Pere Marquette Rail-Trail

The Pere Marquette Rail-Trail (PMRT) is a rail trail in Michigan occupying an 28-mile (45 km) abandoned CSX railroad corridor in Midland County and Isabella County that was once part of the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad. In 1874, the tracks stretched from Ludington to Flint, transporting supplies to the timber industry and lumber/timber to southern Michigan's mills.[1] It is a Michigan Rails to Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame trail.[2]

Pere Marquette Rail-Trail
LocationClare, Isabella, and Midland Counties, Michigan
TrailheadsEast: Midland, Michigan
West: Clare, Michigan
UseWalking, running, biking, rollerblading
Hiking details
Trail difficultyEasy
SurfaceAsphalt
Right of wayKeep right except for passing

The trail is paved with asphalt for hiking and bicycling and is up to 14 feet (4.3 m) wide. The PMRT should not be confused with the Pere Marquette State Trail.[3]

History

William C. Gibson and Paul D. Pounders worked with the County of Midland's Parks and Recreation Department and were at the visionary front for the Pere Marquette Rail - Trail. In the late 1980's, It was their vision of turning the abandoned railway that ran from Midland, Michigan to Clare, Michigan into one of the premier non-motorized routes in Michigan and the United States. They sat out to film the abandoned right-of-way and all the potential it had for the future of bicycle and non-motorized transportation that would link vital community businesses, neighborhoods, schools and community attractions all along its route. They took that video and began to gather community support for the idea. Their hard work on the trail took them into the early 2000s and had come to fruition. Now, the Pere Marquette Rail - Trail is one of the best-designed rail-trails in the United States of America.

The trail is named after the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad, named after Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement at Sault Ste. Marie. Père is the French word for father; ergo, Father Marquette.

The first portion of the trail opened in June 1993. This portion was almost wholly contained in the city of Midland, Michigan and started at The Tridge.

Location
Pere Marquette Rail-Trail
Location Coordinates
Midland (the Tridge) 43°36′39.8″N 84°14′55.3″W
Clare (Fourth St. and Pine St.) 43°49′07.7″N 84°45′58.9″W

Future

The original plans for the rail trail called for extending it west to Ludington, Michigan where ferry service would provide access to Wisconsin.[4][5]

In 2018, members of the facebook group AskMidland were discussing the current state of the abandoned Smith's Crossing Bridge[6] (also known as Bailey Bridge) in Southeastern Midland County. The discussion included the possible idea that the Rail-Trail from Midland will eventually be connected to the Freeland and Saginaw Rail-Trails. Previous discussions by interested parties in the past posited the idea of using a restored Smith's Crossing Bridge as a connection point for the extended Rail-Trail if funding can be obtained for its restoration. Although a large charitable organization by the name of the Michigan Baseball Foundation[7] (a Foundation based out of the Great Lakes Bay Region committed to giving funding to projects that involve recreation) has been contacted by a member of AskMidland to see if they would be interested in restoring the bridge and paying for the needed work to extend the Rail-Trail, no plans have been discussed or have been put forth as of Fall 2018.

See also

References
  1. Isabella County Parks & Recreation: Pere Marquette Rail-Trail Archived 2006-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Pere Marquette Rail-Trail". Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  3. The Morning Sun: May 25, 2007-x
  4. Isabella County Parks & Recreation: News & Information Archived 2006-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
  5. City of Clare, Michigan: Department of Parks & Recreation-Master Plan 2005-2009 page 21 Archived 2006-05-12 at the Wayback Machine
  6. https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=truss/smithscrossing/
  7. http://michiganbaseballfoundation.org/
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