William Field Memorial Hart–Montague Trail State Park, previously and more commonly known as Hart–Montague Trail State Park, is a linear

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

that consists of a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

trail running from the city of Montague in

Muskegon County Muskegon County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the population was 175,824. The county seat is Muskegon. Muskegon County comprises the Muskegon, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Grand R ...

to the city of

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) * Hart (surname) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department store ...

in Oceana County. The trail is very easy to ride, as it was built on former Chicago & West Michigan railroad

right of way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

(later abandoned by the

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis Potter Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmo ...

) with a very low

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

. The trail is also very popular for

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

s in the winter months.

History

Recognizing its potential, Bill Field of Shelby purchased the former

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

and donated it for trail use to the State of Michigan. Opened in 1991 and officially adopted as a Rails to Trails park in 1996, it was one of the first "

Rails to Trails A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a 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 rail corridor with active railways, ligh ...

" projects in the State of Michigan. Its success paved the way for more trails throughout the state and

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. The trail's total length was previously ; however, new trails, notably the "White Lake Pathway", "Fred Meijer Berry Junction Trail", "McMillan Trail", and Muskegon's "Lakeshore Trail" have been constructed south of Montague, which makes it possible to bike from

Muskegon Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

, a total of 45 miles (72 km), without ever leaving a bike trail.

Attractions

A number of local businesses, such as restaurants and ice cream parlors, in the towns along the trail have posted small, discreet signage near the trail to attract cycling visitors who might not otherwise ever notice the little shops in the intervening small municipalities. A whimsically themed ice cream/dairy bar in New Era, roughly halfway along the trail, is often mentioned by trail visitors, although there are also a number of others spread along the trail. There is a bicycle rental shop on Thompson St in Montague in the south, a repair shop right off the trail in Mears as well as another rental shop on Silver Lake Rd in Mears several miles away from the northern section of the trail.

Waypoints

Waypoint A waypoint is a point or place on a route or line of travel, a stopping point, an intermediate point, or point at which course is changed, the first use of the term tracing to 1880. In modern terms, it most often refers to coordinates which spe ...

s for the Hart–Montague Trail.Hart–Montague Bicycle Trail State Park

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) is an American nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works with communities to preserve unused rail corridors by transforming them into rail trails within the United States. RTC's purpose is to c ...

(Free registration required to view map) ↑ in the Distance column points to the other waypoint that the distance is between.

References

External links

Official Site of the Hart–Montague Bicycle Trail (Hosted by Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

Map of the Hart–Montague Bicycle Trail
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart-Montague Trail State Park State parks of Michigan Protected areas of Muskegon County, Michigan Protected areas of Oceana County, Michigan Rail trails in Michigan