Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park Explained

Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park
Location:Lower Peninsula, Kent County, Mecosta County, Montcalm County, Osceola County, Wexford County, Michigan USA
Established:1996[1]
Length Mi:92
Trailheads:Comstock Park, Michigan
Rockford, Michigan
Cedar Springs, Michigan
Sand Lake, Michigan
Howard City, Michigan
Morley, Michigan
Big Rapids, Michigan
Paris, Michigan
Reed City, Michigan
Tustin, Michigan
Cadillac, Michigan
Use:Cycling, Hiking, Snow-mobiling, XC skiing
Difficulty:Easy
Surface:Asphalt, Packed Gravel, Cinders
Season:All
Maintainer:Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Website:Official site

Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park is a 92miles 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 (later absorbed by the Pennsylvania Railroad). The White Pine Trail is a rail trail park. It was named the "Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park"[2] 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 (DNR), 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 is completely paved as of the fall of 2023.

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.

In addition to the Michigan DNR doing maintenance on the trail, volunteers, organized by Friends of the White Pine Trail. http://www.whitepinetrail.com also provide hundreds of volunteer hours of maintenance and advocacy work.

Communities Along Trail

The trail passes through the following communities:

Waypoints

Waypoints for the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park.[3] ↑ in the Distance column points to the other waypoint that the distance is between.

Location Services Distance
(approx.)
Coordinates
Parking, Restroom
Waypoint 2 Parking, Restroom ↑ 2.2miles
Drinking Fountain, Restroom ↑ 8.5miles
Drinking Fountain, Restroom ↑ 4.5miles
Drinking Fountain, Restroom ↑ 12miles
Drinking Fountain, Restroom ↑ 6.2miles
↑ 5miles
Drinking Fountain, Parking, Restroom ↑ 16miles
Drinking Fountain, Restroom ↑ 6.5miles
Parking ↑ 12.1miles
↑ 16miles

Plans

The trail is also 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 Lake Michigan Credit Union Ballpark,) Musketawa Trail, much as the White Pine Trail already connects with the Pere Marquette State Trail in Reed City.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: State of Michigan. When were Michigan state parks and recreation areas established?. 2019. March 30, 2022.
  2. http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=508&type=SPRK Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park
  3. http://www.traillink.com/trail/white-pine-trail-state-park.aspx White Pine Trail State Park