I didn’t expect much.

My friends – the people who know me – said, “Di, Island Lake is a ‘roadie course.’ It’s for people who don’t ‘really’ like to mountain bike.”

Okay, I can see that.

What I can also see is that Island Lake is magnificently built. Sure, it is most definitely a beginner trail regarding skill level, but it is a welcome change for those who often tackle rocks, roots, more rocks, and scary stuff that the average Island Lake rider avoids at every cost.

Island Lake’s bridges are pretty cool – definitely built for the classic acrophobic.

In short, I found the almost-16-mile mountain bike ride at Island Lake to be quite enjoyable.

I chose to ride the Yellow Loop first, because, well, I guess yellow is a less bold color, and so I thought it would be the less difficult loop. Not really the case, but that’s okay. I did find, however, that the yellow loop was my favorite.

The Blue Loop was much more like what I expected…in the first part. I thought for sure that Island Lake would be washed out and sandy. The first part of the Blue Loop delivered, but the loop evolved into something much more interesting. It seemed like it had a little more climbing. Most of all, it seemed to be more of a tour of the park.

The Blue Loop ran throughout the park, even along the swimming beach, which may be incredibly useful when the 90-degree days hit.

Down by the Dodge parking lot, Blue Loop riders had to cross the railroad tracks and then ride along them. Mind you, I was raised in Durand, home of the Railroaders. As I rode over the railroad tracks, I smelled that classic smell and was brought back to my childhood. Even though the Blue Loop didn’t leave as much of a good impression as the Yellow Loop, it most certainly took me back to my childhood filled with wonderful railroad memories.

Part of the Blue Loop stretched along the railroad tracks.

So, Di, why did you choose to drive all the way to Island Lake when all of your sources basically told you that it wasn’t your kind of trail?

First of all, while I value other people’s opinions, I know that no one really knows what I truly like and that I happen to enjoy the oddest things. Sure, Island Lake is so totally a roadie course, but it has something that many mountain bike trails lack: it is really fast and flowy.

Second, I find myself going where my family likes to go. They all like paved trails and low-traffic roads. Until today, that meant the Saginaw Valley Rail Trail or Sleepy Hollow State Park. Sure, the road riding is great in those places, but I’m a mountain biker, hey?!

When I went to Island Lake for the Bike Demo, I didn’t ride, but it didn’t take much to realize that this was a park that the whole family could enjoy. It had some super fun mountain bike trails for me and some super easy road riding for my 64-year-old parents. Mission accomplished.

I feel it is incredibly important to add that the people at Island Lake were incredibly nice. I was able to chat with a couple of people on the trail who were truly as happy as I on this hot, Lower-Michigan day.

In case you haven’t noticed, this is a very positive review of Island Lake, but it may have been influenced by the fact that everyone was simply happy to be alive on this beautiful, sunny day…and many of the guys were riding without shirts.