White Pine Trail State Park

Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park Location within the state of Michigan Location Lower Peninsula, Kent County, Mecosta County, Montcalm County, Osceola County, Wexford County, Michigan USA Nearest city Big Rapids, Michigan Coordinates 43°43′04″N 85°29′09″W / 43.71775°N 85.4859°W / 43.71775; -85.4859Coordinates: 43°43′04″N 85°29′09″W / 43.71775°N 85.4859°W / 43.71775; -85.4859 Governing body Michigan Department of Natural Resources Length 92 mi (148 km) Trailheads Comstock Park, Michigan Cadillac, Michigan Use Cycling, Hiking, Snow-mobiling, XC skiing Trail difficulty Easy Season All Website Official site

Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park is a 92-mile (148 km) 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"^[1] after a donation by grocery store executive 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 22 miles (35 km) between Comstock Park and Sand Lake, another 13-mile (21 km) stretch between Big Rapids and Reed City, and a 16-mile stretch between Leroy and Cadillac. The Michigan DNR paved 7.6 miles (12.2 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.

Snowmobiles are permitted on most of the trail, between Russell Road (near Cedar Springs) and South Street in Cadillac. Motorized wheel vehicles (other than personal accessibility devices) are not permitted.

Due to reduced public funding for state parks in Michigan, the trail's upkeep depends largely on volunteers, organized by Friends of the White Pine Trail.

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

Waypoints

Waypoints for the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park.^[2] ↑ in the Distance column points to the other waypoint that the distance is between.

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 (currently connected with a designated bike route through the city between Butterworth Ave SW and the Fifth Third Ballpark,) Musketawa Trail, much as the White Pine Trail already connects with the Pere Marquette State Trail in Reed City.

References

External links

• The White Pine Trail - TheRockfordNetwork.com
• Friends of the White Pine Trail
• Michigan Rail Trail info
• White Pine Trail State Park page at RailsToTrails.us

Hiking trails in Michigan
Bay de Noc Boardman Lake Betsie Valley Dune Climb Fox River Greenstone Ridge High Country Horseshoe Bay Iron Belle Jordan River Kal-Haven Kent Lake Superior Lakelands Lansing River Leelanau Marble Head Michigan Shore-to-Shore Musketawa North Country Ocqueoc Falls Paul Henry Pere Marquette Rail Pere Marquette State Plaster Creek TART Van Buren Waterloo-Pinckney White Pine