The Leelanau Trail is part of U.S. Bicycle Route 35, but also an all paved non-motorized recreational

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

of in length that extends from the west side of

Traverse City, Michigan Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

Suttons Bay, Michigan Suttons Bay is a village in Leelanau County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 618 at the 2010 census. The village was incorporated in 1898 and is located within Suttons Bay Township. History The community is named for one of ...

. This trail passes through the eastern side of

Leelanau County Leelanau may refer to a number of articles relating to the region of the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan: Geography Settlements * Leelanau County, Michigan * Leelanau Township, Michigan * Lake Leelanau, Michigan Landforms * Lak ...

, a fast-growing section of the Traverse City metropolitan area. Most, but not all, of the trail follows early 20th-century roadbeds of the former

Manistee and North-Eastern Railroad The Manistee and North-Eastern Railroad Railway Equipment and Publication CompanyThe Official Railway Equipment Register June 1917, p. 579 was a short, standard-gauge line in the U.S. state of Michigan. Organized in 1887, it served several counti ...

and Traverse City, Leelanau and Manistique, later reorganized as the

Leelanau Transit Company The Leelanau Transit Company was a short line standard gauge railroad incorporated in 1919 as the successor to the Traverse City, Leelanau, and Manistique Railroad, which was incorporated in 1901 to build a line from Traverse City, Michigan to Nort ...

. The ''Leelanau Trails Association'' purchased most of the trail right-of-way in 1995. Prior to this purchase, the railbed had been operated as Leelanau Scenic Railway. In 2004, the Leelanau Trail was connected to the

TART Trail The Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation Trails (TART Trails) are a system of non-motorized trails in and around Traverse City, Michigan, extending further into Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. The system was established in 1998. T ...

at the junction of

M-22 M-22 are a British-German DJ and producer duo consisting of Matt James and Frank Sanders. On March 22, the duo met, through a joint production, which is the reason for their stage name. History On March 22, 2015, the duo met during a joint p ...

and M-72 on the northwest edge of Traverse City. The trail will be part of the Grand Traverse Edible Trails project. The idea of an edible forest is while on the trail you can pick of fruit from vines and or orchards, however with this project will take time to become a full-fledged forest. The Leelanau Trail passes through a key segment of the

Leelanau Peninsula AVA The Leelanau Peninsula AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Leelanau County, Michigan. This Michigan wine region includes all of Leelanau County, which forms a peninsula between Lake Michigan on the west and Grand Traverse Bay on the ...

, part of the

Michigan wine Michigan wine refers to any wine that is made in the state of Michigan in the United States. As of 2020, there were under wine-grape cultivation and over 200 commercial wineries in Michigan, producing of wine. According to another count there ...

country.

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

grapes are grown here. Points of interest along the trail include: *Beaches *Downtown Suttons Bay *Wineries *Regional Transportation (Bay.Area.Transportation.Authority) *Bike shop (Suttons Bay) *DeYoung Nature Area on Cedar Lake

Trail heads

References

{{MichiganTrails Protected areas of Leelanau County, Michigan Rail trails in Michigan Traverse City, Michigan