Trails in the News - Press Clipping Files

09/04/2008

Trails in the News: Stunning Views Highlight the Newest Section of the Little Traverse Wheelway

By PAUL GLAHN
Harbor Light Newspaper

About three-quarters of a mile to the west of Petoskey’s Magnus Park, looking over Little Traverse Bay from a distance of roughly 50 feet, the view is nothing short of spectacular.

The water is crystal clear, and most of the shoreline running from Goodhart to Bay Harbor is visible. In the distance, the Petoskey light house looks like a tiny speck, jutting out into the lake.

Typically a Northern Michigan view like this can only be read about in a real estate listing for a million dollar cottage on the lake. However, come September, this view will be available for anyone, as construction of the Magnus Park to East Park stretch of the Little Traverse Wheelway will finally see completion.

A few yards away from the unfinished viewing platform, providing the breathtaking panorama of the bay, a construction crew is building a retention wall along the trail. The unpaved, sandy trail is just wide enough for the backhoe which is carefully placing the heavy stones in place.

After more than 15 years of trying to connect Charlevoix to Harbor Springs via bike path, this crucial link between Petoskey and Bay Harbor has finally become a reality, and will be rideable this fall.

Petoskey’s Director of Parks and Recreation Al Hansen has played an active role in the trail’s planning and is excited to see this segment’s construction finally underway.

“This was actually one of the first parts of the trail we wanted to finish,” Hansen said. “This is really going to make transportation easier. It’s a really busy part of US- 31 and this will solve a lot of bicycle issues.”

Pending the completion of this segment of the trail, bicyclers will, theoretically, be able to ride the 26 miles from the airport in Harbor Springs all the way to Charlevoix; uninterrupted, staying off the road and on a completely paved surface.

The history of the trail dates back to 1991 when the Bayfront Park segment was completed. The next segment to see completion was Bayview to Division Road; followed by Bay Harbor to East Park; followed by the stretch along M-119 to the Harbor Springs Airport; then the stretch from M-119 back to Division Road; then, most recently, Bay Harbor all the way to Charlevoix’s Township Park.

Building around the Magnus Park to East Park section from the beginning, the Top of Michigan Trails Council has been trying to acquire the land for a number of years, and only in the last year was it able to do so. The difficulty stemmed from coordinating negotiations with the various land owners along the desired parcels of land. Various easements and acquisitions along the mile-and-a-half stretch have made the trail’s connection possible, Hansen said.

Since the trail’s beginning, the Michigan Department of Transportation has picked up the majority of the expenses. The different municipalities write the grants and pay for the trail design, and MDOT covers most of the rest.

The current segment has a total price tag of approximately $1.3 million. The construction is about $1 million – 78-percent of which the state is paying for.

The Northwest Design Group designed the trail segment and currently H & D Construction is putting it together. Water retention walls are the current priority of the construction crews.

The reason for the walls is the threat of water washaway. Hansen said when the trail was still being used for the old rail trestle, severe runoff destroyed that portion of the railroad, and a great effort is being put into avoiding a similar situation.

Once the walls are completed the crews will finish the lookout deck. The following step is grading the trail, then landscaping, then paving. Hansen said he expects a September completion and a trail dedication sometime next spring.

“When this is finished, I don’t think there will be a nicer trail in the state of Michigan,” Hansen said.

TOMTC Note: The article and accompanying (stunning) photos by Paul Glahn can be seen on the Harbor Light Newspaper website at www.harborlightnewspaper.com. Go to "Archives" and click on August 20, 2008.

For more information about the Little Traverse Wheelway, including descriptions and maps, visit www.trailscouncil.org.

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