Detroit Riverwalk Bike Trail. Along its 3.5-mile route, the RiverWalk offers breathtaking views of the Detroit River and city skyline. Recreational opportunities abound as the trail links Milliken State Park and numerous plazas and pocket parks. The 31-acre state park offers covered picnic areas, shoreline fishing, and a great photo opportunity with its 63-foot-tall lighthouse.
On its western end, the Renaissance Center—a cluster of seven interconnected skyscrapers, including the General Motors world headquarters—offers shopping, dining, lodging, and entertainment. A block from the GMRENCEN in Hart Plaza, the beautiful, custom-made Cullen Family Carousel features animals all native to the Detroit River, except two; a sea serpent and a mermaid.
The Dequindre Cut is a below-grade pathway. Formerly a Grand Trunk Railroad line, the Dequindre Cut is a predominately below-street level greenway that runs parallel to St. Aubin Street, between Mack Avenue and Atwater Street, just north of the Riverfront. Well-known for its examples of urban artwork and graffiti, the greenway features a 20-foot-wide paved pathway, which includes separate lanes for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
The Clinton River Trail is a 16-mile recreational trail on an abandoned rail line through the heart of Oakland County, including the cities of Sylvan Lake, Pontiac, Auburn Hills, Rochester Hills and Rochester. The surrounding landscape includes downtowns, industry, residential areas and parks. The trail roughly parallels, and frequently crosses, the Clinton River. It continues as the existing West Bloomfield Trail to the west and the Macomb Orchard Trail to the east. In Rochester, hop on the Paint Creek Trail via the Rochester Riverwalk to travel north to Lake Orion.
The automotive industry has the most impact on Macomb County’s economy, but it’s the freshly picked apples and squeezed cider that leave lasting impressions on visitors to the Macomb Orchard Trail. Named for southeastern Michigan’s heritage of bountiful apple and peach production, the 24-mile paved trail runs from Rochester’s suburbs in metro Detroit to farms and forestland surrounding Richmond. The trail follows the path of the Michigan Air Line Railroad, which connected Romeo with Richmond by rail in 1871 in an attempt to build a cross-state railroad. The Grand Trunk Western Railroad took control in 1881 and held on to it as a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway in 1971. Trail supporters urged Macomb County elected officials to buy the rail bed when the Canadian National put it up for sale in 1998.
