Photo: Lake to Lake Tour participants cross the Tower Pond on the North Eastern State Trail. Twenty cyclists braved the hottest, most humid weekend of the year to ride from Alpena on Lake Huron to Petoskey on Lake Michigan. The first “Lake to Lake Tour” took place Friday, September 22 to Sunday, September 24.  The tour, presented by Top of Michigan Trails Council (TOMTC), made use of four of the multi-use trails in the Council’s network.

  Keith Lamkin, who passed away on July 7, 2017, will be remembered as one of the early advocates for non-motorized trails in Emmet County. I first met Keith when he served as the Director of the MSU Cooperative Extension Service in Emmet County. As a planning consultant to counties in the early 70’s, the extension office was a first stop for me. Keith and I got to discussing community services,

  There was a large increase in the use of the North Western State Trail (NWST) on one particular day in June, as a bike tour group from the Muskegon area pedaled through northern Michigan. Our house sits right along the trail and next to Pellston Pioneer Park. Late in the morning of June 19, I saw a group of 10 or so riders leaving the trail and heading into the park. Upon further inspection, I met a few of the 26 adult chaperones and several of the 58 youth riders on a bike trip from Mackinac City to Traverse City and welcomed them to northern Michigan and the Top of Michigan Trails Council system.