Gladwin County’s Trail of Two Cities is inching closer to completion, thanks to a $769,500 Spark grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Council of Michigan Foundations.
The money will be used to build a pathway connecting the Trail of Two Cities from Beaverton city limits at Croll Road to a trailhead and boat launch on Ross Lake,
near the Beaverton dam and hydroelectric facility.
The trail connecting the small cities of Beaverton and Gladwin – eight miles in length – has been nearly completed. What remains to be funded is a pedestrian bridge that will connect the Beaverton Ross Lake Trail Head to another trailhead and parking area being constructed on the other side of Ross Lake near the historic Gem Theatre.
“Ultimately, this means economic development and tourism opportunities,” Scott Govitz, a member of the Beaverton Downtown Development Authority, says about the long-anticipated trail project. “It’s something the people with second homes, campers, visitors and residents can use. I anticipate that it’s going to create events between the two communities and just provide an opportunity to get out and enjoy the outdoors.”
What’s happening: The Michigan Department of Natural Resources awarded a $769,500 Spark grant to the city of Beaverton to build a pathway connecting the Trail of Two Cities from Beaverton city limits to a trailhead at Ross Lake near the Beaverton dam. The one-quarter-mile connector is one of the final pieces of the overall Trail of Two Cities project. The Sparks-funded project will connect to the Beaverton Ross Lake Trail Head that was funded in large part by the Beaverton Downtown Development Authority and completed two years ago.
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What is the Trail of Two Cities: The Trail of Two Cities is an eight-mile-long, non-motorized all-seasons trail for walking, running, rollerblading and biking, and in the winter for snowshoeing, cross country skiing and fat-tire biking. The north portion of the trail is generally plowed by crews all winter; the south part, from the city park to River Road, is generally not cleared and can be suitable for snowshoeing, fat-tire bicycling or cross-country skiing.
A brief history: The
Gladwin County Trails Recreation Authority (GCTRA) was established in 2016 to create a recreational path to promote healthy living. The paved trail is open year-round, ADA accessible and free. The trail connects Beaverton, home to about 1,100 people, and Gladwin, which lies to the north and has about 3,300 residents. Both communities are in rural Gladwin County.
What’s next: The city of Beaverton is working on separate grants to complete another piece of the project – a pedestrian bridge across Ross Lake to connect to another trailhead and parking area near the historic Gem Theatre -- under construction this fall. The bridge will enable pedestrians to connect to the Trail of Two Cities without having to use a roadway bridge with motorized traffic. The estimated cost of the pedestrian bridge is in excess of $900,000. “If we get that piece then the whole trail from Beaverton to Gladwin is complete,” Govitz says. “We’re down to just one missing piece – the pedestrian bridge across the lake. Then you can be in the downtown Beaverton area and have access from the walkway to the park, splash pad, beach, and boat launch, take in a meal or movie or visit the library, activity center and much more.”
The Beaverton DDA is also working under a Community Development Block grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to continue cleanup at Ross Lake. The 2020 floods that destroyed nearby dams also washed sediment, nutrients and other elements into Ross Lake, which has become more popular with outdoor recreation enthusiasts, especially since the flood.
About Spark grants: Twenty-nine Michigan communities whose economic opportunities and public health were hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic are benefitting from $24.2 million in Michigan Spark Grants. The funding is designed to remove barriers to creating, renovating or redeveloping community-informed public recreation opportunities. The grants are administered by the Council for Michigan Foundations in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and through the CMF Statewide Equity Fund. The program was established to equitably guide resources to communities and expand access to healthy indoor and outdoor recreation projects where there has been little or no previous parks and recreation investment.
Trail funding: Funding for the Trail of Two Cities has come from a variety of sources. They include Michigan DNR Spark grants; DNR Trust Fund; Beaverton Downtown Development Authority, Herbert H. and Grace A. Down Foundation, Gladwin County, Gladwin County Community Foundation, DALMAC Foundation and the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network and individual donors. The Clare County Community Foundation has supported the project as well.
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