Trail Update 2002: New Trails in Petoskey and TC are Coming on Strong

June 12, 2002

Northern Michigan is blessed with a network of trails that stretches from one side of the
state to the other. Every year brings more additions to the trails, and last year was no exception.
Here are a few of the new additions.

*Top of Michigan Trails Council*
In Petoskey, the Top of Michigan Trails Council celebrated several achievements last
year. Although some residents are opposed to the Little Traverse Wheelway, which will
eventually run from Charlevoix to Harbor Springs, a new segment links M-119 to Pleasantview
Road.
“It‘s a nice new segment,“ said Tom Stanley, a volunteer with the council. “It skirts right
across the edge of the airport at Harbor Springs, and it has a nice view of the bay. It‘s very
panoramic.“
The group is also considering a 4-mile segment from M-119 near Spring Lake Park to the
fish hatchery in Oden, which is getting a major overhaul and dedication this year.
Another 7.6 mile segment from Charlevoix to Bay Harbor should be completed by the
end of this summer, and a 3-mile segment from Mackinac City to Mill Creek State Park was
completed last fall.
The council hopes to eventually pave all the way to Charlevoix and maybe even Gaylord,
“but that‘s quite a ways in the future,“ said Stanley.
Last year, the DNR dedicated the trail head at Mackinac City, “which is a nice parking
area and centerpiece for the trail system,“ he noted, adding that the group plans to pave the trail south to Petoskey, as well.

*The Long-Awaited Boardman Lake Trail*
The big news for TART Trails, Inc. in Traverse City is the beginning of the Boardman
Lake Trail along the east side of the lake to South Airport Road. This 2.25-mile addition sets the stage to take the trail across South Airport Road through the YMCA and on to the Grand
Traverse County Natural Education Reserve near the Sabin Dam area.
The trail will begin at the TART trail east of Woodmere Avenue and head toward the lake
near the Traverse Area District Library and the newly-renovated Hull Park. The route will then wind along the east side of the lake into Garfield Township, through some residential areas to South Airport Road, then end at Garfield Township‘s Medalie Park. It will be 10 feet wide with a combination of asphalt, crushed lime and wooden boardwalk surfaces.
Bob Otwell, executive director of TART, said the trail has been in the city‘s plan for at
least 20 years, and it‘s taken about twelve years to line up all the easements.
“The key thing is we got an easement from Lear Corporation (formerly United
Technologies) just a few weeks ago,“ he said, adding that this final easement allowed the city to apply for a Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant, which was submitted on April 1.
The grant request is a joint application from the city, Grand Traverse County and Garfield
Township, which have each agreed to put up a third of the $204,000 local match needed for the estimated $704,000 construction.
“It‘s really been a good, cooperative effort,“ said Otwell.
While the east side is in a go mode, the county has also received a grant to design the trail
all the way around Boardman Lake. But Otwell said construction of the entire trail will likely be phased in over a number of years.

*Other TART News*
TART Trails, Inc. has been successful in getting two new easements to help close up the
half-mile gap between the Leelanau Trail and TART Trail at Carter Road. Otwell said the new
easements will cover about half the distance, and they‘re working on one more.
“Those were the first easements we‘ve had there, and that‘s a really important link,“ he
said. “Up to this point, people have basically had to ride on that shoulder of M-22 to make that
connection, which is very dangerous, whether you‘re a kid or an experienced bicyclist.“
On the east side of town, a grant has been in place for several years to extend the trail
beyond Bunker Hill Road where it currently ends. But TART wants to avoid building a lot of
bridges through the wetlands in that area, which means waiting for residents there to grant an easement.
“The property owners are trying to get a development together, and they want to get their
plans approved before they give us an easement,“ said Otwell. “I think they‘ll grant us the
easement, but it‘s been a long process with the township.“
To avoid losing the funds, he believes the road commission will consider gapping out a
section of the trail, allowing the trail to continue east towards Williamsburg.
“Exactly what will happen, we‘re not sure,“ he said. “But we‘d like to use those funds
and keep that project moving, even if we have to come back later and fill in a gap.“
TART Trails, Inc. is a network of four trails, including the TART Trail, Vasa Pathway,
Boardman Lake Trail, and Leelanau Trail. The group recently moved into new offices above
DeYoung‘s in downtown Traverse City, and now employs two staff members, including Otwell
and an assistant, Missy Luyk.
Much of their energies of late have focused on launching a capital campaign to collect
money for matching projects and also maintain the existing trails, including ongoing debts, such as the mortgage interest on the Leelanau Trail.
“We‘d like to wipe out that debt, so we can use the money to build trails, not just to pay
interest,“ he said.

*Other Areas*
A new trail is being considered along the Cadillac-Manton freeway, and a group of
citizens and state officials hope to build a paved trail on state right-of-way along the west side of the U.S. 131 Cadillac bypass by 2004. Plans are to have the trail open for use by snowmobilers and skiers in the winter and bicyclists and walkers in the summer.
And in Kalkaska, a group of residents hopes to develop a county-wide network of trails
named the Ah-Go-Sah Trail after an ancient Indian trail in the area. This may eventually link to other trails in Manton, Traverse City, Grayling and Gaylord.
The idea surfaced about four years ago when Kalkaska officials started talking about
putting a trail around the village. The plan waned for a couple of years before being picked up by the county soil conservation district, which hopes to play a major role.
In Benzie County, workmen spent last fall finishing the construction of bridges and paving on the stretch of trail linking Frankfort to Elberta where a new park is being constructed on the shore just past the Cabbage Shed. Supporters carry on with plans to upgrade the Betsie River Trail along the railroad tracks running from Elberta to Thompsonville.