With both my jobs being deemed non-essential :( I've had a lot of time on my hands the last two months and haven't always wanted to spend it sequestered inside. Cycling trails have been a welcome diversion that have allowed me to get some sunshine, exercise and maintain social distancing. So I've been hitting them pretty hard.
I've made no less than 4 trips to the roughly 24 mile Macomb Orchard Trail, traversing it's entire distance twice over and then some. It's great that it's paved the whole way through, though I also don't mind dirt trails like the Paint Creek Trail over in Oakland County or the adjoining Clinton River Trail which you can take over to that aforementioned route. It's cool a big interconnected biking system is starting to take shape.
The Richmond to Romeo stretch of the MOT is absolutely lovely. On my first visit here I went from Richmond to a couple miles past Armada and back. Just a couple evenings ago I biked the Richmond to Armada span again, just cause the first time trees were still bare since spring takes so damn long to arrive lately, and I really wanted to experience the trail in full greenery. The surrounding fields, adjacent trees that sometimes provide a full canopy and the occasional stream make this section absolutely bucolic. (You can Google that word if you have to; I won't hold it against you.) The grain tower when you arrive in Armada is a nice icon, too.
The Armada to Romeo span is beautiful, too, with similar scenery, a nice big bridge over one of the branches of the Clinton River and the pedestrian bridge over M-53 with it's facade made to look like a big red barn providing Instagram fodder and drawing attention away from a very suburban disruption roaring by below. There's also a nearby Subway in Romeo I hit up for some much needed sustenance. Richmond to Romeo gets 5 stars.
The Romeo to Rochester Hills stretch of the trail is considerably less scenic, often running near main automotive thoroughfares and just beyond very banal suburban backyards. (There's some small stretches like that in Richmond and Armada, too, but they have more small town charm as opposed to the beige and muted brown McMansionville of Washington and Shelby Townships that stretch on and on.) There's still some scenic parts in this span but it's nowhere near as pleasant as the East-West spike between Richmond and Romeo. I guess stretches like this are inevitable if you're striving for a big interconnected trail system but I'm not keen to bike this section again.
Keep your eyes open at 25 Mile (I think) and Mound, too. (There's a cemetery at the corner there.) I missed the sign saying the trail makes a turn there, continuing along an identical looking sidewalk. Sidewalk is rare in this parts, which seem pretty hostile to pedestrians and cyclists to me, so when the sidewalk inevitably ran out I had to bike on the dirt shoulder of the road for about 3/4 of a mile before I could reconnect with the trail.
Romeo to the edge of Shelby at Dequindre I give 2 1/2 stars, since I can do half stars if it's not an official Yelp rating. But I have to round up to 4 anyway since I can't do half stars. read more