Dexter and Chelsea Trails Receive $250k to Connect to State Trail System; Manchester Trail Remains Isolated

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS) has pledged $125,000 and an additional $125,000 in matching funds to complete a looped bike and pedestrian trail across western Washtenaw County that will ultimately connect to the statewide Iron Belle Trail.

Led by the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative (HWPI), this circular trail called “The Loop” will tie the Border-2-Border Trail and the Lakelands Trail into a single integrated trail section. The resulting 44-mile continuous loop will connect the Chelsea, Dexter, Pinckney and Waterloo recreation areas to the State’s Iron Belle System, and create a unique and highly attractive destination for regional events and activities. Click HERE for complete maps of the proposed trail system, as well as more information.

The Proposed new trails (circled in blue) will create a 44 mile loop connecting our northern neighbors together.

While Governor Snyder extended his “sincere gratitude” to the developers of this new trail system, Manchester’s newly growing trail system remains isolated from county and regional trails.

Discussions for such a connection have been underway for some time, but no clear path has been chosen. “The only likely route in the near term is up the M-52 corridor, much like what is discussed between Chelsea and Stockbridge,” said Ray Berg, advocate of the local Manchester Shared-Use Trail project. “However,” Berg cautioned, “this is in the future — there is no active planning under way at this time.”

Berg added that there is much more planning to carry our trail westward. The State DNR and Washtenaw County have had prolonged discussions with a family farm and land owner west of Manchester to purchase large tracts of land to construct what would be come the River Raisin Recreation Area, a very large park extending out along and south of Austin Road into Jackson County. This land contains large lengths of the same railbed on which our trail is constructed.

In fact, State DNR and County officials met with several of us in the Village offices about 1 1/2 years ago to discuss connecting the Manchester Shared-Use Trail to the railbed they would acquire, allowing our trail to extend many miles into Jackson County towards Brooklyn.

“This would greatly increase the value and use of our trail,” Berg enthused, “and bring many recreational users of the longer trail into Manchester, boosting tourism. We’re waiting to hear on purchase of property, but the State and County are very interested in connecting to our trail, so I think something good will come of this in near future.”

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by Fritz Swanson

Fritz Swanson has written for The Believer, the Christian Science Monitor, Print Magazine, McSweeney's, Esopus, LSA Magazine, and The Mid-American Review. He serves as a trustee on the Manchester District Library Board. He's the designer and publisher of The Manchester Mirror.

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