North Eastern State Trail – Top of Michigan Trails Council https://www.trailscouncil.org Connecting Northern Michigan by Trail Wed, 22 Dec 2021 16:46:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.6 /wp-content/uploads/cache/2019/09/cropped-TOMT_Logo/50812735.jpg North Eastern State Trail – Top of Michigan Trails Council https://www.trailscouncil.org 32 32 Lake to Lake Tour 2019 /event/lake-to-lake-tour-2019/ /event/lake-to-lake-tour-2019/#respond Fri, 13 Sep 2019 04:00:00 +0000 /?post_type=tribe_events&p=23079

“I am fairly new to the sport of bicycling. The Lake to Lake Tour this fall was my first time riding for any distance and I was a bit nervous before starting this event. I have to say that I plan on going back every year from now on. The Trails Council was so organized and helpful. Our group was so impressed with how well they thought of every little detail. They were waiting for us at every checkpoint with water and trail mix. We felt safe and looked after. The trails were absolutely beautiful. Our group made such precious memories. My favorite part was the personal touch in each small town. The meals were fabulous and the hosts were so proud and happy to show off their communities. This trip was the highlight of my fall. Thank you Trails Council for making us feel so special.”  

Kathy Dennison Adrianse, Grand Rapids, MI, 2018 tour participant

 

 

This is our third year of offering this unique tour. Participants have the opportunity to ride from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan, primarily on dedicated bike trails. 

19 Bike Tour Registration and Waiver

19 L2L brochure

The 2019 Lake to Lake Tour will begin on Friday morning, September 13 at Petoskey’s Bayfront Park. From there, you, your gear and your bike will be transported to Alpena where you will dip your back tire in Lake Huron. The tour will follow the North Eastern State Trail to a lunch stop in Metz, then on to the Nettie Bay Lodge (Hawks) where you’ll spend the night in a rustic hunting/fishing lodge. On Saturday the tour follows the NEST to Cheboygan, where lodging will be provided at the Best Western hotel, and you’ll enjoy a reception featuring local beer, followed by dinner on your own in Cheboygan. On Sunday, the tour will follow the North Central State Trail to Mackinaw City at the very top of the lower peninsula of Michigan and then its south on the North Western State Trail through Pellston and Alanson to just outside of Petoskey, where you will end the day by pedaling on the Little Traverse Wheelway for three miles to Bayfront Park. There you will celebrate your successful trip by dipping your front tire in Lake Michigan.

Included in the tour cost are lodging, transportation to Alpena, day-to-day transport of any gear you don’t carry on your bike, SAG support, and volunteer riders to assure you a safe and enjoyable ride. Meals included in the registration price will be lunch and dinner on Friday, breakfast and lunch on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. The total number of riders, exclusive of volunteers, will not exceed 35.  The cost for the tour is $525+ (varies depending on your occupancy choice). Your deposit will be counted as your annual membership donation. All funds in excess of actual costs will be credited as a donation to the trail advocacy efforts of TOMTC.

See links above for brochure and registration form.

    
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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.

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