Paint Creek Trail is an

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

linear park A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and Esplanade, shorelines. Examples o ...

in northeast

Oakland County, Michigan Oakland County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its county seat, seat of government is Pontiac, Mic ...

. The course of the park generally follows Paint Creek, a stream that flows southeast towards the

Clinton River The Clinton River is a river in southeastern Michigan in the United States. It is named in honor of DeWitt Clinton, who was governor of New York from 1817 to 1823. The main branch of the river rises from wetlands and coldwater tributaries from ...

. The trail is composed of crushed limestone and has a slope of 2% going south to north, and has a width of 8 feet. The trail is administered and funded through an inter-government commission representing the townships that the trail services. Paint Creek Trail was named a

National Recreation Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

in 2006.

History

Paint Creek Trail opened in 1983 as the first

in Michigan. The trail is in the

right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

of the former

Michigan Central Railroad The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in th ...

and

Penn Central Railroad The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania Railroad, ...

lines. The original rail line was completed in 1872, and was in service until Penn Central's railroad operations were taken over by

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

in 1976. The right-of-way was purchased by the Paint Creek Trail Commission in 1983 for $450,000.

Route

The trail starts at

Lake Orion Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of ...

, then stops at South Lake Orion, Goodison Orion Road, Goodison Collins Road, Goodison Tower Road, then all stops to North Rochester Hills, then South Rochester Hills, Rochester. The unincorporated village of

Goodison Goodison is a metronymic surname, from the old English personal name Godgifu (God's gift), later simply "Goody". Goodisson is a similar surname. Notable holders of this surname include: * Sir Alan Goodison (1926–2006), British diplomat, succeeded ...

is located within the Oakland Township boundaries. The trail also crosses into Bald Mountain Recreation Area.

Activities

The trail is used for a combination of

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for happiness, enjoyment, amusement, ...

and

exercise Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardio ...

, with activities such as

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move quickly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is in contrast to walkin ...

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

, and

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the u ...

. Motor vehicles are not permitted. The trail is conducive to other outdoor activities such as

geocaching Geocaching (, ) is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called ''geocaches'' or ''caches'', at sp ...

and

bird watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

; as well as

trout fishing Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera ''Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the fam ...

in Paint Creek. 1 station had already opened in 1983 and others are under construction.

References

External links

Paint Creek Trail
{{Coord, 42.72936, -83.1596, type:landmark_region:US-MI, display=title Protected areas of Oakland County, Michigan National Recreation Trails in Michigan Rail trails in Michigan Protected areas established in 1983 1983 establishments in Michigan