Rochester's Clinton River Trail reopened this week after repairs supported by more than $1.7 million in grants fixed two washouts that had severed the popular path for more than a year.
The city scheduled a ribbon-cutting for 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, at the Diversion Street Trailhead. The City of Rochester announced on X that the ceremony would include refreshments and a chance for trail users to explore the restored sections.
An Oct. 15 update on the city’s project page also announced the reopening.
Two washouts forced the closure. The larger one, about a half mile west of Dequindre Road, wiped out nearly 120 feet of trail in July 2024. That section sat in an environmentally sensitive area between a great blue heron rookery and the Clinton River, according to a city media release.
A second washout near the Diversion Street Trailhead was caused by heavy currents in the river. The city announced a closure between Diversion Street and Dequindre Road ahead of construction scheduled to begin the week of Jan. 12. A June 9 update reported that the section near Diversion Street had reopened, while the stretch from the Letica parking lot to Dequindre Road remained closed.
More than $1.7 million in grants funded the work. The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation provided a lead gift of $1.2 million. An additional $521,000 came from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Trail Maintenance Endowment at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.
The City of Rochester, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Oakland County Parks and private donations also contributed. The Community Foundation of Greater Rochester and Friends of the Clinton River Trail helped channel those funds.
When the city announced the funding in July 2025, Rochester City Manager Nik Banda said the repair costs were "far beyond what the city alone is able to budget." He credited Kristen Wiltfang of the Oakland County Department of Economic Development for identifying funding partners.
Repairs included installing a culvert to manage stormwater and resurfacing the trail from the Letica parking lot to the washout. Crews laid concrete pavement near the Dequindre Road intersection, where the ground is historically wet. The city’s Sept. 29 update listed safety railing installation and site restoration among the remaining tasks before reopening.
The 16-mile Clinton River Trail spans five Oakland County communities: Sylvan Lake, Pontiac, Auburn Hills, Rochester Hills and Rochester. It connects to the Paint Creek, West Bloomfield and Macomb Orchard trails. The closed segment also affected two cross-state routes, the Great Lake-to-Lake Trail and the Iron Belle Trail-Biking Route.
Friends of the Clinton River Trail, an all-volunteer group representing approximately 450 members at the time of the city’s July 2025 release, works with all five cities on trail upkeep. The Oct. 16 ceremony at the Diversion Street Trailhead was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
