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Robert Annis is
an Indianapolis-
based freelance
writer specializing
in cycling and
outdoor travel.
When he’s not
hunched over a
keyboard, you are
likely to find him
pedaling the back
roads and trails
of the Midwest or
traveling around
the globe.
“We thought that working with the utility companies
was going to be the hardest part, but it’s actually the
neighbors living around them that have offered the most
resistance. We’ve been finding out that the people who
live adjacent to these corridors have been using them as
their own private playgrounds for years—hunting, build-
ing bandit trails—and they don’t want to share.”
According to Nancy Krupiarz, executive director of
the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, the various
agencies, nonprofits and other groups affiliated with
the individual trails have also found it necessary to
coordinate closely and cooperate. The National Park
Service, which oversees the North Country Trail, and the
Michigan Department of Natural Resources had several
discussions about signage, whose rules and policies
would take precedence, and so on, Krupiarz said.
Even after the Iron Belle is completed, there will still
be more to do, according to Krupiarz and Bennett. Many
communities were disappointed when the proposed Iron
Belle route didn’t go through their cities, so there will be
an effort to connect them through arterial trails.
“We tell them to think of the Iron Belle as an interstate,”
Bennett said. “Only a few people are going to attempt the
entire length of the trail. Most are going to pick a destina-
tion as a starting point for the day and do a 30- to 40-mile
ride. They’re not going to want to come back the exact
same way, so you need these arterial trails where the rid-
ers can eventually loop back to where they came from.”
Officials can’t wait for the Iron Belle to be fully linked
so visitors from around the country can truly experi-
ence Michigan.
“People will be able to see such a wide variety of
scenery, from all of our natural attractions to [impressive
manmade attractions like] Detroit,” said Krupiarz. “Once
the trail is completed, I think you’ll see more businesses
and amenities popping up all along the way. We can see
this becoming a prototype for future trail systems across
the U.S.” For more info, go to •
WINTER 2017 RAILS TO TRAILS 13