St. Clair Today

Southeast Michigan communities are looking to expand and connect trails to advance economic development and attract more visitors, businesses and residents.

The Bridge to Bay Trail is one of the largest initiatives, a 54-mile trail along St. Clair County’s eastern and southern waterfront — spanning from Lakeport State Park to New Baltimore.

“We’ve seen an increase in families engaging with trails more than ever before," Sheri Faust, St. Clair County Trails Governing Board chair and Friends of the St. Clair River president, told MetroMode. "Throughout the month of April, we conducted an informal survey and found that with people driving less, more are walking and biking.”

The Outdoor Industry Association conducted a study in 2017 that found Michigan’s outdoor recreation economy generated 232,000 jobs and $26.6 billion in consumer spending, MetroMode reports.

“Coincidentally, people are learning that places aren’t as far away as they thought and now realize they can bike or walk easily,” Faust told the publication. “I hope these are new lifestyle habits that remain after stay-at-home restrictions are lifted and normal activities resume.”

However, only 26 miles of the Bridge to Bay Trail have been completed.

County institutions including the Metropolitan Planning Commission, the Community Foundation of St. Clair County and St. Clair County Parks and Recreation have worked together the past four years to complete the trail.

David Struck, planning director for the St. Clair County Metropolitan Planning Commission, said the trail isn’t connected to many of the county’s lakefront downtowns due to it’s early- to mid-‘90s beginning.

“A lot of it was looking at the path of least resistance, so you might have trails that were bypassing downtowns, bypassing other amenities,” Struck told MetroMode. “In the last five years, we've seen so much investment in our traditional downtowns, particularly along our St. Clair River coastline, where we've seen theaters and restaurants and boutique hotels sprout up. So we really wanted to make sure our trail network is taking people into our downtowns and going through these areas that have these assets.”

In 2019, the Community Foundation commissioned a study on the economic impact of expanding the trail system, which showed community stakeholders the importance of having a lengthy, uninterrupted “main artery” of the trail to attract locals and out-of-towners.

“If we had proceeded without that understanding, I think we would have focused too much on smaller trail segments for local residents,” Community Foundation President Randy Maiers told MetroMode. “The local segments are great and we certainly are addressing those, but we're building those as part of the framework of a major north-south artery.”

Last year, the Metropolitan Planning Commission released a trails plan update showing a master framework for completing the remaining half of the Bridge to Bay Trail and stakeholder created the 13-member St. Clair County Trails Governing Board.

The trail is estimated to take six years with an approximate price of up to $13 million, according to Maiers and MetroMode.

“While government and corporate funding could be paused for a while, we know users of a resource can be its biggest advocates,” Faust said. “So while trail use has increased, we may come out on the other side of this with more individuals ready and willing to support trail development.”

If the proposed trail plans go through, the Bridge to Bay Trail may cross into Macomb County in New Baltimore and connect to the Macomb Orchard Trail, potentially crossing the entire state covering approximately 16 miles from Marysville to Richmond.

“To be able to go potentially from Romeo to Richmond all the way to the shoreline of the St. Clair River...it just gives you a lot more options," Struck said. "Everybody wants to see that gap filled.”

Since this is a major initiative, one of the goals is to close several trail gaps within Michigan including: the Great Lake-to-Lake Trail Route No. 1 running from South Haven to Port Huron; connecting Huron Valley and West Bloomfield trails; and bringing local trails to the Iron Belle Trail from Belle Isle in Detroit to Ironwood in the Western Upper Peninsula.