Trail Overview
This is the Felch OHV Grade Trail A. This section of the grade runs from the town of Felch to the town of Hardwood. The trail passes through the town of Foster City. Like Most sections of the Felch grade it is narrow only allowing for vehicle traffic to pass each other at very slow speeds. The trail itself is mostly hard-packed gravel;however, after a recent rainfall, there will be some shallow sections of water. The scenery around the trail is mostly mature forest;however, some small clearings will give a view of lowland marshes as well as the East Branch of the Sturgeon River.
Difficulty
This section of the Felch grade can easily be completed by riders of all skill levels. The trail has very few obstacles, and the obstacles that do exist are only small sections of water after recent rainfall. The trail itself is quite narrow, and caution needs to be taken when approaching or passing other vehicles. Larger vehicles will struggle to pass each other at speed, and coming to a stop and pulling over may be required. Some sections of loose gravel on the trail can cause machines to skate around on the trail.
History
The Felch Grade Trail in Michigan follows the route of the former Felch Branch railroad line, extending from Tesch to Felch. This area was once a bustling mining town called Metropolitan, where iron ore was discovered on Felch Mountain in 1873. The Metropolitan mine shipped ore for six years, and the town had several schools, stores, and a church.
