This was our first time to ride our bicycles on the 14 mile round trip Raisin River Heritage Trail.
The asphalt and concrete paved trail starts from the trailhead parking lot at Munson Park a couple miles west of downtown Monroe and runs eastward along miles of the picturesque Raisin River. It winds across the river on a pedestrian bridge in the very heart of downtown Monroe.
Continuing eastward, the trail runs past the Raisin River Battlefield Park (site of a battle in the War of 1812) before entering Sterling State Park on Lake Erie. Here, the trail offers some sweet views of nature in environmentally protected wetlands.
Despite the great views, there are two big drawbacks to this 14 mile round trip trail.
First, much of the trail in the city consists of uneven narrow sidewalks making it impossible to ride side-by-side.
Next, and even more impactful, the asphalt surface of the eastern-most section of the trail in Sterling State Park is extremely rough and bumpy with cracks and buckles every few feet. It is impossible to maneuver through this minefield of bumps and cracks at more than 5 MPH. This area is in desperate need of a repaving.
Overall, the quality of the trail's pavement greatly diminished the pleasure of the scenery on this bike ride. The Heritage Trail unfortunately earns a fair rating of 2 stars. read more