For two years, the Clinton River Trail had a break in it. On July 16, 2024, an estimated million gallons of water broke through the trail in the City of Rochester, half a mile west of Dequindre Road. It left a gap nearly 120 feet long and 10 feet deep. A second failure east of the Diversion Street Trailhead followed, and the two together kept a one-mile stretch closed. That repair is now nearly finished. Today, October 12, the Paint Creek Trail closed between Tienken Road and Dutton Road for bridge work.
Until the Paint Creek bridges reopen, expected in early to mid-November, the stretch that was broken is close to whole again, and the stretch Rochester Hills residents could always count on is the one blocked off.
The Clinton River Trail gap is almost closed
The Clinton River Trail runs 16 miles across central Oakland County, through Sylvan Lake, Pontiac, Auburn Hills, Rochester Hills and Rochester, on the bed of the former Grand Trunk Railroad. Oakland County's October 2026 economic development bulletin calls it the key link between the Paint Creek, West Bloomfield and Macomb Orchard trails. That is why the washout mattered beyond Rochester. With the trail cut half a mile short of Dequindre, the eastern end of a regional system stopped short of where it was supposed to go.
According to the county, crews spent 2026 rebuilding the washed-out sections one layer of soil at a time. They installed a culvert to hold a steady water level, regraded the riverbank and set large boulders along it, resurfaced nearly 2.5 miles of trail in Rochester, and fixed drainage at the east end near Dequindre. The Friends of the Clinton River Trail project page describes that last piece more closely. About 1,000 feet west of Dequindre had become chronically soggy, rutted and eroded. Leftover project money paid to raise the trail surface, replace ditches, pipes and catch basins, and pour concrete. As of the Friends' September 28 update, final remediation was underway.
The wording matters here. Oakland County's bulletin, sent October 9, says the work is "nearly complete." It also says the Friends' Fall Classic walk and ride on September 27 gave riders a "sneak peek" at the restored trail. That ride started and finished at Rochester Municipal Park. The county has not called the section open. The Friends' own page still carries a closure notice "through spring 2026" and an estimated completion of "Fall 2026," both last updated in May. The City of Rochester's detour alert describes the closure as running from Dequindre Road to the trailhead parking lot at 800 East Second Street. Until the city announces the section open, treat that stretch as closed.
Kristen Wiltfang, administrator of Oakland County's Trails, Transportation, and Environment Unit, told the county newsletter that once the work wraps, the stretch "will once again provide residents and visitors with safe access to adjacent trails, parks, neighborhoods and downtown businesses."
Two pieces already finished in August
Two parts of the Rochester repair are finished. The Friends list Washout 2 near Diversion Street as completed in August 2026. The river had undercut a retaining wall until it collapsed, so the bank was reinforced, the grade softened and the trail moved back several feet from the edge.
The second piece is the new Rochester Rest Area, also completed in August, at the spot where the Clinton River Trail meets the Rochester River Walk. The River Walk leads to the Paint Creek Trail. The rest area has benches and a kiosk ringed with historic brick pavers from Rochester's Main Street. It was funded by donations, with help from the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.
This is the junction where the two trails swap roles this fall. From the rest area, one direction leads east toward a nearly restored Clinton River Trail. The other leads up the River Walk to a Paint Creek Trail that, starting today, is cut off a short way into Rochester Hills.
Paint Creek closes where Rochester Hills meets it
The Paint Creek Trail is the older trail. It opened to the public in 1983 as Michigan's first rail-trail, on the former Penn Central Railroad. It runs 8.9 miles through northeast Oakland County and draws more than 100,000 visitors a year. The City of Rochester Hills says 1.5 miles of it run through the city on a fine limestone surface.
The closed section, between the Tienken and Dutton road crossings, sits inside that stretch. The Paint Creek Trailways Commission's notice says Rochester Hills is rehabilitating its pedestrian bridges, including the three bridges there. Contractors are replacing deck boards, repairing handrails and working on abutments. The notice asks the public not to enter the closed portion. The city's trail page identifies them as bridges P10, P11 and P12.
The two agencies give different lengths for the closure:
| Source | Start | Expected length | Reopening, counted from start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paint Creek Trailways Commission | Monday, October 12 | "Approximately one month" | Around mid-November |
| City of Rochester Hills trail page | 10/12/2026 | "Potential Closure Timeframe: 3 weeks" | Around the start of November |
The Commission's suggested detour uses Livernois Road. Its own notice warns that the route has vehicle traffic and no separate pedestrian or safety path. For walkers with dogs or young children, a shorter out-and-back that stays on the open trail may suit better than the road.
Further north, outside Rochester Hills, the Paint Creek has better news. The City of Rochester's summer business update reports the trail's 31.7 bridge replacement complete, with a ribbon-cutting planned for fall.
East of Dequindre, a separate closure
Even after the Clinton River Trail reopens through Rochester, its east end meets a separate closure. The Macomb Orchard Trail, which picks up immediately east of the Clinton River Trail's terminus at Dequindre Road, is affected by the Great Lakes Water Authority's 96-inch water main project. The Friends describe that closure as intermittent and estimate the project's completion in fall 2026. Macomb County lists the segment between Dequindre and 24 Mile Road as closed for site preparation and installation of the main, with no reopening date. GLWA's work-area schedule, marked as a draft, puts the trail installation and reconstruction at "Spring 2026 to Fall 2026." The Friends recommend one detour route that avoids both the washout and the Macomb Orchard closure.
So the two-year Rochester gap is ending, but a rider heading east from Rochester Hills may reach the Macomb Orchard closure a little further on until GLWA's trail work wraps up.
Shorter walks inside Rochester Hills this fall
With the two long trails each partly closed, the city's own parks fill in, though some of them are also changing.
- Avon Nature Area. The city plans to replace the wooden stairs, boardwalks, bridges and overlook with new timber structures this fall, and to add a block wall to reinforce the overlook. The city says the goal is better accessibility and safety. It has not posted a completion date.
- Bloomer Park. S'mores and Stars is scheduled for Friday, October 23, at 7:30 p.m. If the sky is cloudy, the program becomes a guided night hike.
- Nowicki Park. Construction started May 11, 2026. The city's timeline gives a tentative fall 2027 grand opening for the 35-acre park, which is planned to include trails, a pavilion, a one-acre playground and a dog park of more than three acres.
Of these, the Avon Nature Area closure overlaps the Paint Creek closure most directly, and it has no posted end date. Nowicki Park is a 2027 addition, not an option for this fall.
The dates to watch
- Now through early or mid-November: Paint Creek Trail closed between Tienken and Dutton. Watch the Trailways Commission site for progress reports.
- Not yet scheduled: a formal reopening announcement from the City of Rochester for the Clinton River Trail washout stretch between Dequindre and the East Second Street trailhead.
- October 23: S'mores and Stars at Bloomer Park, 7:30 p.m.
- This fall, date to be announced: the ribbon-cutting for the Paint Creek Trail's 31.7 bridge.
- Fall 2026: the end of GLWA's draft window for trail installation and reconstruction on the Macomb Orchard Trail between Dequindre and 24 Mile.
If both projects finish on schedule, Rochester Hills residents could have the full Clinton River Trail to Paint Creek connection back through the new rest area by mid-November, for the first time since July 2024. For a long ride west instead, the Clinton River Trail also connects to the West Bloomfield Trail, which no longer dead-ends at Haggerty Road. For more on the city's parks, see our guide to outdoor living in Rochester Hills.
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