Big M: nice ski and mtb trails by Manistee!
A friend and I just went and skied the “Big M” trails off M-55
b/w Cadillac and Manistee. (3.5 mi’s S. of M55 on Udell Hills Rd.)
What a nice, remote, quiet, hilly trail system.
We’d never skied there before and it seems like an area that
the sportsy type skiers never go to. They don’t hold any races
or events there that I’ve ever heard of. No skating trails.
But plenty of excellent singletracks set for great classic!
It seems like it’s based on the edge of a mountainous area.
Some folks we saw taking off had big packs and serious touring
gear. Looks like great map and compass and winter picnic area!
A really big ridge overlooks the parking lot. In deeper snow conditions
it would likely make a superb tele hill. Or maybe just a crazy descent.
The southern (I think) half of the trail system is based around
the Catamount loop and adds up to about 10km. It has a lot of
long steep ups and downs thru a bunch of ridges. It seems like
one of the best loops in the lower peninsula. What a great place
to ski. You get plenty of long medium-steep climbs that you can
get decent glide all the way up. Then you get really nice long,
rolling, plunging descents, too, without silly sharp turns at the
bottom that seem to plague most XC areas. —Those dumb turns
kill your speed and cause lots of crashes. Well, actually the very
last turn of the trail was a sucky lefthand bomb.
Way too sharp for the huge speed you have going and the trail was
too narrow and hardpack-choppy to toss much of a snowplow. Then
when it drops you onto a nice long downhill connector trail it does
it with pretty much a ‘tee’ intersection, which kills your speed again.
Change those last two turns and it would be one of the supreme loops.
Maybe those turns smooth out a lot with more snow anyway.
A good bit of the north half of the system was quite rough. On the black
loop called “Oh No II” it seemed like they had trouble with a snowmobile
trespasser. That 5k loop is full of steep ups and downs. If the trails
are dicey you really should use touring skis with soft flex for
downhill control and doable climbing. Most hills require herringboning,
but maybe with better tracks and softer skis, an expert could
ski up most of them. I’d say that side was at 50%. With more snow
and a good track, getting out there and back adds up to a killer 10k
classic loop as well (some nice blue connectors take you out and back).
“Catamount”: south side: long steep wonderful cruisers up and down, 10k.
“Oh No II”: north side: med length very steep ups and downs, 10k.
20k = no two trails skied twice, you cover lots of terrain.
A really good less well known trail system! Just put $5 in the pipe–
honor system payment.
