Clinton River Trail

A Rail-to-Trail stretching between the West Bloomfield Trail to the west and the Macomb Orchard Trail to the east. The Paint Creek Trail also has its southern terminus at a point in Rochester Hills. The map shown here shows the entirety of the Clinton River Trail. The trail crosses many roads, so there are many trailheads throughout Rochester Hills and Pontiac. From the Offical Clinton River Trail map: Originally used by Native Americans as a route around the vast swamplands between Rochester and Detroit, this trail follows the Clinton River through most of its journey across Oakland County. The Grand Trunk Railroad, originally called the Michigan Air Line, laid down a rail bed along this route in 1879. When the railroad divested this portion of the rail line in 1998, The Friends of the Clinton River Trail group formed and became the catalyst for acquiring this property for trail usage. This led to the formation of the Clinton River Trail Alliance that pursued funding sources to purchase the property and developed the Clinton River Trail Master Plan to coordinate a seamless connection of the trail through the five member communities. Grant funding from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund and GreenWays Initiative, as well as from the five individual cities made the land purchase possible, while funding from the Michigan Department of Transportation is assisting in the trails development. The ultimate goal of connecting this trail to a regional trail network is surely becoming a reality.