while reading a book next to the fire - similarly to how the whole journey had started several months prior. I picked up head up to recognize one last surprise on the day - dissipating clouds and rays of brilliant gold light against the trees above me. I left my book, ran to the shoreline, and caught the final act of one of the most dramatic sunsets I have ever seen. The Survival Day was complete. And I had enjoyed every single moment of it. Do you maintain or regularly hike on a particular trail? Any suggestions for which "hidden gem" destination we should spotlight next? Let us know in the comments!

In honor of Earth Week, we embraced the challenge of thru-hiking the Detroit's region's most rigorous backpacking route: the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail. This third and final installation of our Waterloo-Pinckney Trail series covers the entirety of the Pinckney section of the trail - 14 miles of challenges, triumphs, pain, and euphoria. "Hey Pops - it's gonna be another hour or so...sorry. Today's been a wild card." Those were probably the last words that my jet-lagged father wanted to hear as he waited patiently at the Silver Lake Trailhead in Pinckney Recreation Area, and he masked his reasonable annoyance, well, reasonably. In his defense, I explicitly said that I would be arriving at the trailhead around 4:30PM. I would blow that arrival time by nearly an hour. In my defense, I never planned on arriving that evening at all. Reddit reviews and relentless rain can have that effect on a perfectly-planned itinerary. Add an ambitious, adventurous, and borderline reckless outdoorsman spirit, and you end up with a 10K day turning into a half marathon+ expedition. At a personal record-pace for backpacking. If you're asking yourself "Why would you do that to yourself?", you're definitely not alone. I was asking myself the same question between miles 7 - 14 on Day 3. But at 8 a.m. - while waking up to yet another morning of rain pelting my tent fly - I simply couldn't stomach the thought of breaking down camp (in the rain), hiking a quick 6 miles (in the rain), setting up camp again (in the rain), and then potentially repeating the process all over again the following day. If it were another 20 miles to Silver Lake, then yes, I would have kept to the plan. But 14 miles...? I could push through. Especially with a boost from the intermittent presence of my brother James of Cooke Productions, my "documentary crew" for the first half of the day. "Alright," I said to myself as I looked back down the hill at Green Lake's Site #8 to confirm that I had left no trace. "No stopping now. The way is through. Let's get it!" THE WPT: GREEN LAKE CAMPGROUND TO SILVER LAKE Total Distance: 14.21 miles Elevation Gain: 1,454 feet Trail Rating: Moderate-Hard Route Orientation: Point-to-Point If you also opt to finish the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail from Green Lake Rustic Campground - hopefully with more foresight than a game-time decision - remember that your day will start with playing some mileage catch-up. From Site #8, this meant a 0.4 mile backtrack just to get to the main trail (mile marker 20.9 on the AllTrails map). I didn't mind since I knew that my brother was waiting at the trail's parking lot to start shooting, but you should be mentally prepared for this and a few other trail redirects that add extra mileage to your half-marathon day. Once back on the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail, we immediately climbed Riley Hill to reach the highest point of Day 3's elevation (1,040 feet). This climb will feel like child's play compared to the Survival Day's oscillating climbs, but at least take a moment to congratulate yourself on achieving this first micro-win on the day. My brother and I celebrated by abruptly getting passed on the trail by an ultra runner. I actually connected with this runner later via a Facebook SE Michigan trails group, who told me that he had started at Big Portage Lake 5 hours earlier... what a badass, and also the only other thru-hiker/trail runner that I crossed paths way during the entirety of my trek across the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail. After a brief 0.1 mile descent down Riley Hill, you will be standing face-to-face with M-52. Here's an important navigational item to remember: ALLTRAILS IS NOT CURRENT WITH THE ACTUAL TRAIL ORIENTATION. At this point, turn left to follow the paved, brand-spanking-new Border to Border Trail northwest until you see a beautiful statute of a Native American woman and a tunnel under the highway. Thru-hiking treks across the United States, Canada, and the rest of the world have lots of strange "milestone traditions"; I don't know if there are any specifically associated with the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail, but I decided to kiss this woman's feet as a sign of respect and blessing for safe passage into Pinckney State Recreation Area. I wouldn't classify myself as superstitious (just a littlestitious), but the hail that had been beating us for the last 20 minutes cleared up roughly 2 minutes after completing this act. Just saying... The M-52 Tunnel is literally and figuratively a rite of passage. For starters, after 20+ miles on the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail, you are finally saying goodbye to the climbs, lakes, campgrounds, and wilderness of Waterloo State Recreation Area. Your first steps back into daylight are simultaneously your first steps into Pinckney Rec, signaling that the finish line is within reach. You have successfully hiked through the entirety of one park, and now another is just beginning. More importantly, you have proven to yourself that you are a self-reliant thru-hiker. Net-net, you should be smiling ear-to-ear as you verge off of the paved B2B Trail and continue due east on a recently-cut straightaway trail. The straightway is largely a mile-long descent towards wetlands before a moderate climb due north. Normally I would've relaxed my pace on this straightaway, taking my time to enjoy the consistent terrain and early spring sights and sounds. But not today...in a perfect storm of inclement weather, doubled mileage, and a diminishing media shooting schedule, I needed to accelerate my pace. So, despite being about 24 miles total into my thru-hike, I jogged this part of the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail to make up time. Which I knew that I would likely pay for later. At the 22.4 mile marker (as shown on the map above), you will actually leave Pinckney Rec to enter your third park of the journey: Park Lyndon County Park. The brief 1 mile passage through Park Lyndon may be the single most scenic and naturally-diverse mile along the entire trail. Starting in wetlands just east of Lake Genevieve, you quickly ascend to follow a hardwood-lined ridge through the park's southern section, complete with panoramic views to the southwest towards the lake. Once across N Territorial Road, you pass briefly through an open park area before descending into pine forest value - only to abruptly climb again to reach more ridge line panoramic vistas. To complete the full spectrum of Detroit region trail experiences, you'll finish this segment crossing boardwalks. Absolutely beautiful segment of the trail. Back in Pinckney Rec, the on-and-off boardwalks continue until you reach Embury Road at mile marker 24.1. The trail then returns to its normal form: gently rolling terrain that guides you alongside wetlands and under oak, maple, and other hardwood trees, as well as the occasional grassland meadow to permit the returning sunshine to reach your skin. I took some time to rest on a large log just west of Joslin Lake Rd. My brother brought a few trail beers with him, so I gave my legs a chance to recover after the sub-20 minute/mile pace that I had been maintaining with a heavy pack. He snapped this photo to capture the moment before leaving me to face the remaining 10 miles on the day. The first mile past Joslin Lake Road continued to be enjoyable, although the departure of my brother reminded me of the joys of hiking with another person - even if you only see them at intermittent road crossings. Past Hadley Road, however, I started to feel the cumulative effects of the past 48 hours, especially that morning's sprinted, hilly miles. The Pinckney Rec section of the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail is comparatively much easier to traverse than Waterloo's climbs, but I squandered that topographic advantage via pushing my legs. Stated differently, I found myself in a world of hurt. My legs were aching, my calories all but depleted, that morning's companion had left, and I was squarely within one of the most isolated sections of the trail. I did not see another hiker, runner, or mountain biker during that 3.4 mile stretch of beautiful yet dense, isolating forest. The only non-wood geographic feature to break up the uniformity of the forest was - of course - Dead Lake. "The way is through," I kept audibly repeating to myself. I have no idea who first coined that mantra, but I have utilized it several times in my athletic pursuits, professional projects, and personal challenges when my mind, body, and soul want nothing more than to lie down and end the present pain. "The way is through - just keep going." I should also mention here that if you are planning on camping at Blind Lake, be on the lookout for trail signs for Blind Lake around the 27.4 mile marker. I am specifically calling this out because (1) my original itinerary involved camping at Blind Lake and (2) I did not see any signs leading to the campground. Maybe my exhausted mind just simply missed the markers, but if I hadn't planned on finishing the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail on Day 3 then I would have hiked an extra mile or so before realizing my mistake. The calorie depletion really started to rear its ugly head right around the 30 mile marker past Hankerd Road. Aside from hiking in complete "zombie mode," i.e. autopilot to the point where your senses resolutely tune out every other sensation besides walking, I made one of the worst mental mistakes that you can make as an exhausted thru-hiker: I forgot about the discrepancies between AllTrails, the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail's official blue trail markers, and the actual trail's mileage. At Green Lake, I knew that my watch would read 14+ miles by the end of the day. During the course of my adventure, however, I started to believe that the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail's total mileage would be more like ~35 miles, or end at the blue "Mile 33" marker. Again, this was my energy-deprived mind giving into exhaustion, with the end result being that my extraction service arrived at Silver Lake roughly an hour early due to my miscalculation. Continuing to navigate under physically and mentally exhaustive conditions is one of many resilience building attributes of thru-hiking the the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most difficult, drop-kick-to-the-groin mental challenges all came within the last five miles of the trek. Here are the remaining two: Pickerel Lake Junction: Whoever planned this segment of the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail was a sadistic S.O.B. No, not because of the terrain which is totally manageable. At this point, you will find yourself at a crossroads of trails. One trail leads directly to the Silver Lake Trailhead. Another god-forsaken trail heads southwest, well away from anywhere that a Waterloo-Pinckney Trail thru-hiker would want to venture. Guess what friends: the direct trail is "Silver Lake Trail," which is not your route. You, oh lucky one, are headed southwest for another 2 miles of indirect fun. The 33 Mile Marker: This spot is mentally challenging for two reasons. First - especially if you've been giving looking at AllTrails - you will errantly believe that you have reached that coveted final mile. You haven't. Sorry, you have 2 more to go - including a steep final climb at the 34 mile marker. But second, and significantly more mentally-testing than the mileage disappointment, is that you'll be tempted. There's a shortcut trail right around the 33 Mile Marker that would shave off a mile, and after the litany of inaccurate trail markers that you've fallen victim to by this point, you would have a decent argument for taking it. Brothers and sisters - resist the temptation! Short term gratifications almost always lead to long term regrets. Yes, the extra mile sucks - but knowing inside that you didn't truly thru-hike the entire Waterloo-Pinckney Trail would suck even more. The Reunion at Silver Lake Well done, fellow hiker - you passed both of these tests by knocking out an additional 5K's worth of seemingly unnecessary trail. Now, finally on the main Silver Lake Trail, you are rewarded with a gradual, largely direct descent towards the finish line: the Silver Lake Trailhead. Despite all of the pain that you had probably experienced up to this point, the last half mile of the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail provides a near-religious experience. A rush of dopamine as you start to see the lake through the trees. A feeling of innate gratification as other hikers just starting their journeys look at you like a returned hero, a trail conqueror - a thru-hiker. Better yet, I had a one-person welcome party waiting for me at the finish line: my father who had just returned from Zambia the night before, jet-lagged and smiling. I tapped the 35 Mile Marker post. I crossed the threshold of the trailhead past the welcome kiosk. And with that, the inaugural Expedition Detroit thru-hike of the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail was complete. FINAL STATISTICS FOR THE ENTIRE THRU-HIKE OF THE WPT Total Distance: 37.79 miles Elevation Gain: 3,907 feet Hiking Time: 14h 38m 22s Final Thoughts: The Waterloo-Pinckney Trail should be on every Detroit-based backpacker's bucket list. You will traverse the entire spectrum of our region's best hiking - steep moraines, dense forests, expansive grasslands, and wetlands teeming with life. Regardless of whether you choose to complete the trek solo or with friends, this journey will undoubtedly leave an imprint on your perception of the immense backpacking opportunities found not only near Detroit, but throughout Michigan and the Great Lakes region. Thank you to everyone who joined us on this three-part journey! These articles were longer than usual and represented more of a personal travelogue than normal experiential content, so we appreciate your willingness to venture into the subjective subconscious of the thru-hiking experience. We hope that this series on the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail inspires you to seek out your own adventures within the Detroit region, and we will continue to seek out the world-class outdoor opportunities within our environment that are waiting for you to rediscover them. As always, we can't wait to see you out there. Do you maintain or regularly hike on a particular trail? Any suggestions for which "hidden gem" destination we should spotlight next? Let us know in the comments!