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Michigan trails · Bill Nicholls Trail

Bill Nicholls Trail

A 40.2-mile point-to-point in Michigan, with 683 ft of climbing. Reaches Stonington Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by Michigan DNR.

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Length
40.2 mi
Elevation gain
683 ft
Difficulty
Moderate
Max grade
24%
Steepest mile
+139 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
0.4 mi
Shape
point-to-point
Bikes
yes
Managed by
Michigan DNR

Elevation profile

630 – 1,313 ft16111621263136

Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 61% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 13.4. It gives back about 693 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of Bill Nicholls Trail

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Getting there

Bill Nicholls Trail access. 47.11966, -88.59090 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:40 a.m., the sun rises at 7:11 a.m. and sets at 8:36 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 9:08 p.m. (EDT) — 13 h 25 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 40.2-mile route works out to roughly 15 h 15 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.

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