Rail-Trails Michigan & Wisconsin: The definitive guide to the region's top multiuse trails

by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Overview

Explore 63 of the best rail-trails and multiuse pathways across two states.

All across the country, unused railroad corridors have been converted to public multiuse trails. Here, the experts from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy present the best of these rail-trails, as well as other multiuse pathways, in Michigan and Wisconsin. Explore Wisconsin’s iconic Elroy-Sparta State Trail—widely acknowledged to be the oldest rail-trail in America—or Lake Michigan Pathway, which features beaches and marinas that will keep you in close touch with its namesake. You’ll love the variety in this collection of Midwestern multiuse trails—from beautiful waterways and scenic areas to the hustle and bustle of the states’ urban centers.

In this book, you’ll find:

• Detailed maps for every rail-trail, plus driving directions to trailheads
• Icons indicating the activities each trail can accommodate
• Succinct descriptions written by rail-trail experts

“You can now throw away all your self-help books on fighting depression, losing weight, toning muscles, finding something to do with your kids, and learning American history. Just use this guide, find a great trail—and enjoy!”
—Peter Harnik, Director, Center for City Park Excellence, Trust for Public Land

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780899978734
Publisher:	Wilderness Press
Publication date:	05/16/2017
Series:	Rail-Trails
Pages:	264
Sales rank:	659,619
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to converting former railroad corridors to public, multiuse recreational trails that offer easy access to runners, hikers, bicyclists, skaters, wheelchair users, and equestrians. It serves as the national voice for more than 160,000 members and supporters, more than 23,000 miles of open rail-trails across the country, and more than 8,000 miles of potential trails waiting to be built—with a goal of ensuring a better future for America made possible by trails and the connections they inspire. To find out more about Rail-Trails, check out the Conservancy's official website at railstotrails.org.

Read an Excerpt

Musketawa Trail

• Counties Muskegon, Ottawa
• Endpoints Eighth Ave./Fred Meijer Pioneer Trail between E. Garfield St. and Arthur St. (Marne) to Black Creek Road between E. Sherman Blvd. and Olthoff Dr. (Muskegon)
• Mileage 25.0
• Type Rail-Trail
• Roughness Index 1
• Surface Asphalt
• Uses Cycling, in-line skating, wheelchair access, horseback riding, snowmobiling, walking, cross-country skiing

The Musketawa Trail is one of the best places to get away from it all if you live and work in the western Michigan population centers of Muskegon or Grand Rapids. The 25-mile paved rail-trail rolls between the outskirts of both cities through the peaceful agricultural countryside.

The trail got its start as the Muskegon, Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad in 1886. Muskegon and Grand Rapids were in the midst of a lumber production boom, and Grand Rapids was gaining a reputation as a furniture-making center. A series of business deals over the years resulted in several railroads—the Pennsylvania, the Penn Central, and the Grand Trunk Western—using the tracks. The last owner, Central Michigan Railroad, discontinued service in 1989 and pulled the tracks the following year.

The Musketawa Trail earned its name in a contest; the winning entry combined the two counties through which it passes: Muskegon and Ottawa. By 1997, the town of Ravenna had paved the first mile, and by 2000 the entire trail was paved.

Now trail advocates are looking for connections to other parts of western Michigan’s trail network. The trail already connects to the Fred Meijer Pioneer Trail in the east, which brings it closer to Grand Rapids and the 90-mile Fred Meijer White Pine Trail (Trail 6, page 27). In the west in Muskegon, bike lanes bridge the gap between the Musketawa Trail and the Muskegon Lakeshore Trail.

Starting about 10 miles from downtown Grand Rapids in Marne, you’ll leave from a 40-car parking area. The village of Marne sits about a mile south of the trailhead. If you stop there for coffee, you might notice that the fairgrounds and some buildings carry the former name, Berlin. The residents changed the name during World War I to Marne to commemorate an Allied victory.

The trail sets off in a northwest direction through cropland and pastures, a common scene for the next 25 miles. Trailside growth gives partial shade in the east, while overhead utility lines in the corridor closer to Muskegon create a less sheltered border.

In about 7 miles you’ll reach the old whistlestop of Conklin, which has a small market. In another 5 miles you’ll cross Crockery Creek on a 216-foot trestle—the longest of 13 trestles on the trail—and enter Ravenna. The trailhead features an old Grand Trunk Western caboose sitting next to a restored 100-year- old railroad water tower. The business district for the town, settled in the 1840s, has markets, cafés, and pubs located less than a half mile to the right on Crockery Creek Road.

The next 12.6 miles are a straight shot, except for a slight bearing change midway, to the outskirts of Muskegon. Sprawling farm fields and occasional woodlots dominate the landscape. Closer to Muskegon, the farms disappear and housing subdivisions and business parks take their place. At the trail’s end, a 5-mile bike route heads into town to the Muskegon Lakeshore Trail and Pere Marquette Park on Lake Michigan.

If you’d like to explore the Musketawa Trail by bicycle with ride support, the Gold Spike Trail Tour is held in the late spring every year. Check out the Friends of the Musketawa Trail (see website) for details.

DIRECTIONS
To reach the Marne trailhead from westbound I-96, take Exit 25 to northbound Eighth Ave. Turn right onto Eighth Ave. and then left onto Hayes St., which becomes Eighth Ave. again. Go 1.4 miles, and turn left into the parking lot immediately after crossing the trail.

To reach the Marne trailhead from eastbound I-96, take Exit 23 toward Marne. Turn right onto Jackson St. and then right onto 16th Ave. Go 0.7 mile, and turn right onto Garfield St. Go 1 mile, and turn left onto Eighth Ave. Go 0.1 mile, and turn left into the parking lot immediately after you cross the trail.

To reach parking for the trailhead in Muskegon from I-96, take Exit 1B onto northbound US 31. Go 2.3 miles, and take Exit 112 to E. Sherman Blvd., heading right (east). Go 1 mile— Sherman bears right at the intersection and becomes Black Creek Road—and turn left onto E. Broadway Ave. Go 0.9 mile and look for parking on the left. The western trail endpoint is 1 mile west of the parking lot.

CONTACT:
musketawatrail.com

Table of Contents

About Rails-to-Trails Conservancy iii

Foreword viii

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

How to Use This Book 3

Michigan 6

1 Battle Creek Linear Park 9

2 Bay County Riverwalk/Railtrail System 13

3 Betsie Valley Trail 17

4 Bill Nicholls Trail 19

5 Fred Meijer Heartland Trail 23

6 Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park 27

7 Hines Park Trail/Rouge River Gateway Greenway 31

8 Huron Valley Trail 35

9 Kalamazoo River Valley Trail 39

10 Kal-Haven Trail 43

11 Kent Trails 45

12 Lakelands Trail State Park 49

13 Lansing River Trail 53

14 Leelanau Trail 57

15 Little Traverse Wheelway 61

16 Macomb Orchard Trail 65

17 Musketawa Trail 67

18 North Central State Trad 71

19 North Eastern State Trail 75

20 Paint Creek Trail 77

21 Pere Marquette Rail-Trail 81

22 Portland River walk 85

23 Saginaw Valley Rail Trail 89

24 Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail 93

25 Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation Trail (TART) 97

26 Wadhams to Avoca Trail 101

27 West Bloomfield Trail 103

28 William Field Memorial Hart-Montague Trail State Park 107

Wisconsin 110

29 Ahnapee State Trail 113

30 Badger State Trail 115

31 Bearskin State Trail 118

32 Bugline Trail 123

33 Capital City State Trail 127

34 Cheese Country Recreation Trail 131

35 Chippewa River State Trail 133

36 Eisenbahn State Trail 137

37 Elroy-Sparta State Trail 141

38 400 State Trail 145

39 Fox River State Trail 149

40 Gandy Dancer State Trail: Southern Section 153

41 Glacial Drumlin State Trail 157

42 Glacial River Trail 161

43 Great River State Trail 165

44 Hank Aaron State Trail 169

45 La Crosse River State Trail 171

46 Lake Michigan Pathway 175

47 Mascoutin Valley State Trail 179

48 Military Ridge State Trail 183

49 Mountain-Bay State Trail 187

50 New Berlin Recreation Trail 191

51 Oak Leaf Trail 195

52 Old Abe State Trail 197

53 Omaha Trail 201

54 Ozaukee Interurban Trail 205

55 Pecatonica State Trail 209

56 Pine Line Trail 211

57 Red Cedar State Trail 215

58 Southwest Commuter Path 219

59 Sugar River State Trail 223

60 Tomorrow River State Trail 227

61 White River State Trail 229

62 Wild Goose State Trail 233

63 Wiouwash State Trail 237

Index 240

Photo Credits 252

Support Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 253