Sandy Beach Trailhead - The Dragon
Sandy Beach Trailhead – The Dragon is a scenic, well-maintained multi-use trail area ideal for biking, hiking, jogging, and walking. It features varying trail difficulties suitable for families, including kid-friendly hikes, and is wheelchair accessible. The trail offers beautiful views, spots for picnicking, and activities like kayaking. It is a two-way trail popular for mountain biking with rollercoaster-like flow and natural terrain. Visitors should be cautious of bikers and glass on the trail and bring their own water and supplies as amenities like water fountains and concessions are not clearly available.
Reviews
So…unless I can walk, I cannot use this trail. So what makes it handicap accessibleNULL I guess it is allowed to push a wheelchairNULL My new, very quiet mobility scooter, designed to take me places I cannot go on my own is not welcome? While I appreciate WHY noisy sport vehicles are not allowed, what do persons like myself do when unable to access “handicap accessible” trails except with a “motorized” vehicle. Just wanted to go with my 5 yr old nephew on a “bike” ride and see where I used to swim! I understand why vehicles are restricted. I am only questioning the handicapped accessibility of the trail. I sure would love to hike some of these places again. Maybe I should have purchased a ? walker instead of a ? mobility scooter.
The portion of the trail that we hiked was gorgeous! The trails are narrow, but well maintained. If you are walking, be prepared to step off the trail for bikers. There are places to stop to use the restroom along the way, but we didn’t find a place to get water or to purchase beverages. You may want a backpack to carry your own. We only walked a few miles, but plan to return with our bikes to do more. Definitely worth a day trip. Highly recommend!!
Great hiking with beautiful scenery. I was here mid-week, so it was quiet and only saw one other person on the trail. I brought my kayak and also enjoyed kayaking in the pond. I did find it challenging to find the trailhead, but there were plenty of paces to park.
-updated 2/25-
Now that the trail is complete, an update is in order:
This review is for the Dragon Trail itslef, not any of the associated parks or campgrounds and is coming from the point of view of an avid-but-not-professional MTB dad who just loves to ride Michigan trails.
The short version here is this: if you’ve ever wanted to ride a rollercoaster on your mountain bike, this is the trail for you. That said, there are several levels of “rollercoasteryness”, so pick your rides carefully.
The official trailhead parking is on the northwest side of the Hardy Dam, then you have to cross the road by the marina to pick up the actual trail. From there it’s all two-way riding, so keep your eyes open for other riders or hikers/etc, as it is a multi-use trail! But it’s nice that since it’s two-way, you can ride as far as you want then just turn back whenever you want. There are several parks you can start from, all of which have some kind of parking fee requirements.
To get into a bit more detail about the trail itself, it ranges from easy and accessible to modern, flowy, and super fun! There’s a little sand but a lot of flowy rollers and cliff edge riding, a few jumps, rock gardens, and banked curves. Not a lot of straight-up-the-hill riding here. The builder did a great job finding a way to mostly keep your speed up as you climb, and natural rollers and cliffs to build on for the flats and descents. It’s not as gnarly as a lot of other trails around, and seems to drain quickly. There are sections that are less difficult/climby so if you are seeking a particular difficulty, do look at the trail map (link below) and decide what is best for your skill level and/or your bike
Starting from the Hardy trailhead and heading east, the first couple miles are very rideable. There’s only one corner that may seem “dangerous”, but it’s not too bad and only a couple small hills. My buddy rode it on his rigid gravel bike and loved it! I’d bring experienced kids or mildly experienced adults for this part. You can picnic at Sandy Beach Park and then head back, or keep going for more fun riding.
The next sections are even more hilly and start to really feel like a rollercoaster. My wife and her friends walked it and she even commented how I must love riding it (something she’s never commented on before even though she usually hikes the trails I ride at some point). This area also has great views of the pond as you climb up and down the banks of the hills lining the pond, then finds some great curvy terrain and some bridges as you go further back around some of the tributaries into more wooded areas. Some sections further north/east of the trailhead are almost like a bike park, and some sections more like old school single-track, so there’s something for everyone, and the trail is interesting around almost every corner. A gravel bike or hybrid bike will have a real challenge on the more difficult sections and I recommend a true MTB bike for these as they can get hairy, and at high speeds, and I like the control, grip, and braking that most MTBs offer.
Starting from Davis Bridge and headed south to Brower park, the trail is tamer with less climbing but still flowy and very fun. There are a few rock gardens here that might be tricky for narrower tire bikes.
Segments 1 is almost flat, and ADA compliant.
As mentioned before since it’s two-way the whole way, please dedicate a bit of your concentration to watching/listening for other riders, especially when it’s busy. I didn’t see if dogs are allowed, but I would not walk my dog here as some of those blind curves and fast bikers could create a problem if I couldn’t get Fido off the trail fast enough.
The trail is now complete with 45 miles of trail you can ride starting at various parks. There is still a little road riding to get from segment 7 to the Davis Bridge Park, but it is not long, with only one busy section.
This amazing trail connects two counties and several parks, and totals almost 50 miles of world-class mtb trails!
Stunning, well maintained trail. It’s for both pedestrians and people on bikes, so be prepared to step off into some taller grass to allow them to pass.
My only wish is the people on bikes were more considerate. It is NOT strictly a bike path, so the fact that I’ve been almost run down with less than a second or two of notice multiple times is disgusting to me. There is also a disappointing amount of glass on the trail, so DOG OWNERS BE AWARE. Everyone should be more considerate of the other people on the trail, and the nature. I’m going to start bringing trash bags and gloves because this glass was picked up in just one small section.