Rain fell, fences failed, costs rose — but the first Michigan portion of the Marquette Greenway in New Buffalo and New Buffalo Township is finally finished and ready for hiking and biking.
The public is invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the trailhead in downtown New Buffalo later this month to celebrate the completion with coffee and donuts.
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“The Marquette Greenway walking and cycling trail will be transformational for community residents and visitors alike,” says Marcy Hamilton, deputy executive director of the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission. “Earlier sections were built in Illinois and Indiana, but this is the first section completed in Michigan. Because of that, it’s a really big deal.”
What’s Happening: The new trailhead at Smith and Mechanic Streets features parking, a picnic area and a bike repair station and the three-mile paved trail will ultimately connect to a 60-mile non-motorized walking and cycling trail from Chicago to New Buffalo. That tri-state trail will connect five counties with 15 municipalities, one national park, and one state park and will be accessible to almost 200,000 people living within 1.5 miles of the trail along the southern shore of Lake Michigan.
“We will continue to work to connect the Marquette Greenway up the Lake Michigan coastline,” says Gary Wood, president of Friends of Berrien County Trails, a local citizen-based, non-profit seeking to connect Berrien County through a network of trails. “One day it will connect walkers and cyclists all the way to the Mackinac Bridge.”
The back story: Volunteers started the trails project in 2015. For more than 10 years, planners have worked to raise funds, apply for grants and help plan the local piece of the puzzle that would connect to the 60-mile hiking and cycling path that begins in Calumet Park in east Chicago and ends in New Buffalo.
The Marquette Greenway ends in New Buffalo, but work continues to connect to the Red Arrow Trail to the north and beyond. “This extraordinary achievement took years to plan and fund,” Wood says. “It has been a dedicated collaboration and labor of love from many committed people and organizations.
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“When we first had this idea, we were absolutely blown away by how many folks jumped in to participate,” Wood says. “It wasn’t easy, and we certainly had moments of discouragement. We could not have done it without the steady hand and professional guidance of Marcy Hamilton.”
The work was fraught with complications they had not encountered before, Hamilton says. “We struggled for years to find a route for the Michigan section of the Marquette Greenway,” Hamilton says. For instance, the 10-foot-wide, paved path follows the Amtrak train tracks along a portion of U.S. 12, south of New Buffalo. Hamilton assisted New Buffalo Township in securing an easement from Amtrak, without which the trail could not have been built.
In addition, there were issues with a fence failing and with drainage of the trail in several places after big rain events — addressed by the engineer and contractor in all but one last place at the boardwalk. Rising costs for the project have been a challenge, too, Hamilton says, “but MDOT, foundations, agencies, organizations and individuals have really stepped up and have financially supported the project.” In spite of the obstacles, Hamilton says, “folks have been using the trail quite regularly” even before its formal opening, and its completion now serves as a lynchpin and connector to the Red Arrow Trail further north in Michigan.
The ribbon-cutting: Trail users, donors, dignitaries and the general public are invited to the trailhead at Smith and Mechanic Streets in downtown New Buffalo at 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 25, to celebrate the opening of the Michigan stretch of the Marquette Greenway. The rain location for the event is New Buffalo City Hall.
At the ribbon-cutting event volunteers from the founding group, Friends of Berrien County Trails, as well as local bicycle enthusiasts, hikers, funders, donors, local and county public officials, and state representatives will speak about what the project means for them and their communities. The event is being hosted by the Harbor Country Chamber of Commerce and the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber of Commerce and Friends of Berrien County Trails.
Funding: Funding was contributed from many public and private sources including: The Pokagon Fund, New Buffalo Township, the City of New Buffalo, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) federal Transportation Alternatives Program, the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program, Berrien Community Foundation, many family foundations and more than 200 individuals. Contractor Kalin Construction and the engineering firm Abonmarche oversaw the year-long trail construction which began last spring.
What’s next: Michigan’s Phase II, along Grand Beach Road to the Indiana state line, will be completed in 2026 in cooperation with the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission, Berrien County Road Department, Grand Beach Village and New Buffalo Township. Construction on the Lakeshore Trail, connecting several parks and beaches along Lake Michigan and to downtown Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, is expected to begin later this summer or fall.
Rosemary Parker has worked as a writer and editor for more than 40 years. She is a regular contributor to Rural Innovation Exchange and other Issue Media Group publications.