Leadership Charlevoix County to help fund Boyne City trail connection

CHARLEVOIX COUNTY — This year’s Leadership Charlevoix County group is aiming to make outdoor recreation in the county safer and more enjoyable by working with the Top of Michigan Trails Council to connect the Boyne Valley Trail and Boyne City to Charlevoix Trail.

The walking path between these trails already exists, what Leadership Charlevoix County is aiming to accomplish is raise the funds needed to buy and install the signage that will help trail users navigate.

According to the trails council's executive director Brent Bolin, the project needs between $5,000 and $6,000 for signage, depending on how much the council decides to purchase. Two kinds of signs will be needed: safety signs, which are pre-made and ready to purchase, and wayfinding signage, which are customized with information specific to the trail.

In total, the connection will create a trail system of around 13 to 14 miles. The Boyne City to Charlevoix trail is currently still incomplete, but a segment of the trail will be built this year extending to Horton Bay and the rest of the trail will be completed at a future date, Bolin said.

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In addition to signage, the project will raise funds for mapping the trail system. Normally, a map is created when a trail is opened but because the Boyne Valley Trail opened in the summer of 2020, after COVID-19 first broke out, the trails council was never able to create one.

The participants in Leadership Charlevoix County this year wanted to find a project that would have a county-wide impact, affect people of varying socioeconomic levels and support outdoor recreation.

Bolin recommended the trail project because he is involved with Leadership Little Traverse, so he understood the kind of project the group was looking for: something meaningful, but discreet, that can be accomplished in approximately six months.

“This was a conversation that we were already having with Boyne City and it seemed like it fit those other criteria really well and would make a good community project. Also, there has to be some working with the local governments, outreach to citizens and so it ticks the boxes,” Bolin said. “Getting the extra help on this project really helps the trails council move it forward much faster than we'd be able to on our own.”

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For Jordan Peck and Ryan Deery, participants in Leadership Charlevoix County, the project was appealing because it will connect communities in Charlevoix County, improve safety so bikers and people walking on the trails don’t have to travel on the side of the road to reach the next trail section and it will have an economic benefit on the community.

“We already know people are coming up to Northern Michigan for outdoor recreation, that's our big draw. I'm a biker, (if) I want to go out for a longer ride, now I've got a route to connect these trails,” Deery said.

“But it also is going to carry bikers and trail users right through downtown and invariably, someone's going to stop for a snack. Someone's going to stop for an ice cream cone, cup of water. So it will impact downtown Boyne City, but I think it can be a promotional tool for all of Charlevoix County.”

Peck added that “The possibilities are limitless once those trails are linked together all the way."

"This is just a great way to start this," he said. "I think there's a lot of impact, too, for Boyne Falls and Boyne Mountain. One could travel from northside of Boyne City, all the way out to Boyne Mountain, spend a large portion of their day out there and then head back."

While the Leadership Charlevoix County program ends in May, the trail connection may not be completed until summer, depending on how quickly the group is able to fundraise. Donations can be sent to the Top of Michigan Trails Council through the donation link on its website.

— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @Tess_Petoskey.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: LCC to help build Boyne City trail connection for community project