The title of longest paved trail in Michigan will soon be stamped in Big Rapids, as the White Pine Trail project paving project nears its end.
According to Vice Chair of the “Friends of the White Pine Trail” group Paul Griffith, the final mile of concrete will be poured early next week between M-46 to Yankee Rd. near Howard City. All 92 miles should be finished around Memorial Day weekend.
“The barricades actually just went up yesterday,” Griffith said. “They will be pouring concrete Monday and Tuesday to the section approaching the (newly constructed) bridge.”
Not only will the system be the largest in the state, but also the third largest in the entire Unted States.
History of the trail goes back to the late 19th century, following the route of the former Grand Rapids to Indiana Railroad line used for transporting lumber. The railroad was constructed back in 1854 to connect Cincinnati, Ohio to the Straits of Mackinac. The line expanded rapidly to the north, reaching Grand Rapids in 1867, Morley in 1869, Paris in 1870, and all the way to Mackinac City by 1882. It served the logging “boom” in Michigan until 1910, where it then shifted to serve tourism under new ownership of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The system transitioned in the mid-1980’s, when the Michigan DNR inquired and eventually acquired the trail. It would eventual open in 1995 as Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park, but locals known it by the nicknamed “Rail-Trail” system.
According to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Michigan holds over 130 rail-trail systems that span over 1,300 miles across the state. The White Pine Trail currently runs from Comstock Park to Cadillac and is used for bicycling, walking, running, skating, skiing, and snowmobiling.
For more information, visit https://whitepinetrail.com.
Photo courtesy of Paul Griffith.
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