All races will start and end in Petoskey along the Little Traverse Wheelway.

More information here:

Register HERE.

I live in Charlevoix with my wife, Anne.  I have a son, Oliver, who lives in Bloomington, Indiana.  I was born in Indiana and grew up there, in a small town near Fort Wayne.

Anne and I visited the Charlevoix area in our boat about six years ago and really liked the town and entire area.  We purchased a summer home north of downtown Charlevoix and one year later decided to sell our home in Indiana and move to Charlevoix to live here full time.  What attracted us to this area was the natural beauty, the charm of the communities, and the friendliness of the people; but one of the major reasons we chose to move here was the quality of the area bike trails.

For many years Anne and I biked to work and to the stores in Bloomington, which has a long history as a pro-biking community.  Trails were only available in the city of Bloomington, as the state of Indiana does little to build or promote bike trails.  I was so impressed with the quality of the bike trails in Northern Michigan that I wanted to do what I could to help promote and sustain them.  I am involved in the Charlevoix Trail Ambassadors group thanks to Luther Kurtz. Luther submitted my name as a potential board member for the Top of Michigan Trails Council in 2017, and I am proud to serve in that capacity. I believe that it is important for those of us who use the trails to do what we can to support trail organizations like the Trails Council.

As a member of the Charlevoix Trail Ambassador group, I was involved in moving the U.S. 35 bike trail to a safer route through the north side of Charlevoix. I am currently working with the city to set up a bike trail tab on the “Life In Charlevoix” web site.  I may also be working with Mayor Kurtz on a new bike path on the north side of town.

My ultimate dream is for the completion of the Charlevoix to Boyne City trail—sooner rather than later!

I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the Top of Michigan Trails Council.

Bob

• 5:30: Cocktail hour. Stroll about and view photos and slideshows of our latest accomplishments. Chat with Cindy Okerlund, our Kids Biking Coordinator; visit Bill Prall, our Safety and Maintenance Director; snag our staff and board members to share your vision for our trails organization. Free non-alcoholic beverages and hors d’oeuvres; cash bar.
• 6:30: Time to feast with friends! Delectable salad and choice of three entrees:
  • Pork Chop: Char-grilled 10 ounce chop topped with bacon bleu cheese crust presented with port wine sauce
  • Grilled Salmon presented with grilled corn dill beurre blanc
  • Squash, Chick Pea and Cashew Curry (vegan)
• 7:30: Dessert and a brief program—Rick Wiles will share what he’s discovered about the illustrious history of the Little Traverse Wheelway.

• 8:00: More time to catch up with other Friends of Trails to share your trail stories.

5H Irrigation and Maintenance of Petoskey was awarded a contract to complete the work, which involved using a vibratory plow with a 12” blade to cut the roots on approximately 30 miles of asphalt trail surface on the Little Traverse Wheelway and the North Western State Trails.

This work was begun in August on a section of the Wheelway near Bay Harbor, and the process was refined to continue work on the paved portion of the North Western State Trail (from M-119 in Petoskey to Terrace Street in Alanson) in November.

The cost for this work will be shared by TOMTC, Bear Creek, Little Traverse, Littlefield, Resort townships and the City of Petoskey. The Trails Council has received a large donation from a private donor to cover part of their share of the cost, but the organization is seeking support from trail users as well.

Tony Hoffman of 5H Irrigation reports that the process involves coordinating and obtaining necessary clearances from Miss Dig to locate and avoid utilities along the trail. He reports that he will be working on the segment of the Wheelway from M 119 to Division Road in the spring, and will also be cutting roots on the segment from Konle Road to Harbor Springs.

Hoffman commented, “These trails are well used by cyclists and pedestrians, and I know this because I use the North Western trail myself. It’s important that trail users not take them for granted. There is a cost to keeping them maintained.”

Jeff Winegard, Executive Director of TOMTC will continue to work with Prall to oversee this project, coordinating with local jurisdictions. The need for ongoing root cutting in the future will also be emphasized, and townships and other jurisdictions represented along the trails will be asked to build trail maintenance costs into future budgets.

Winegard stated, “These trails are an economic asset to our area, and it’s important that we maintain them so that they will be available for all to enjoy safely for many years to come.  A study done by MSU determined that trail users on the Little Traverse Wheelway spent an additional $750,000 annually in our area.”

For more information on the project, contact Winegard at (231) 348-8280, or email ed@trailscouncil.org. To support TOMTC’s trail maintenance mission, visit www.trailscouncil.org. Financial support can also be mailed to 1687 M 119, Petoskey, MI 49770.

A video of the root cutting process can be found HERE.

Stafford’s Top of Michigan Marathon – A USATF CERTIFIED COURSE to benefit the Top of Michigan Trails Council and the Petoskey High School Cross Country and Track teams.

New this Year – two 5K races

The marathon race will be run on a beautiful course made of asphalt starting in Charlevoix, then Petoskey and finishing in Harbor Springs. The trail is an excellent venue for runners stepping up to a marathon or seasoned runners looking for a fast time. The trail is relatively flat and perfect for getting a qualifying time for other races. The trail has spectacular views of the Little Traverse Bay.

The half marathon is run on the same course and begins in Bay Harbor and finishes in Harbor Springs.

The 10K starts at the Top of Michigan Trails Council’s Packy Offield Trail Center at 1687 M 119, Petoskey and also finishes in Harbor Springs.

5K races are being planned as well. One will start and end at the Marathon start line in Charlevoix, and one will start and end at the finish line in Harbor Springs. Watch for more details on these events!

Register Online Today!

Photo: Lake to Lake Tour participants cross the Tower Pond on the North Eastern State Trail.

Twenty cyclists braved the hottest, most humid weekend of the year to ride from Alpena on Lake Huron to Petoskey on Lake Michigan. The first “Lake to Lake Tour” took place Friday, September 22 to Sunday, September 24.  The tour, presented by Top of Michigan Trails Council (TOMTC), made use of four of the multi-use trails in the Council’s network.

The completion of the North Western State Trail in 2016 made it possible to travel from lake to lake in on dedicated bicycle trails for the first time in the state of Michigan. After dipping their rear wheels in Lake Huron at the marina in Alpena, the group took the Alpena Bi-Path to the start of the North Eastern State Trail (NEST). After a stop in Metz for lunch (along with a presentation on the devastating Metz Fire of 1908), the group rode to dinner and lodging at Nettie Bay Lodge, a hunting and fishing lodge located two miles from the NEST near Hawks. On Saturday, the group stayed at the Best Western in Cheboygan, and traveled by pontoon boat down the river to Pier 33 where they enjoyed dinner and a presentation on Cheboygan’s history. On Sunday, the group cycled from Cheboygan to Mackinaw City on the North Central State Trail, and then south on the North Western State Trail to the Little Traverse Wheelway, which led them to the Petoskey marina where they dipped their front tires in Lake Michigan.

Reviews were overwhelmingly positive for the tour. One rider from Traverse City wrote, “I want to thank you and the team for making the Lake to Lake tour so pleasurable…. All the support made us very comfortable, knowing we wouldn’t be left in the woods.  You also had little extra side trips, the pontoon rides to see the loons, the pontoon ride on the river to dinner, the historians telling us about Metz and Cheboygan, and the cheering when we arrived at Petoskey with cokes and cookies…. Thanks for a very organized and well-run trip.  It was great fun with great people (even though it was a little warm).”

TOMTC board member Jim Conboy planned the event, with help from committee members Jim Schroeder, Steve Biggs, Anne Belanger, Bill Prall and TOMTC director Jeff Winegard. For more information about upcoming tours, contact the Trails Council at 231-348-8280 or email info@trailscouncil.org.

For photos of the inaugural Lake to Lake tour, click HERE.

Terry Dickinson touches up the mural depicting the historical phases of the Little Traverse Wheelway on the back wall of D&W Fresh Market in Petoskey. The mural faces the Wheelway at the location of the Tannery Creek Trailhead and the McCue-Fettis Overlook.  

An important piece of “art on the trail” was given a new lease on life in Petoskey this week. The “Wheelway Mural,” a series of panels depicting the modes of transportation on the Little Traverse Wheelway corridor throughout its history, was originally painted by muralist Terry L. Dickinson in 2006 on the back wall of what was then Glen’s Market in Bear Creek Township. Dickinson painted panels showing the past and current uses of what is now the Little Traverse Wheelway.

Few users of the trail (and few local residents) understand that the path around the bay, which was first used by Odawa Indians as a trailway, was next used as a bicycle path. When bikes became popular in the 1890s, a wooden “wheelway” was built specifically for use by cyclists, thus the “No Teaming or Driving” signs that are replicated twice on the Wheelway today. Horses were prohibited from using this path.

In the early 1900’s the trail was taken over by tracks for the “dummy train” that ferried resorters from Petoskey to Harbor Springs. The existing trail was developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the most recent section being completed in 2009.

Dickinson’s five panels depict this progression. His original work was funded through grants and gifts, and has provided a beautiful focal point along the trail.

This summer one of TOMTC’s board members, Max Putters, was contacted by the shopping center owners. They had plans to repaint the buildings, and repair some cracks to the edifice. Since Mr. Putters had been involved in getting the mural project going over ten years ago, they were kind enough to ask him if the Trails Council would be interested in touching up the cracks in the mural. Dickinson was contacted to see if he was willing to do the repairs, and he agreed. Funding for this project was approved by the council’s board of directors, and the work was completed this week.

The Trails Council is pleased that this “treasure on the trail” has been preserved so that it can be enjoyed by trail users for many years to come.