White Pine Trail State Park

The Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park is a convert|92|mi|km|adj=on long linear state park in the U.S. state of Michigan.

The trail extends from northern Grand Rapids to Cadillac, and it lies on the path graded for the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad. The White Pine Trail is a rail trail park. It was named the "Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park" [http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=508&type=SPRK] after a donation by Fred Meijer.

History

As the railroad ceased operation in the mid-1980s, the Michigan Department of Transportation came to own the rail bed. By 1994 the property was transferred to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which began replacing the rails with a trail for public recreational use.

Current Condition

The trail extends from Ann Street in Grand Rapids north to Cadillac. The trail has three paved sections: one extending convert|22|mi|km between Comstock Park and Sand Lake, another convert|13|mi|km|adj=on stretch between Big Rapids and Reed City, and the northernmost mile in Cadillac is also paved. The Michigan DNR has plans to pave convert|7.6|mi|km of trail from Russel Road near Cedar Springs to Sand Lake during the summer of 2007.

Unpaved sections of the trail are surfaced with packed gravel or cinders.

Due to reduced public funding for state parks in Michigan, the trail's upkeep depends largely on volunteers.

Communities Along Trail

The trail passes through the following communities:

*Comstock Park, Michigan
*Belmont, Michigan
*Rockford, Michigan
*Cedar Springs, Michigan
*Sand Lake, Michigan
*Pierson, Michigan
*Howard City, Michigan
*Morley, Michigan
*Stanwood, Michigan
*Big Rapids, Michigan
*Paris, Michigan
*Reed City, Michigan
*Ashton, Michigan
*Le Roy, Michigan
*Tustin, Michigan
*Cadillac, Michigan

Future plans

According to the Friends of the White Pine Trail, there are plans to extend the paved areas of the trail. The trail may also be connected to other trail systems in the state, including the Kent Trails system in Grand Rapids and the Musketawa Trail, much as the White Pine Trail already connects with the Pere Marquette State Trail in Reed City.

External links

* [http://www.therockfordnetwork.com/the_white_pine_trail.php The White Pine Trail - TheRockfordNetwork.com]
* [http://www.whitepinetrail.com/ Friends of the White Pine Trail]
* [http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/9394/trail.html Michigan Rail Trail info]
* [http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/ParksandTrailsInfo.aspx?id=508 MIchigan DNR: White Pine Trail State Park]