Proposed Michigan-to-Wisconsin Trail Unveiled

Gov. Rick Snyder this week unveiled his plan for a proposed trail from Belle Isle to Wisconsin. 

The trail would be an opportunity to showcase some of the state's "pristine" scenery, Snyder said, according to a report Thursday in the Detroit Free Press. 

A map produced by the newspaper shows the proposed trail encompassing the 8.9-mile Paint Creek Trail, which stretches from Rochester Municipal Park to the Village of Lake Orion. It would also encompass the Paint Creek to Polly Ann Trail Connector in Lake Orion and the Metro Parkway Trail.  

The continuous trail will require the creation of more than 250 miles of connectors in the state.

Snyder's proposal was part of an address on Affordable and Reliable Energy; the governor said keeping the air, water and land in Michigan clean and beautiful is essential to upholding the state's 175-year tradition of environmental stewardship.

Snyder is directing the Department of Natural Resources, as well as various committees, agencies and funds associated with the outdoors, to prioritize efforts to create trail connectors and make the nonstop trail a reality.

"All these entities will reach out to local communities as partners, helping them to maximize the economic return from trail use. We can and will seek to make Michigan the Trail State," Snyder said.