Pere Marquette Rail-Trail

Today was another Rails-to-Trails rec path for 30-plus miles. I rode the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail from Farwell for a couple miles, then a few miles of road before jumping back on Pere Marquette Rail-Trail in the town of Clare. I rode the rec path all the way into downtown Midland. It was a very nice trail and it was a joy to be able to ride on it today as the weather was perfect. The path was very well maintained and I was impressed with some of the improvements.

Where I rejoined the path in Clare, there was a cool bicycle work station outside the old Union Railroad Depot. I especially liked the bike rack made to look like an old locomotive:

Also at the same site was a Little Free Library made to look like a coal train car. As the owner of a Little Free Library, I always like to find new and unique designs and this was a first for me:

At every road that the path crossed, there were four of these type of gates (two on each side of the road) that restricted access to the path and provided a lot of useful information. In addition to the trail map (shown here), there was usually the name of the road, a list of trail etiquette "rules," and some other info as well. I thought it was very practical and well done:

There were some very nice overpasses, including bench seating, and street lamps:

But they also retained some of the old rail infrastructure, like this bridge over the Tittabawassee River:

Another nice overpass:

And then just a couple of photos of the very straight and level rail-trail:
 

I logged 92.3 miles today from Hartwick Township to Bay City, Michigan.

Comments

  1. MagiSeptember 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM

    The locomotive bike work station is cool. Your adventure is inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lailla MatthewsSeptember 19, 2025 at 3:01 PM

    Are those overpasses for cars or underpasses for bikes? 🤔

    ReplyDelete

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