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Clinton River Trails

4.1 (9 reviews)

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Mastodon interpretive site
Holly N.

Love hiking on this trail! Beautiful scenery. It's 16 miles total and runs through the cities of Sylvan Lake, Pontiac, Auburn Hills, Rochester Hills, and Rochester. It also connects to the West Bloomfield Trail and the Macomb Orchard Trail. A mixture of gravel and paved pathways with flat surfaces. Dogs are allowed too if they are on a 6 foot leash. Water fountains and restrooms are located at the different trail heads and also benches for resting or taking in the wildlife. Make sure to check out the Mastodon interpretive site. It's near the Leach Road Trail Head near Adams Rd. Very cool!

Into the evening sun
Kevin J.

I like that the Yelp listing is for Clinton River Trails instead of the actual name of Clinton River Trail. It's definitely more accurate as the long, dreary connector through Pontiac in no way resembles a trail and does indeed break this into two separate trails. I don't know why they don't brand it that way or just have the western portion be a part of the much more pleasant West Bloomfield Trail. That span is actually nice enough but is probably shorter than the brutal slog through the surface streets of Pontiac and Auburn Hills which shouldn't be attempted even if signage is so casual about it. At one point I was pedaling through the connector and passed some school kids fresh outta class entertaining themselves by throwing small rocks at each other. I picked up as much speed as I could as there seemed to be a good chance I might get stones flung at me, too. Fortunately that didn't happen but it's no Karen type paranoia on my part. There's been a couple times in my past when I've had rocks thrown at me by hood rats in rough neighborhoods. But getting past my grousing about my ill advised decision to attempt the Pontiac connector just to be a completist (I ended up aborting the mission just to do all that non-scenic huffing and puffing for nothing), I can report on the entire Real Actual Trail length of Clinton River Trails. The eastern portion is pretty nice. It somehow cuts through Rochester with a nice cover of greenery keeping you from typical suburbia. (Rochester is kind of nice and fancy and quaint at the same time anyway.) Lake Norcentra Park is very scenic and a nice place to take a break. From Lake Norcentra Park to the Auburn Hills terminus has some lovely stretches, some bridges I maybe shouldn't have crept under exploring but some very boring parts, too. That's probably unavoidable, unless they get the funding to plant long swathes of trees but in true Yelper fashion I'm just grading the experience. I completely forgot about the signs about the mastodon bones others have mentioned. It's frankly nothing interesting. A natural history museum exhibit of mastodon bones or even a careful reproduction would definitely pique my interest but just a sign saying mastodon bones were found there? Yawn. I could read about that at home on my phone. There's a lot of construction on the beginning of the western portion of the trail, at several road crossings as of the middle of 2022 and it's a drag getting off one's bike and carefully going around or sneaking through yellow caution tape where nothing much even seems to be happening. To sum up my big Debbie Downer review. This is not a good trail to bike in full. I'd recommend the eastern end through Lake Norcentra Park or doing maybe two or three miles west of Pontiac in conjunction with the West Bloomfield Trail. Its good to get exercise and see a bit of nature but I'd rank this below the Paint Creek, Macomb Orchard, Polly Ann, Stony Creek and River Bends trails. I'm looking down at my pretty pictures before I hit Post Review so I'm reminded there are nice sights to be seen here but it's really like a double album that has too much filler.

Poonam S.

This is an awesome trail! Beautiful & lots of parking available. Dirt. Easy walk running parallel to the river. Can make it more moderate since there are areas you can cross the river/go up stairs. I'd prob recommend & will be going back in the fall!

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7 years ago

The best trails Around This is a great place to hike. I am so happy I live in Michigan.

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Innovation Hills Park - Treehouse front slide has large gap that is not connected to tree house

Innovation Hills Park

4.7(42 reviews)
2.7 km

Let's get this part out of the way - The park itself? Amazing. It is modern, has plenty of options,…read moreis well maintained, and has some great nature paths outside of the playground area. In an area that features many great playgrounds and parks to take your family to, Innovation Hills has always stood out. There is a lack of options for younger children though (no infant swings?). The three stars? One of the new features of this park is the addition of Park Mobile being introduced for the main parking lot. Signs everywhere reminding you that you better have paid your $1.50 an hour! There is of course a free dirt lot across the busy road for your convenience. Or a parking 'annual pass' you can purchase from the Rochester Hills website. Our society struggles with the concept of 'the third place'. Parks and playgrounds are a haven for families and a community builder outside of work and home. What in the world is the motivation behind suddenly charging for parking? 1 - The City of Rochester Hills wants to prioritize park access for its citizens? Charging for parking doesn't keep out non-residents and in fact just causes Rochester Hills citizens to pay more for something they are already paying for. 2 - The park is often extremely crowded so charging for parking may reduce visitor count? If this was the motivation I am confident this strategy is not working. 3 - We want to encourage more families to park in the dirt lot across the street and attempt to cross a highway? I have more faith in humanity than that. Oh, I think I got it! To quote Tim Robinson's sketch 'The Driving Crooner' - "I gotta figure out how to make money on this thing..it's simply TOO GOOD!"

After a long school day, we took the kids to Innovation Hills Park, and they had a blast! The park…read morewasn't too busy, and the kids explored everything, from the playground to the jungle gym. I loved the artificial turf--it keeps the area looking nice year-round. This park has everything--playgrounds, walking trails, a serene area with ducks, and even bathrooms. I'd recommend it to any family looking for a fun day out. Definitely a great spot for outdoor fun!

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Innovation Hills Park - Tree house slide

Tree house slide

Innovation Hills Park - Lights for Christmas.

Lights for Christmas.

Innovation Hills Park

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Bloomer Park

Bloomer Park

4.6(30 reviews)
9.4 km

Bloomer Park is an excellent place for hiking and mountain biking. It's has technical mountain bike…read moretrails as well as moderate and casual. These levels are the same for hiking, so you can get a great workout regardless of experience level. There are multiple wood staircases of varying lengths, so it's great for stair climbing exercise. I've been coming here on/off for several years and have never had a bad experience. I've gone to other state parks where I've gotten swarmed by a lot of bugs, but for whatever reason, not at Bloomer. It's also great that it's located next to downtown Rochester, so food and drink after a casual stroll is accessible. I highly recommend Bloomer Park for hiking and biking activities.

My family and I went to Bloomer Park for their recent, Fossils and Riverside Campfire event (cost…read morewas $10 per person). We had a great time. It was our first visit to this city park, and I was happy to see it was nicely maintained. We only stayed and hiked through a small section of the park, but it was very clean, bathrooms were available, there was a playground for kids, small grills in sections, bike repair areas could be found, and the trails had been recently upkept. The paths we followed were simple and good for families, although I would not recommend dragging a wagon or anything like that with you. There were easy to hike sections, as well as smaller, more off-road trails perfect for those that enjoy mountain biking. There was plenty of wildlife around to view, wooden bridges for crossing streams and marshy areas, and beautiful areas to relax near the Clinton River. It was honestly a great outing, and we'll definitely be back.

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Bloomer Park
Bloomer Park - The park is beautiful in fall

The park is beautiful in fall

Bloomer Park - River next to one of the many trails

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River next to one of the many trails

Paint Creek Trail

Paint Creek Trail

4.4(25 reviews)
11.4 km

Beautiful walk - 8.9 miles if you walk the full trail according to the signage. Construction is…read morehappening now but there are detour signs along the way.

There's no greater slice of heaven on Earth than the Paint Creek Trail. I still remember the first…read moretime my boyfriend and I walked down it 4 years ago--it was mid-October and the leaves were turning golden reds and browns. We walked about a mile and a half into downtown Rochester Hills, passing by a police horse, a family of seven deer, and many bikers, runners, and walkers like us along the way. The path was clean, the nature was beautiful, and everyone we passed was just as happy to be enjoying this trail as we were. It's just as magical today as it was then. This trail is, in short, an absolute gem. If there was a list for best casual walking trails near a downtown in the US, this would top it. We've easily put thousands of miles of walking into that trail--which has its unique history of its own as a former railroad line. Through every season, from rain to sun to snow, we've been blessed to watch its beautiful trees and flora evolve throughout the years. The best part, however, is that everyone respects the beauty of it. There are trash cans spread out, but you'll never find a candy wrapper or doggy bag left in a stray bush. Bikers make themselves well heard before safely passing around a group of idle walkers. It's rare to hear runners blaring loud music, and I swear children are visibly calmer when walking through Dinosaur Hill with their parents. I genuinely believe every city in America's overall happiness levels would skyrocket if they had a trail like this. But that's what makes the Paint Creek Trail special--it's uniquely one of a kind in its simplicity and beauty.

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Paint Creek Trail
Paint Creek Trail
Paint Creek Trail - Much prettier in October than in March

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Much prettier in October than in March

Chief Gene Shepherd Park

Chief Gene Shepherd Park

4.7(3 reviews)
10.9 km

I've driven by this park quite a few times over the past year and always was impressed with how…read moreclean and cool looking it was. I finally had the time to stop in yesterday with my date and his kids to check the place out, and we both were pleasantly surprised with how much fun it was. For starters, the park is really well kept. Grass was cut, parking lot was clean and well maintained and all equipment was in good working order. After walking around for a bit, we both realized there was more to do then meets the eye from the road. There's plenty to do for both kids and adults. The one thing that drew my eye initially was the picture of the fire truck on the wall of the building they have right next to the parking lot. The park itself is named after a fire chief, thus, the fire truck theme going on here. They have tons of stuff to do here. They have a lovely covered pavilion with plenty of seating and well maintained picnic tables. They also have a play area for the kids, soccer fields, a horse shoe area, tennis courts and a sand volley ball area. They also had an area that appeared to be a Bocce Ball court, but no equipment to play the game. Also, there was a building with the fire truck painted on that I assume has bathrooms or a tribute area inside. I can't say for sure because the doors were locked and you couldn't see much through the doors. The only downfall to this park is no obvious place for bathrooms. I assume it's in the building but I cannot say for sure. I also saw a few adults walking with fishing poles and equipment. I guess you can go fishing around here as well. I believe there's hiking trails as well if your interested in that also. This park is a great addition to the community and everything about it was impressive. I am sure I will be back in the future!

The splash pad at Chief Gene Shepherd Park is beautiful. The park is beautiful and clean, updated,…read moreand filled with exciting water features for children. My family loves visiting the splash pad on hot days and I love taking them. This splash pad is perfect!

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Chief Gene Shepherd Park
Chief Gene Shepherd Park
Chief Gene Shepherd Park

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Clinton River Trails - hiking - Updated May 2026

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