Where are the Twisties in S.E. Michigan?

[911nut]

Fellow S.E. Michigan Pelicanheads, I need your help. I live in north Oakland County and I'm bored with the roads I drive on (mainly on and around Woodward Ave.). I need a recommendation for places to drive, roads which play to the strengths of the 911. All advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Paul Brewer

[kumma]

well i think we have the worst roads here in detroit, but when my car wasent in peices i would like to drive out around Ann Arbor, mainly from U-M hospital down around the river and into the Plymouth area. lots of twisties and not to much traffic, plus it used to be a senic drive until all the homes popped up. Hopfully someone else has more to offer.

[atlporsche]

There are none in SE michigan, and where there are some, they're populated by deer...move to Atlanta...there's tons of curvy roads, no salt, but sooo much freaking traffic you never go fast on them anyway.

I had subarus up there, we used to go play rally driver on the dirt roads in the pouring rain.

sjd
Ann Arbor expatriot.

[Jim Garfield]

Waterford Hills

[911nut]

Guys, I need some better recommendations here...........

[Jim Garfield]

No but seriously Paul thats a hard one.
Having spent a lot of time in that area in
college, I feel your pain.

Belle Isle has a lot of twisty bits but you
have to drive it in the middle of the night
and watch out for yhe cops and the white
deer. I think that you can drive on the CART
course or parts of it still.

And around Ann Arbor Huron River Drive is
pretty good going towards Dexter ( watch
out for bikes )

Out toward the Irish Hills is good, but it's a
bit of a hike from you.

There are some nice roads in Bloomfield Hills
but it's SO congested, again late or early is
best.

Curt Egerer lives up near Midland, maybe he
weigh in.

Good luck

[cegerer]

I travel thru-out Michigan ALOT as part of my business. Unfortunately, I'm usually in my pickemup truck! I typically take all of the backroads whereever I go. I keep a diary of good roads, so if I have a free day I can jump in the P-car and head out. In Detroit Metro the pickings are very slim due to traffic, development, etc. There are short stretches here and there and that's about it. A few in no particular order:

- Rochester Road north of Rochester and up around Lakeville.

- Grange Hall Rd. between Ortonville and Dixie Hwy.

- Hamburg Rd from M36 up to Brighton

- Pinckney Rd. from Howell south to Dexter

- Golf Club Rd. east of Howell just off Grand River.

These aren't much, but better than nothing. There's several others in the Brighton/Pinckney/Howell area.

Of course, for the ultimate P-road in Michigan you need to go to Harbor Springs in the Fall and take M119 to Cross Village. It's a 15-mile tunnel of red-orange-yellow trees - an LSD trip without the LSD! It's basically a 1 1/2 lane road with a 25MPH speed limit but if you go weekdays or early in the morning, well it's good clean fast fun. -- Curt

[mr914]

I'm up in Clarkston. Been here for 4 years and still looking for a good road. I'd have to second the Waterford Hills answer.

A few short roads are buy the new Home Depot by Great Lakes Crossing going over to Lapeer Rd.

One nice one is north on Rochester Rd to the lake then Left.

Otherwise, I'm still looking for the answer....

[atlporsche]

fogot about huron river drive...I used to detour up that one going home from livonia to Dexter every day....used to live on baker road.

sjd

[Volkovich]

I live in Saginaw and the roads here are pretty much 1 mile by 1 mile squares. You need to get around West Branch before you start getting the good roads. The trip from Grayling to Oscoda on the paved county roads is as good as it gets around here.

I am sure north and west of Grayling is pretty good as well.

[rcecale]

Growing up in Wayne County, I remember Edward Hines Drive was pretty twisty, but I'm thinking it may be full of traffic lights and such by now...might be worth a try.

Randy

[Iggy]

North of West Branch there are a lot of roads that are nice for Porsche driving. However, you've gotta watch out for the critters. I've managed to end the lives of both a turkey and a racoon this year (Roadkill Bingo, anyone?). Still, the back roads up north are the most enjoyable for me, despite the long hauls up I-75 amid traffic. Once you're there, roll the windows down, turn off the radio, downshift and enjoy the music.

[diverdan]

In Lansing, 30 years ago we would let it all hang out around Lake Lansing. Now, forget it.

Harbor Springs to Cross village is beautiful slow fun.

Try the East Jordan area. M-32 has some nice twistie between |E J and 131 and a straight in front of my place where lots of bikes hit way over a hundred mph. Do watch out for deer and the rare patrol car. Even during the summer tourist season much of my driving in the area meant only me on the road. But the other half of the time, it was get in line behind a 55 or 65 mpher. All in all a summer of enjoyable driving.

This area has many twisty, beautiful, fun to drive, traffic free roads most of the year. Just to be free of other traffic and have a few curves is lots of fun even at sane speeds. The occassional burst of speed adds a lot of zest, but the car is just plain fun when driving at speeds that won't raise the ire of the local constabulary.

Now that I am back at work in the UAE, I've learned to just hang back and find that area most distant from other traffic and driving the cab is absent of stress and fun.

diverdan

[911nut]

Thanks for the responses.
was a passenger on a southeast Michigan PCA fall color tour a few years ago (before I bought my SC). That drive went north of Ann Arbor but I don't know where. I plan to go again this year with my own car and then I'll know where I am (hopefully).

I've driven on Kirkway rd. in Bloomfield Hills. It's goes through a residential neighborhood and around Kirk lake. The speed limit is 15 MPH. However, witht it's extreme elevation changes and hairpin turns it's a real rollercoaster ride at 30 MPH. Rode throught there last year with my crazy friend in his 993 TT at 55 mph;that was a real thrill ride!

PB

[L Sjoberg]

911nut -

I'll second your experience with Kirkway Drive. Don't know if it's still there or not, but there used to be one lane bridge on the eastern loop of Kirkway - we took more than one car airborne on that bridge in the formative years!

SE Michigan is thoroughly depressing for P-car drives. The Huron River drive out to A2 is pretty nice, and there's some nice drives to be had on the west side of the state...

[911nut]

Lee, the Kirkway is still there but there's too many walkers and cyclists (of which I'm one) on it for spirited drives. Same goes for Huron River Drive toward Dexter.
Sometimes I think that if I had a vacation home at Glen Arbor I'd leave my SC there.
Maybe we should all move to West Virginia.

[Rich911E]

When I went to U of M my favorite was Huron River Drive west toward Dexter from A2.

Rich

[azasadny]

Pinckney/Dexter area is nice as well as Irish hills (Jackson area). Grosse Ile in the downriver Detroit area.

[kpfoten]

Huron River Drive. Definitely. Barton Hills area as well--Audi used to do commercials on those twisties...

[Pete000]

Try up by Cranbrook, but watch out for the cyclist on Tuesday nights.