Your Trail is Waiting

Great Lake to Lake Trails

As Michigan’s network of non-motorized trails has grown over the past four decades, a vision emerged of an interconnected series of trail routes linking one Great Lake to another. The vision was first realized in 2011 when the Michigan Trails and Greenway Alliance convened a meeting among a wide range of trail advocates and government officials around the state to focus on this intriguing idea. This meeting of the minds produced five potential routes, two in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and three in the Lower Peninsula – and created a name for this grand vision: The Great Lake-to-Lake Trails.

Plan Your Trip!

275 Miles

Route 1

South Haven to
Port Huron

Interactive Map

210 Miles

Route 2

Muskegon to
Bay City

140 Miles

Route 3

Charlevoix to
Alpena

Interactive Map

90 Miles

Route 4

Manistique to Marquette

100 Miles

Route 5

Escanaba to the
Porcupine Mountains

GLTL Planning

Phase 1

In 2011, over 150 stakeholders were identified for the GLTL Trails. Stakeholders included the Michigan DNR, Transportation, Community Health, Travel Michigan, the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, the National Parks Service, Michigan Recreation and Park Association, regional trail coalitions, regional planning and transportation organizations, local governments, elected officials and personnel, and individual trail advocates. Convening stakeholders, developing a vision and goals, articulating a strategy, and prioritizing projects were the first steps taken to ensure this would be a project that we could bring to fruition. Confirming the name and creating the identity for the trail were also outcomes of Phase 1 planning efforts.

Phase 2

Route 1: advocating and planning for its development, marketing, and connecting it to other destinations in their areas. Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance staff and trail ambassadors conducted field analysis, feasibility studies, and dialogue with city and township officials along with law enforcement, transportation, and health agencies to develop viable routes in each of the gaps. Trails were inventoried for each existing trail segment in the approximately 315-mile route regarding its surface, endpoints, and current condition.

Phase 3

Our current work is to support the completion of Great Lake to Lake Trail Route #1 from South Haven to Port Huron. Plans are in place to open the trail by the fall of 2019. With a generous financial commitment from philanthropist Mike Levine, wayfinding, signage along the route (trailhead and trailside facilities, signage, kiosks, and maps), and gap connections are in the works for select portions of the trail that can be applied to the overall trail wayfinding. Additional funding is necessary to take the wayfinding work across the entire trail.

Phase 4

Continued focus on wayfinding and marketing, including historic interpretation and interpretive displays, Great Lake to Lake Trails website, and an inaugural ride on Route #1 in September 2019.

Phase 5

Route #1 is fully signed, yet still around 78% complete. We must continue collaborating with trail stakeholders and funders to complete the remaining gaps around highways and build connector trails through the remaining gaps between cities.

Route 1

Stretching 275 miles from South Haven to Port Huron, Route 1 was mostly built on remnants of the original Michigan Air Line Railroad. Built-in 1883, the Michigan Air Line was one of Michigan’s first major railroads, running from Port Huron to Niles, Michigan. When most of the rail corridor was abandoned in 1975, several sections were acquired by the Michigan Departments of Transportation or Natural Resources and other county and local governments.

Today, this major stretch of the Great Lake-to-Lake Trails Route 1 run from Richmond (Macomb Orchard Trail) to Concord (Falling Waters Trail) near Jackson. From the west, Route 1 follows the Kal-Haven Trail State Park on the railbed of the former Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad from the Lake Michigan shoreline to Kalamazoo. It then continues east on the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail, the Battle Creek Linear Park, and the Calhoun County Trailway.