The Clinton River Trail is a rail-trail that extends across 16 miles of Oakland County, Michigan, through suburban, urban and rural portions of Detroit's northern suburbs.
The CRT follows a former rail line once known as the Michigan Airline through the heart of Oakland County, including the cities of Sylvan Lake, Pontiac, Auburn Hills, Rochester Hills and Rochester. It connects with the West Bloomfield trail to the west and the Macomb Orchard Trail to the east, and the Paint Creek Trail branches off to the north. The CRT is part of a planned cross-state trail, the Great Lake to Lake Trail, which will extend from Port Huron to South Haven when completed.
The first segments of the CRT opened in 2003, and the trail is complete except for a 3.5-mile temporary route section through parts of Pontiac. The temporary route includes both street and sidewalk sections. A complete, downloadable PDF map of the CRT is here.
The trail has a variety of surfaces, ranging from crushed limestone to pavement. The majority of the trail is unpaved, and while some users handle the trail on a road bike with no problems, please be aware that bicycles with very narrow tires may not be optimal for use on the CRT.
