male and female mountain bikers riding on wooded trail
A 5-mile loop of the DTE Energy Foundation Mountain Biking Trail near Chelsea is about to open to the public.
Located in the heart of the Waterloo State Recreation Area just north of Chelsea, the Big Kame Loop at DTE is the second 5-mile mountain biking loop in the trail that will eventually be 20 miles long and connect the Huron-Waterloo Trail and the Pinckney Trail.
A grand opening celebration is planned from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 10 on the trail. Participants are invited to bring their bike, or their hiking or running shoes, to explore the trail on opening day. Visitors can bring their own food and drink to the event, as well as a charcoal or gas grill, which can be elevated off the ground. Alcohol is not prohibited at the DTE Energy Foundation Trail.
The first 5-mile section of the trail, known as the Green Lake Loop, opened in the spring of 2016. The Big Kame Loop is a bike-optimized, single-track trail that requires more intermediate technical skills than the Green Lake Loop. The Big Kame will be accessible from the M-52 trailhead at 17819 M-52 in Chelsea.
The trail is the result of a multi-faceted partnership involving local and state officials plus private foundations and volunteers. The scenic, and sometimes rugged, route will be part of a 20-mile, state-of-the-art, sustainable trail, built using “flow trail” construction.
Ron Olson, chief of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Parks and Recreation Division, said this type of biking continues to be in high demand in the state.
“This trail will become the standard for all of our other mountain biking trails in this system,” Olson said.
The full 20 miles of trail is slated for completion in 2020, with five distinctively different loops over varying terrain.
