Petoskey, Michigan Bicycle Trails

September 2015

We bicycled on a couple of the area trails from Petoskey State Park, and we are planning to visit again soon! Following is some information to assist future visitors. Additional trail photos can be found in the Petoskey album on our Facebook page. 

Martha Cavanagh Cameron Preserve

Little Traverse Wheelway

The Little Traverse Wheelway is a fabulous 26-mile paved trail between Charlevoix and Harbor Springs.  This trail is accessible from Petoskey State Park. We traveled on the trail a short distance in both directions.  

stop between Petoskey State Park and Harbor Springs

The route to Harbor Springs from Petoskey is mildly hilly. We stopped at Martha Cavanagh Cameron Preserve, and the elevation change was 643 feet from the state park. This stop is just over two miles north of the park. There are a couple of benches and some hiking trails at Martha Cavanagh Cameron Preserve, although there are no facilities.

D & W Food Market and a few shops are located south along the bicycle trail very close to the state park. The distance to downtown Petoskey from the state park is just over three miles. There are a couple of different ways to get downtown. The most obvious way to get there was to take the underpass from Little Traverse Wheelway in Bayfront Park. That is how we traveled to and from town this trip, although that is not the route we plan to take next time!

Downtown Greenway

The day after we had taken Little Traverse Wheelway to downtown Petoskey, we saw the Downtown Greenway sign from our vehicle. We plan to take this route from the state park next time. The underpass on Little Traverse Wheelway has a ramp, although it is more of a wheelchair ramp than a bike ramp. 

The access to Downtown Greenway is across from Kilwins Chocolate Kitchen, and there is a sign for Kilwins on the Little Traverse Wheelway. Once you get out in front of the store, you can see the Downtown Greenway sign across the street. There is a stoplight and crosswalk to cross M-31.

North Western State Trail

The North Western State Trail is another fabulous trail in the area! This 35-mile trail runs between Petoskey and Mackinaw City. The route to Alanson from Petoskey is 7.5 miles, and it is paved. There are a few scenic and retail stops along the way, including Petoskey Brewing. 

view of Round Lake from a stop on North Western State Trail

Area breweries - Petoskey Brewing, Beards Brewery, Mackinaw Trail Winery & Brewery, Boyne Highland beer festival

We visited all of the breweries listed above (not in the same day!), and that blog post review can be found here.

Let me know if you have any questions, and please feel free to share this post!