| Pere Marquette Rail-Trail | |
|---|---|
| Location | Clare, Isabella, and Midland Counties, Michigan |
| Trailheads | East: Midland, Michigan West: Loomis, Michigan |
| Use | Walking, running, biking, rollerblading |
| Trail difficulty | Easy |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| ROW | Former CSX railroad |
The Pere Marquette Rail-Trail (PMRT) is a rail trail in Michigan occupying an 28-mile (45 km) abandoned CSX railroad corridor in Midland County and Isabella County that was once part of the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad. In 1874, the tracks stretched from Ludington to Flint, transporting supplies to the thriving timber industry and lumber/timber to southern Michigan's mills.[1] It is a Michigan Rails to Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame trail. [2]
The trail is paved with asphalt for hiking and bicycling and in places may be up to 14 feet (4.3 m) wide. The PMRT should not be confused with another trail with a similar name, the Pere Marquette State Trail, also in central Michigan; the two may be connected one day.[3]
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The trail is named for the railroad, which was named for Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement at Sault Ste. Marie. Père is the French word for father; ergo, Father Marquette.
The first portion of the trail was opened in June, 1993 and dedicated on July 17 of the same year. This portion was almost wholly contained in the city of Midland, Michigan and started at The Tridge. As of 2006[update], The Tridge is still the current starting point of the official part of the trail. Mileage markers are located every half mile (0.8 km).
As construction has progressed through the years, the trail has expanded to include segments extending to the following locations, with dates of service included in parenthesees:
Midland County transferred ownership of the 8.25-mile (13.28 km) undeveloped portion of the trail in Isabella County to Isabella County in early 1998, which allowed development of the trail from Coleman to the City of Clare.[4] The Isabella County sections were completed as follows:
The original plans for the rail trail called for extending it west to Baldwin, Michigan, then to Ludington, Michigan, where ferry service could be used to follow the trail westward into Wisconsin. According to the Isabella county Parks & Recreation Department website, construction should begin in 2009 for the Clare continuation of the PMRT.[5] When the trail has been extended the 2.6 miles (4.2 km) through Clare, the PMRT could be connected to the Pere Marquette State Trail, which is state-owned and controlled by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
According to Clare's Parks & Recreation Department Master plan for 2005-2009,
"The completion of the rail trail through Clare is considered the highest priority of the Parks & Recreation Board. The City has strongly supported efforts to obtain grant funding for the completion of the project and has worked with local land owners and downtown business owners to secure right of way through the city. Estimated cost for this project substantially limits trail development. The old railway Depot building has been offered to the city. A desirable future would allow for the relocation of the depot building to a spot along the railroad line at McEwan where it will be rehabilitated for use as a visitor center, restroom and downtown trailhead."[6]
In 2005, the Chippewa Trail opened as a spur to the Pere Marquette Trail. It runs 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the Pere Marquette's terminus at the Tridge to the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland.
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