Whether it's for transport, recreation, exercise or sport, this page is to help you enjoy biking in the City of Ann Arbor Parks and Natural Areas. For information about on road cycling around town, including safety and bike maps, visit the City of Ann Arbor Transportation cycling page here. Select a park below to learn about the trails or scroll below to learn more about trail etiquette, encountering nature, volunteer opportunities or reporting trail concerns. Please note that all trails below are shared-use paths designed to accommodate and welcome movement of walkers, runners and cyclists. However, ebikes are not authorized for use on natural surface trails in the City of Ann Arbor. Visit www.michigan.gov/dnr for electric bike classification and information.
Ann Arbor Parks & Recreation Bike Parks Survey Update
Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2021 bike recreation survey. We heard from over 260 individuals representing all ages. It was really fantastic to get so much feedback and to see how much bike recreation is happening in the parks! You can view the comments and feedback here .
Connect with Bike Park Volunteers and Enthusiasts:
To connect with other cyclists or to connect with Ann Arbor's cycling community, we invite you to follow the independent, volunteer managed Ann Arbor Bike Parks Facebook page.
To learn about the Bike Recreation Advocacy Group and their efforts to improve cycling in our City, check out the November 16, 2021 presentation at the Parks Advisory Commission. The pdf of their presentation can be viewed
here.
The Ann Arbor (Local) Loop
Each year, thousands of Southeast Michigan cyclists enjoy riding the Ann Arbor Loop—a choose-your-own-adventure menu of interconnecting trail segments. Trailforks can help you discover trails but please note that crossing railway tracks or other private property is not legal.
Bandemer Park features a dirt jump, pump, and flow park for cyclists of all levels and all bicycle types: MTB, BMX, DH, XC, enduro, cyclocross, scoot-bikes, fat-bikes, trials, gravel, and more.
Bandemer Bike Park rules outline the risks and best practices for riding.
Constructed in 2009, the park offers a starting hill and a series of doubles, tabletops, step-ups, hips, rollers/moguls, and berms of varying size. Grab your bike to enjoy the flow or find a bench seat to enjoy the show. All are free to ride when the dirt is dry or join our community of volunteers to restore and maintain the park when the dirt is wet. The bike park is free of charge and open from sunrise to sunset every day. View the 2009 proposed course map here.
Volunteer Bike Park Restoration Days
Volunteers have been hard at work restoring and improving the bike parks at Bandemer Park and Tuebingen Park. Check out the 2023 Bike Park Highlights for recent activity and volunteer happenings. GIVE 365 has partnered with cycling enthusiasts to promote and facilitate volunteer opportunities. For more information about volunteer efforts or to get involved, contact
[email protected].
Drop in volunteering is ongoing
Please look for sign in instructions at the park for logging hours and providing a record of the many ways in which the bike community is caring for and maintaining this bike park.
Barton Nature Area Trails
Barton Nature Area Trails features several loops of single-track MTB/XC trails suitable for beginner and intermediate riders. Trails are multi-use—welcoming cyclists, hikers, runners, and more.
Bluffs Nature Area Trails
Bluffs Park features a hilly off-road array of single-track MTB/XC trails with many other park connections. With challenging climbs and tight-knuckle downhills, Bluffs Park is a local MTB/Enduro favorite. Again, trails are multi-use and open to hikers and runners.
Border to Border Trail
The
B2B Trail is a 35-mile, 10 foot wide, ADA accessible, paved pathway consisting of 8 different trail corridors that connect you to cities, parks, and many destinations throughout Washtenaw County, Michigan. You can bike, walk, inline skate, run, bring your pet (on a 6-foot leash) and of course, walk. Everyone is welcome! Visit the Border to Border interactive trail map
here.
Cedar Bend Nature Area Trails
Cedar Bend Nature Area offers Ann Arbor's most challenging downhill MTB/Enduro trails. A serious climb (or bus ride) up Broadway Street connects to Baits Dr. and/or Cedar Bend Dr.—both of which offer access to the trailhead. Cedar Bend Nature Area offers a choose-your-own-adventure of trails weaving downhill, leading either to Island Drive or (for a longer ride) to the lower segment of Cedar Bend Drive ending at Fuller Road.
Dhu Varren Woods Trails
Dhu Varren Woods Nature Area features a hilly, forested single-track trail segment. Trails are multi-use and open to hikers and runners.
Kuebler Langford Trails
Kuebler Langford Trails include an array of single-track MTB/XC trails suitable for beginner and intermediate riders and shared with walkers and runners.
Leslie Park
to Pontiac Trail To Whitmore Lake Road (Arrowwood Hills/Cloverdale & Onder Park Trails)
The hilly, forested trail network connecting
Leslie Park to Pontiac Trail, then connecting to Whitmore Lake Road (passing beside Arrowwood Hills Cooperative, Cloverdale Park, and Onder Park), features several single-track MTB/XC/Enduro trails suitable for beginner to advanced riders. The trails include some small jumps, switchbacks, ladder bridges, and a cement tunnel. This trail network is a fun, local favorite! And is also open to hikers and runners.
Mary Beth Doyle Park Trails
Mary Beth Doyle Park features an array of single-track MTB/XC trails suitable for beginner and intermediate riders with several advanced (trials skills) features including narrow boardwalks, and wood terraced ascents/descents. Don't be surprised to find a family of deer as your ride. Open to hikers and runners.
Olson Park Trails
Olson Park features an array of single-track MTB/XC trails suitable for beginner and intermediate level riders along with several advanced features including a tabletop jump, rock features, and switchbacks. A trail map is provided at the marked trailhead, including instructions for direction of travel and general rules for trail use. During extremely wet conditions or spring thaw, please join volunteers and help restore and maintain the trails or ride the paved trails around the pond. All trails within the park are multi-use—welcoming cyclists, hikers, runners, and more. Enjoy viewing the great blue herons, geese, ducks, and occasional swans while riding around the pond. Or, enjoy a climbing break at the bouldering wall (low rock climbing wall) beside the playground. On occasion, a dedicated duo of volunteers generously mow the trails to keep them groomed.
Traver Creek Nature Area Trails
Traver Creek Nature Area features a dirt/off-road two way single-track MTB/XC trail suitable for all levels of riders as well as hikers and runners.
Tuebingen Park
Tuebingen Park features a dirt/off-road pump track and several downhill dirt jump lines with doubles, tabletops, shark fins, hips, rollers, and berms. A dirt jumper's playground, Tuebingen Park Cycling Area draws riders from across SE Michigan! Tuebingen Park also features a segment of downhill/uphill single-track MTB/XC trail connecting to Stapp Nature Area, and the park is near Traver Creek Nature Area, Leslie Park, Dhu Varren Park and several other parks. Please note this rider built course is for more experienced riders and is ride at your own risk. View
Tuebingen Bike Park rules, risks, and best practices. For any maintenance or safety concerns related to the condition of the course, contact parks staff at [email protected].
Encounters with Nature
Most trails will take you into and through natural areas. Natural Area Preservation (NAP) works to protect and restore Ann Arbor's natural areas and to foster an environmental ethic within the community. Visit
Natural Area Preservation to learn more about the wildlife and habitats we share with amphibians and reptiles,
birds,
invasive plants,
native plants,
pollinators along with other considerations when
recreating in nature areas.
Special note on turtles
Many of our parks along the river, and those that have bodies of water within them, are home to several species of turtles. In the late spring and early summer, turtles dig nests in areas with loose soil or wood chips, lay their eggs, and cover them up again. You may see them nesting along trails, in playgrounds/volleyball courts, or in the open dirt areas of the jump courses. If you see a turtle nesting, or if you discover turtle eggs, please do not disturb them. Call
Natural Area Preservation (NAP) at 734.794.6627, or email
[email protected]. If possible, please send a photo or the coordinates of the nest, or leave something on the nest to mark it, like with two sticks in the shape of an X. This will make it easier for NAP staff to find. Turtle nests are especially vulnerable to being dug up by predators like raccoons and skunks, so we make every effort to either protect them, or relocate them to a safer area.
Volunteer
There are ongoing and limitless opportunities for volunteering and getting involved with the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Services Unit. GIVE 365 which includes the seasonal Adopt-a-Park Program, coordinates volunteer opportunities primarily in the non-natural areas but are a partner for bike park work days or special project ideas related to bike recreation. Natural Area Preservation also has volunteer opportunities that support their mission and involve volunteers in all aspects of maintaining biodiversity and restoring damaged ecosystems. NAP advises and approves independent trail maintenance projects. If you are feeling the call to volunteer or give some time, reach out or explore the websites above to see what’s upcoming or how to get started.
Report a Problem - A2 Fix It
To report any trail maintenance issues or other problem during your park visit, please report through A2 Fix It. When reporting an issue in a park, and especially within a nature area, please include location details. There is a details and description section near the end of the request process to help you provide this. In addition, users can utilize the pin (website) or X (mobile app) feature to provide specific location information inside the park. Finally, please consider including a wide angle photo or include background landmarks, along with any descriptive details that will help staff find and fix the problem more efficiently. From fallen trees to problems finding a trail, you can report it through A2 Fix It and your comments will be directed to the proper staff for addressing.
Please email [email protected] to submit any photos and descriptions of trails and cycling areas or to share corrections and/or updates to this page. Happy cycling!
