The Dragon Trail is a 42-mile, multi-use trail for hikers, bikers and skiers that circles Hardy Dam Pond. Completed in 2024, thousands of adventurers have traveled to ride this magnificent trail, making it a top Michigan destinations for mountain bikers! It’s the inspiration behind creating a place to host the adventure community at Dragon Adventures Base Camp! We love this trail because it has a little bit of everything and can be enjoyed all year round for different adventures! Having spent hundreds of hours on the trail ourselves, we wanted to build a resource of routes for rides and hikes that have a variety of lengths and difficulty so everyone can find a way to enjoy and slay The Dragon. We’ve also started a shuttle bus giving adventurers easier access to different areas of the trail and the ability to create rides and hikes however they choose! Dragon Adventures Base Camp is just a 1/2 mile off the trail, so you have easy access to trail right from our place! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do, and don’t hesitate to contact us with questions or if you’re looking for suggestions! We love to guide adventurers and talk about the Dragon Trail!
Routes
Not everyone wants to ride a full lap, so we’ve created dozens of other routes that complements our shuttle bus or give you an out-and-back adventure! There are routes for every level and time commitment! The Dragon is a two-way trail, so you can try some of our routes in the opposite direction too and see what you like! Keep checking back to find new routes, or contact Mark, and he can help create a ride that caters to what you want!
Instructions to get on the Dragon Trail from Base Camp
It’s a short ride to the Dragon Trail! Once you turn south on Sumac, you will be on gravel for only 1/4 mile before you see a gate to your left. This is where you enter Consumer property and follow to the Dragon trail. We ask that you avoid jumping on the trail in the corner that comes close to merging with the 2 track. We are trying to only access the trail 50 yards further where it actually intersects the trail. We are trying to avoid extra confusing off-shoots of the trail. Enjoy your ride! IF you are exiting the Dragon Trail to get to Base Camp, we now have a mile marker sign on the trail! Look for trail marker 37.2 and rocks along the trail to show you where to ditch onto the two-track to get back to camp!
Section Previews
We’ve created a playlist on YouTube with section previews so you can see what The Dragon Trail has to offer and can plan your favorite route.
Full Laps
Distance: 42 miles
Difficulty: Hard
Have a nice little warm-up before hitting section 7 from Base Camp! This direction adds more challenge to section 7, but there’s still plenty of flow and fun later on! Pick this direction if you want the legs to get in a workout right before you end at Base Camp!
Distance: 42 miles
Difficulty: Hard
Hit the hills right out of the gate, but what goes up must come down! Have a blast riding the flowy sections from Newaygo State Park to Brower Park, and then prepare for the most technical stuff in Section 7, riding it in the preferred direction! Choose this direction if you want the big hills at the beginning vs. the end!
Shuttle Bus Routes
These are some of our favorite routes that work well for either a shuttle drop-off and biking back to Base Camp or a drop-off and pick-up along the route. These routes showcase some of the best parts of the trail and give you a variety of lengths and terrain.
Distance: 6 miles
Difficulty: Easy
A great quick ride to give beginners a taste of mountain biking.
Distance: 9 miles
Difficulty: Intermediate
Shorter route to get in the great flow area of the trail. Beautiful scenery and tons of fun! Stop at Brower or you can continue on to Davison Bridge.
Distance: 15 miles
Difficulty: Intermediate
This is a novice-intermediate favorite! Get the best of the flow the Dragon Trail has to offer! Great route for a quick ride or to ride with friends who might want to go further.
Distance: 15 miles
Difficulty: Hard
Want to just do all the super fun, technical stuff of section 7? Well, this is the route for you! We’ll drop you off at the top of section 7, and enjoy the ride from there to Base Camp!
This is the adrenaline junkie’s dream!
Distance: 22 miles
Difficulty: Hard
This route is for the downhill junkie who doesn’t mind earning it with some uphill! Get in the full fun of section 7 and 8, but don’t turn off to Base Camp! Continue on to section 9 and turn around to experience section 9 the other way. Great route to get the feel of the fun flow of section 9 as well as the leg burn of the hills on the way back.
Distance: 23 miles
Difficulty: Hard
This route is a great way to get a little bit of everything the Dragon has to offer! You’ll warm up on section 5 and 6 before hitting the technical section 7! Finish off with some fun twists and turns in section 8 and some medium elevation in section 9.
Distance: 34 miles
Difficulty: Hard
We love this route for a nice long ride without doing the full loop. Get all the action right off the bat and keep the good times rolling!
Out-and-Back Routes
Distance: 12 miles
Difficulty: Easy
A great leisure ride with some nice scenery! Not many hills, so it is great for beginners to get a taste of mountain biking.
Distance: 14 Miles
Difficulty: Intermediate
Get all the hills of section 9 in both directions! Lots of leg work, but lots of fun hills too! Definitely not a leisurely ride.
Distance: 22 miles
Difficulty: Intermediate
Get the best of both routes! Maybe bring a friend for Big Bend and back and then continue on to the Dam and come back, to get in leg day!
Hiking/Trail Running Routes
The Dragon Trail is a multi-use trail and is a beautiful place to hike or do some trail running! Below are a couple of routes that we like when we want to slow down and take in the trail by foot.
Big Bend to Base Camp
Distance: 6 miles
Use our shuttle bus to get dropped off at Big Bend Park and hike or run back! This is a great route for a nice hike/run without having to see the same scenery twice! Relatively flat for nice easy terrain.
Dragon Adventures Base Camp 