Evart to Sunrise Lake Trail

I took the entire Evart to Sunrise Lake trail from the South and back, and deviated on a couple of the blue trails and a yellow trail or two including the Soupy Loop section. I was on my Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, a middle-weight adventure bike equipped with DOT nobby tires (I rode up there from my home in Big Rapids). These trails are slightly rugged enough to keep you in check with a little loose sand, medium ruts, curves, the occasional oncoming pickup truck or side-by-side, and patches of rocks to make sure you keep your speed down so as not to bend a rim! I was in 3rd gear most of the time averaging less than 30mph, with the occasional shift down to 2nd or up to 4th for some slightly faster stretches. If the terrain doesn't make you keep your speed down, the possibility of an oncoming vehicle or a deer should. I would have to imagine this system would be busy during peak seasons, but I was alone 99.9% of the time and had an enjoyable ride just challenging enough to keep me standing most of the way.

Morning rain kept dust down. South of Cedar is fine for most vehicles. North of Cedar gets a little tight from briars in a few spots. 4 wheel drive and higher clearance is needed due to washouts and som larger loose rocks. Took about and hour and a half.

Tight in a few spots toward middle of trail. Got a few new pinstripes

Washed out on the hills, passable just rocky

Puddles and light snow. Trail clear of debris.

Awsome trail. I started from the south driving north. The first half is very eazy. Nice wide trail made up of dirt and sand. The 1st half I would rate a 1. The 2nd half bcomes more rough. With ruts, water holes, nothing to deep, maybe 6”. Still fairly wide. I had a lot of fun on this one.

Small Avoidable Patches of Mud along trail. Moderate washout along side of trail.

pretty great trail. I did it in a a stock ranger 4x4

I went after a heavy rain so lots of mud holes, all were able to either pass on the side or go through with ease. It was quiet, no one else on the trail. It’s a very scenic trail with lots of good spots to stop and take pictures. This trail takes you through a verity of scenery including forest and open swamp land. Some spots 4 wheel was needed as the recent rain made the sand very wet and easy to sink in. There is a trail head at the north end and recommend to run it starting from the north.

This trail is great for beginners! Ran it in a stock wrangler with no problems. It was muddy and had several water hazards, however, none were more than 6 to 8 inches deep. Tons of off shoot trails to try out. We turned around on one offshoot because I didn’t want to risk it with no lift, and we were alone. I started up the Soup Loop but turned around because it looked more challenging than I was comfortable with. We started at the south entrance, and the trail got more exciting as we drove. We spotted several dispersed campsites. Highly recommend for beginners! I will say I was disappointed by the empty beer cans and even 2 queen size mattresses and box springs discarded on the trail.