17.0 miles
Distance
876 ft
Climb
-881 ft
Descent
01:42:39
Avg time
Supporters, Builders, Maintainers & Land Managers of Potawatomi Trail
Potawatomi Trail Details
-
Activities
- Mountain Bike
- Hike
- Trail Running
-
Riding AreaPinckney Recreation Area
Pinckney, Michigan -
Difficulty Rating
-
Voted DifficultyBlue (2 votes)
-
Trail TypeSingletrack
-
Bike TypeAM, XC, Fat
-
DirectionOne DirectionPopular direction shown
-
Dogs AllowedYes
-
eBike Allowed
-
Global Ranking
-
Local Popularity100 in Mountain Biking [+]
- 100 in Trail Running
- 95 in Hiking
-
Land Owner
Here, 20 miles northwest of Ann Arbor, you’ll find three trails: the 17-mile Potawatomi Trail, the 5.1-mile Crooked Lake Trail and the 1.9-mile Silver Lake Trail. The routes are shared with hikers. If you double the length of Pontiac Lake and replace the rocks with roots, you have Poto. Trails from 1.9 to 17.5 miles round trip.
Biking season: All year (8 a.m. to 10 p.m.). Other activities include bicycling, boating, camping (reservation), canoeing, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, picnicking, swimming, water skiing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling. Dining in Chelsea, Dexter, Pinckney.
Trail map available on DNR website.
Local Trail Association
-
-
Please consider joining or donating to the local trail association to supportdonate to earn trail karma!
trail development & maintenance.
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Potawatomi Trail multi-use trail trail
-
Altitude change-5 ft
-
Altitude min878 ft
-
Altitude max1,001 ft
-
Altitude start898 ft
-
Altitude end892 ft
-
Grade-0%
-
Grade max-22.6%
-
Grade min19.6%
-
Distance climb7 miles
-
Distance down7 miles
-
Distance flat3 miles
-
Avg time01:42:39
-
Avg reverse time01:56:32
- view trail stats
close
3D
Trail Conditions
- Unknown
- Snow Groomed
- Snow Packed
- Snow Covered
- Snow Cover Inadequate
- Freeze/thaw Cycle
- Icy
- Prevalent Mud
- Wet
- Variable
- Ideal
- Dry
- Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
- > 96%
- > 90%
- > 80%
- > 70%
- > 50%
- < 50%
- bi-directional trail
- no data
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
- < 2 days
- < 1 week
- < 2 weeks
- < 1 month
- < 6 months
- > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
- Downhill Only
- Downhill Primary
- Both Directions
- Uphill Primary
- Uphill Only
- One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
- Description
- Photos
- Description & Photos
- Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months.
Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades.
Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
- most popular
- popular
- less popular
- not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches
Radar Time
x
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
- mountain biking recent
- mountain biking (>6 month)
- hiking (1 year)
- moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
- Downhill Ski
- Backcountry Ski
- Nordic Ski
- Snowmobile
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
Only show trails with NO bikes.
Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.
Save
Directions to potawatomi-trail trailhead
(42.415080, -83.964570)
update trails status or condition
Potawatomi Trail Trail Reports
view all reports »
Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail
Past Week
- 0 rides
6 Months
- 112 rides
- 21 miles avg distance
All
- 1,937 rides
- Last: Aug 12, 2022
Photos
more »
Routes with this trail
more »
Trail Events
5 Reviews & Comments
craigpaul2000
(May 2, 2022 at 17:25)
(May 2, 2022 at 17:25)
Respect for this trail. Agree with above that elevation gain is about 1540. Don't come out here and think it's 890, you'll be angry. Many many many punchy climbs and couple longer ones. good flow.
[Reply]
steelispossiblyreal
(Sep 27, 2020 at 11:35)
One of the premier old school trails in the region. Some crazy fast sections and technical descents/climbs. Lots of little natural root booters to get some air. Also the elevation is more like 1500-1600, not the Trailforks amount posted.
[Reply]
krisramp79
(Jun 11, 2020 at 17:16)
Rode this on Memorial Day, very tough for a beginner, lots of hills, I guess that’s what they call it “serious hills” lol...overall lots of hills and definitely not for a beginner.
[Reply]
dancash
(May 7, 2019 at 13:08)
I really enjoyed this trail. My legs were definitely cooked by the end. Some surprisingly gnarly descents and a lot of up and down. Most of it is double track width and nice and flowy. Whoever built those benches out there has my thanks. Lots of opportunity for scenic views of the lakes while you rest your legs.
[Reply]
Videos
more »
youtuber
![The Potawatomi Trail • A Classic Michigan...]()
14:47 |
716 |
Apr 27, 2020 , Pinckney
1:47:08 |
42 |
Dec 28, 2022 , Pinckney
15:19 |
272 |
Jun 2, 2021 , Pinckney
4:24 |
303 |
Oct 12, 2020 , Pinckney
Nearby Trails
- Crooked Lake Trail 1,972 ft
- Silver Lakes Trail 3,780 ft
- Silver Hill Road 5,131 ft
- Potawatomi Trail Shortcut 4 miles
- Potawatomi Trail Shortcut 5 miles
Pinckney Recreation Area
- embed Potawatomi Trail trail on your website
- By brenthillier NSMBA TRAILFORKS & contributors
- #42067 - 10,168 views
- subscribe
- login to download gpx or kml files.
To use the shortcut, go right at the shortcut sign by the bench, go left when the single track ends at a dirt road, stay straight across the highway (watch for fast traffic!) and look for the trail that crosses the dirt road. Go right on that trail (there’s a stop sign for trail users entering the dirt road) and you’re back on the Poto.
I always refill water at the Blind Lake pump - its iron content is much lower than the Silver Lake pump.