For more than a decade, planning for the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail (SBHT) has been underway to complete the 27-mile non-motorized pathway through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, offering people opportunities to explore the park in new ways along old roads and rail lines, road edges and social trails.
Meandering between the Village of Empire and Bohemian Road, the SBHT provides non-motorized access for all ages and abilities to enjoy the National Lakeshore and surrounding communities at a slower, more intentional pace.
The trail encourages visitors to pay closer attention to the world around them, allowing for a better understanding of the expansive history of the region and managed exploration of the National Lakeshore’s special resources.
The powerful combination of incredible recreation experiences, opportunities for education and a new mode of sustainable transportation excites us about the next leg of the trail — Pathway to Good Harbor, the 4-plus mile trail to the northern end of the lakeshore.
The Pathway to Good Harbor, also called Segment 9, will expand upon the experiences visitors love about the existing SBHT. Visitors will encounter an area rich with history spanning millennia with diverse ecosystems including wetlands, dunes, forests and former farmlands.
Since its inclusion in the National Lakeshore’s 2009 General Management Plan, SBHT planning efforts sought extensive public input, including facilitated community conversations in 2018 focused on Segment 9.
The 2018 community conversations informed the trail design currently being engineered, which includes an off-road trail separated from M22 and Traverse Lake Road, providing a safe and scenic route currently unavailable.
The design ensures much of the tree canopy along Traverse Lake Road remains and the trail can curve around healthy, larger trees and stay outside the designated wilderness area of the lakeshore.
The reported removal of 7,300 trees, 81.6% of which are classified as saplings or small trees, lacks an engineering basis as the report was contracted by the Little Traverse Lake Association. Just as Michigan Department of Transportation and National Park Service built the 20-plus miles of trail enjoyed today, we are confident the trail’s engineering and construction will adhere to the rigorous environmental standards of the NPS and other regulatory agencies.
The Pathway to Good Harbor will bring people to a popular destination at the north end of the park and provides important access to neighbors all around the region. It will foster physical and emotional connections. It will meet the community’s desire for safe and comfortable recreation experiences while providing important non-motorized connections between visitors, residents, neighbors and treasured recreation areas along the length of the lakeshore, and one day, the county.
Like the rest of the SBHT and the lakeshore itself, the new trail will support improved health and wellness for our residents and visitors and provide access to time and space to connect with nature.
As partners on the Pathway to Good Harbor, we’re excited to help cultivate these connections, which we believe will continue to benefit and inspire individuals for generations ahead.
