I am moving to Detroit MI sometime next week and was wondering if there are many decent places to ride near the city. I am going to working on MI ave but have NO idea where I am going to be living. Is there anywhere near the city (30 minutes or so away) where I can live and ride locally? Also any ideas where a country boy would want to live up there?

 

The only riding areas I know of near Detroit are the Mounds near Flint and the Maumee State Forest near Toledo, Ohio.

 

code54

I live near the Maumee State forest riding area. It isn't much of a riding area, but its ok when you just need to get out and ride. The Maumee State Forest riding area would be about 1 1/2 hours from Detroit. You would be better off going north. I used to commute to Detroit for work. Downtown Detroit isn't that nice of a place. As said before, there are not many legal places to ride in the area, however, upper Michigan has some excellent places to ride. Just get used to planning weekend trips up there to ride. As for where to live, that depends on what your looking for. Many of the people that I worked with lived north of the city in Southfield and Troy. If you want a country type setting, I would suggest either south toward Monroe or west toward Ann Arbor.

 

Code54,
Welcome to Michigan.My name is Bill and I have lived in Mi my entire 44 yrs.Im advising you to NOT reside in the Detriot area.It is the CRIME capital of the State and very dangerous at times.

ATVing?
I am a licensed ASI [ATV Safety Instructor]Im a member of the CCC or the Cycle Conservation Club of Mi.Im also a member and Safety Instructor for MATVA or the Michigan All Terrain Vehicle Association.I highly recommend joining MATVA if you take your ATVing seriously.Membership is only 20 bucks for one person a yr,or the ENTIRE family can join for 35 bucks a yr.

Riding?
There is NOTHING legal in lower Mi to ride.The closest place to ride near Detriot is about an hr north called the Mounds.I ride it alot since I only live about 7 miles from it,however,we have LOTS of riding ares starting about an hr north of the Mounds.Myself and members of MATVA do ALOT of wk end riding in the northern part of our State and we'd be proud to show you around.

Let me know?

Bill

 

Thanks!! how do I go about joining and is there a web site for the club? It looks like I will be moving in under 2 weeks so I want to start finding places to ride and things to do.
Is the traffic bad around Detroit and is there ANY decent small towns within 30 minutes or so of the city? My job has me asigned to the MI ave. office.
Thanks!!
Scott

 

Scott,
My very good friend Chuck is from Ecorse Mi[not far from Detroit] and can tell you better where to look for a home at.Chuck is also a member in high regards to MATVA.He is also a responsable trail maintenance boss for MATVA.You can call the office of MATVA 1313-565-3818 and request a membership application or you can wait till you get here in Michigan to join?I also have application forms to join the Assoc if you'd like,but the money and form still has to be sent to the office.

The MATVA web site is www.miatvassoc.com

The traffic in Detroit Mi is the worst in the entire State,especially near early morning rush hr and rush hr when returning home from work.

Im going to call Chuck tonight and tell him to respond to this forum so he can guide you in the right direction as far as a home goes.He goes by the name of ECORMAN in these Forums.Look for his post a little later.

Best Regards,
Bill

 

Code

Detroit traffic is absolutely horrible. The drivers on 696 travel anywhere from 80-85 in the morning in bumper to bumper traffic. Any wonder that there is always several multi car crashes. I wouldn't rush into buying house. Look around first. Like Bill said, there are several nice towns not too far from Detroit if you are willing to travel a little ways to work. On the other hand, there are several real cheap houses in the Springdale/Livernois avenue area LOL (you won't appreciate this until you actually see these neighorhoods). Who do you work for? If you are into outdoors at all (including atv stuff), you will need to check out Cabelas in Dundee. It is about an hour from Detroit and is truely a great store to visit. You will be in awe at the amount of stuff they have for trucks and atvs.

 

Thanks for ALL the information. He can email me at snoullet@hotmail.com if he wishes. I think I will wait and join soon as I get up there. That way at least I will have an address to give!!! HAHA!
What all goes on for the winter, anyone do any riding or is there too much snow and cold weather. Right now I have a Rancher 4x4 and maybe going totbuy a second quad soon (small sport type - something quick and light to jump and sport ride with.) Is there any motocross type tracks around? I guess if the weather is "bad" enough maybe I should go with a snowmobile!
Thanks again for all the help!
P.S. I have heard Cabellas is awesome up there. I been to the one in NE and it was well worth the 3 hour drive we made to get to it. If there is one only 1 hour away I am going to be broke!! HAHA

 

SCOTT---I also ride a 4x4 and winter does NOT stop me from riding.Just have to dress warmer!I also have a plow for my ATV and it seen alot of work last snow season.Usually,you dont need a snowmobile in the lower part of our State if your ATV is a 4x4.I no longer have any snowmobiles since riding 4x4 quads.I may try and talk you into a more agressive tire for your Rancher though,they REALLY help out the traction ALOT over stock tires in the bad mud/snow.I can get you an excellant deal on them to from Rocky Mountain Catalog if your interested?

Once you get settled here in Michigan,me and my gang [MATVA members] will show you a good time on the trails in Michigan.In fact,in early October,we were going to plan a trip to the U.P of Michigan for a wk end of nothing but sights,riding and food.Our Fall months are beautiful.The colors on the leaves are splendid and the wide open area of the northern country makes you wish you did'nt have to go home so soon.Not a whole lot of mx track,but some of our trails will leave you thinking you just finished a mx race?

Bill

00 Xplorer 400cc 4x4

26 inch Mudrunners
Modified PSI pipe w/scrambler silencer
RcR airbox mods
KN and Uni filters
SideWinders titanium sprockets/chain
Heel Clickers Clutch kit
Delta V-Force reeds w/spacer kit
GPS [that I dont know how to use yet?]

If you want to come in second? ''FOLLOW ME''

 

So the winters are not that bad, good! I ended up putting Mudrunners on the rancher and they are GREAT! I think they should be good in snow (have not tried them in it yet however) I would recommend them to anyone who needs tires for general use as well as mud. I also added a Warn 2500 winch, full skids, CV guards, Moose handguards, and a rack box. Maybe next will be a set of heated grips. I would think they would be pretty nice in the winter months.
I am trying to find a place that will let me store my ATV where I live, if I can I would love to head up North and do a little riding. I already got MI ATV guide and some other info. I guess I will have to reg my ATV soon as possible so I can get the plates MI requires.
Are the dunes as awesome as I keep hearing? Are they far from Detroit? I have never rode on sand and it does look like it would be a blast!
Thanks again for the info!
Scott