Trail Descriptions - TOMTC Trail System

Huron-Sunrise Trail Extension Draws Crowd

 About 80 people of all ages gathered at the 40 Mile Point Lighthouse on Saturday, May 23, 2009, for the dedication of the 2.5-mile extension of Rogers City’s non-motorized Sunrise Trail.

 
Spearheaded by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the extension continues the paved pathway from its previous end at Hoeft State Park and follows M-23 to its new northern trailhead. A short distance away sits the 40 Mile Point Lighthouse, built in 1896, and sandy beaches. 

From the southern trailhead in Rogers City, the eight-mile path heads north, following Lake Huron and occasionally dipping inland through woods. Two spur trails lead to the Herman Vogler Conservation Area and Hoeft State Park, both home to several miles of hiking trails.

 
Sunlight filtered through gray clouds as Top of Michigan Trails Council Representative Tom Stanley welcomed everyone to the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “The trail was built by the vision and energy of you people,” he said.

 
Rogers City Mayor Beach Hall added, “It’s one more jewel in a crown.” And City Manager Mark Slown called the path, “a great link in a grand vision of interconnecting trails.”

 
“We hit the mark with this project,” said Scott Thayer, Manager of MDOT Alpena. He thanked Kevin Schaedig, Development Engineer for MDOT Alpena, saying that Kevin had championed the trail.

 
Barbara Stone of the 40 Mile Point Lighthouse Society said that the first lighthouse keeper had developed trails in the area during the late 1800s using his Montgomery Ward bicycle. “We’ve now come full circle,” she added.

 
Other speakers at the event included, Bob McCallum and Al Byrnes, 40 Mile Point Lighthouse Society; Deb Stiller, Afternoon of Arts & Crafts; Michelle LeBar, Rogers City Director of Parks and Recreation; Kris Sorgenfrei and Mike Grohowski, Presque Isle County Commissioners; Blake Gingrich, Hoeft State Park Superintendent; and Laurie Marzolo, DNR-Atlanta Unit Manager.

 
As the ribbon was cut, two boys jostled each other, trying to be the first ones to cycle on the now-official trail. With the ceremonies concluded, participants wandered down to the Lighthouse’s Afternoon of Arts & Crafts, an appropriate celebration for the new trail, a vital link in northeastern Michigan between recreation and tourism, connecting the old with the new. 

Erin Fanning is an outdoor athlete and author.  She serves as a Regional Representative to the Top of Michigan Trails Council from Presque Isle County (Millersburg.)  We thank Erin for contributing this fine article.

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  First the good news: the main loop of the Alpena Bi-Path has many good places to stop, many with parking and restrooms.  If you’re looking for a good place to start your ride you won’t go far.  The Huron-Sunrise Trail has excellent trailhead opportunities in Rogers City as well as at the other end, Hoeft State Park and two miles beyond at the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse.  The Little Traverse Wheelway has an excellent starting point at Charlevoix Township Park on Waller Road and other good places to stop along the way including West Park and East Park on the edges of Bay Harbor and Bay Harbor Village commercial area in between.  In Petoskey, Magnus Park and the History Museum in Bayfront Park provide many amenities.  Efforts are being made to improve the Fettis-McCue Overlook area behind Glen’s Market by joining it to a new park that we propose to see built at the mouth of Tannery Creek.  Spring Lake Park across M-119 has plenty of parking and restrooms and is the southern terminus of the Petoskey to Mackinaw City Trail.  Little Traverse Township Park at the Harbor Springs is slated for improvement after the final segment into the city is completed this summer. The Harbor Springs Trailhead near Hoyt and Lake Streets is still in the planning stages.

 At the southern terminus of the North Country State Trail in Gaylord the DNR is currently making efforts to purchase private land at the end of the trail at Fairview Avenue for a trailhead.  Good amenities are available in downtown Vanderbilt and Wolverine as well as Indian River where plans are underway to include a proper trailhead as part of a project to renovate Marina Park.  Topinabee has a nice roadside park with new restrooms.  In Cheboygan plans still appear to be on track to built a brand new facility at the intersection of the North Central State Trail and the Alpena to Cheboygan Trail.  Mackinaw City boasts the DNR Trailhead behind Mackinaw Crossings that serves as the northern terminus of both the North Central State Trail and the Petoskey to Mackinaw City Trail as well as the Lower Peninsula segment of the North Country Trail and the Midland to Mackinac hiking trail. This facility was dedicated in 2001 and there are long term plans to add a pavilion and kiosk to the site.

 The Petoskey to Mackinaw City Trail starts at Spring Lake Park as noted where there is an excellent trailhead.  Going north, the Michigan State Fish Hatchery in Oden is also a good place to stop.  Further north there are no formal trailheads but the communities of Alanson, Brutus, Pellston, Levering and Carp Lake all offer amenities.

 The soon-to-be improved (probably in 2011) Alpena to Cheboygan Trail will begin where the trail joins the Alpena Bi-Path on Woodward Avenue.  Going north the communities of Posen and Hawks offer some amenities.  Efforts are underway in Millersburg to refurbish the old railroad depot as a trailhead and a historical museum.  Further along, amenities can be found in the communities of Onaway, Tower, and at Aloha State Park.

 As you see, there are many good places to start, pause, and stop your journey.  And they are getting better.   Photo: TOMTC survey table at the Adams Rest Stop on the Little Traverse Wheelway.