From Coldwater To Hell

Motorcycle Roads & Rides > Routes > United States > Michigan

Average Rating - This road has been rated by 6 visitors

State: Michigan
Date Submitted: June 1, 2007
Submitted by: Zoo
Motorcycle Road Length: 83 Miles

Written Directions

Starting in Coldwater, MI, head east about 50 miles to M52. Turn North on M52 and follow it through Chelsea. Continue north on M52 past Chelsea, turn right on Werkner road. This is where the best riding in Michigan is at. Follow this to North Territorial road. Turn right and go for a couple of miles and take a left on Hankerd Rd. This road turns into Glenbrook rd. Turn right on Patterson Lake Rd to Hell, MI.

Scenery

This route takes you from Coldwater, MI to the interesting "Hell", MI. US 12 is formerly known as the Saulk trail. This road was first a path used by the Indians as the major route between Detroit and Chicago.

Notice the many road stone markers that are positioned off of the road up on the right or ways that was used back in the day to mark the road when the road was in disrepair travelers would depend on the markers to help the guide the way.

Heading east from Coldwater, Stop by Cement City. There is a motorcycle dealership adjacent to a motorcycle bar.

Traveling Further east on us 12, you will drive right by Michigan international race track. On non race weekends, you can drive right through the track complex.

Now this is where the riding gets good...

Going north on 52 past Chelsea, the roads in the Pinckney State Recreation Area are probably the best riding that Michigan has to offer. They feature tight twisties and wilderness rivers and lakes. The entire Pinckney Rec area paved roads are all good to ride.

Road Quality

From Chelsea to Hell is laced with twisties and tight roads through the Pinckney Rec area. All the roads in this area are fun to ride. Note: If you were to draw a triangle from East of Jackson to Fowlerville to Hell, this a very good area for riding. The Metropolitan recreation area roads are all kept small but paved.

Roadside Amenities

Meet at the Dinosaur! There is camping in Irish Hills area which is a summer vacation spot.

There is camping in the Pinckney State Recreation Area as well. There are numerous hole in the wall restaurants and bars around the route.

Near by is the Town of Fowlerville which hosts the famed Easy Riders Rodeo in late August.

Additional Info

- View the weather forecast for this area from Yahoo weather .

Nickname (optional) Zoo

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Reviewed by Guest on October 6, 2010 (0 out of 0 members found this review useful.)
Creator: walt
motorcycle_make: Harley-Davidson
motorcycle_type: Cruiser
Comment: I rode from maine to coldwater on my 03 road king ,and met up with my wifes brother who has a 57 pan we road to south haven mi. what a good ride . I hope to do it soon butno snow.
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Reviewed by Guest on March 26, 2010 (0 out of 0 members found this review useful.)
Creator: Squirrel
motorcycle_year: 2004
motorcycle_make: Harley-Davidson
motorcycle_type: Touring
Comment: Its a great run! It is usually our first run of the year. Great scenery, wonderful curves, beautiful small towns, and a kick ass bar once you reach hell! We start in Dundee MI pretty much taking the route VstarAl laid out. Been taking this route for years. It is a good run most days of the year.
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Reviewed by Guest on January 18, 2010 (0 out of 0 members found this review useful.)
Creator: Dave Kaftan
motorcycle_year: 2004
motorcycle_make: BMW
motorcycle_type: Enduro
Comment: I like to get off of US 12 at Walter J. Hayes State Park (Wampler's Lake Road), turn onto Wellwood, and then take the sharp left onto a road that changes names several times: Herman road, Watkins road, and Sharon Hollow. That will take you to M-52 where you can do the rest of the ride as described.
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Reviewed by Guest on August 1, 2009 (0 out of 0 members found this review useful.)
Creator: VstarAl
motorcycle_year: 2007
motorcycle_make: Yamaha
motorcycle_type: Touring
Comment: My friend and I live in the Cleveland, OH area. Thanks to this particular post, we decided to check out the Hell, MI area. We were very pleased with this choice. Since we came from the East, we modified the route slightly. Thanks to Google Maps, we found some local roads that looked interesting. After leaving Toledo, OH, we took US-23 N to M-50 W. When we hit the town of Tecumseh, we turned north on N Evans St, which turned into Tecumseh Clinton Rd. After we entered the town of Clinton, we turned north onto N Jackson St, which turned into Clinton Rd (at this point the road narrowed and became scenic). Eventually this road turned into E Austin Rd and dumped onto M-52 (near the town of Manchester) , which we took through Chelsea and eventually to N Territorial. We agree with JP that Hankerd Rd off N Territorial was scenic and fun. After passing Hell, we picked up Dexter Pinckney Rd, headed south to the town of Dexter, turned onto Baker Rd, then got onto I-94 and headed home.
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Reviewed by Guest on July 27, 2008 (0 out of 0 members found this review useful.)
Creator: JP
motorcycle_year: 2006
motorcycle_make: Buell
motorcycle_type: Standard
Comment: The route on North T is ok. However, lots of traffic. Werkner/waterloo are some great roads that have even better ones branching off. This area is my backyard. My personal All time favorite Mi road (and I have 15,000 miles across the US in CA,Co, Va, Tenn, NC, W Va) is Hankerd Road off N. Territorial. Superb riding, although this winter the surface took a hard hit.
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Reviewed by Guest on March 30, 2008 (0 out of 0 members found this review useful.)
Creator: Sneezy
motorcycle_year: 2004
motorcycle_make: Harley-Davidson
motorcycle_type: Touring
Comment: This is a great ride, but I prefer to stay on M-52 to N. Territorial, then east on N. Territorial. Very nice, scenic stretch just east of M-52.
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