White Pine Trail - Reed City to LeRoy, MI

Reed City Crossroads

We began our ride Wednesday morning around 10:00 am at the Reed City trailhead.  Skies were clear and the temperature this fine August morning was 69 F.

Two railroad crossings

This trailhead is located where the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad cross the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad.  Both of these rail lines have been transformed to rail trails for biking, hiking, and snowmobiling. 

Reed City Depot 

The depot provides parking, restrooms, information, and picnic tables. 

Covered bridge in Reed City

Heading north we cross the Hersey River via a covered bridge.

Newly paved trail

We chose the north route because we had not biked this section of the White Pine Trail and in the fall of 2018 this section of the trail was newly paved.  

Mile marker 307

The old railroads used mile markers similar to our highways today.  This concrete mile marker indicates that the trail is 307 miles north of a beginning point near Indianapolis.

Newer mile marker

The newer wooden mile markers indicate the miles north of Grand Rapids.

Deer on the trail

This deer had not spotted us yet.  Once it did, it was gone in a flash.

Oops!  Gravel

Fortunately one of the bikers we met in Reed City informed us that there was a 1/4 mile section left to be paved approximately half way to Leroy.  Once there, our pace went from about 9 mph to 2 mph.

Department of Natural Resources 

There aren't any legal motorized vehicles on the trail except those of the DNR.  I asked  the officer about the gravel section.  He said a culvert needed to be repaired before that section could be paved.  He spoke very kindly to us.

Aspens?

Aspens and birch have a similar look, but have noticeable differences.  Aspen bark doesn't peal.  Birch leaves are pointy with jagged edges whereas aspen leaves are more round.  I think these might be aspen.  Either way, the color in the fall would be amazing.

Tunnel under highway

This tunnel was approximately 50 yards in length.

Exit towards LeRoy

The tunnel was the highest point on our trek.  We gained a bit over 200 feet in elevation from Reed City.  Our return trip will be a much easier pedal.

Playground?

Well, there is a bike trail here.

Museum 

And a museum.

Restaurant 

And a restaurant.

Massive burger and homemade chips

These small town eateries are incredible.

Dutch apple pie, a la mode 

The burger was so big we had to split the dessert.

Friends

Some of the neatest people in this world are those you've never met, so we like to meet them.  Debbie and I noticed a couple, (wearing bike garb), entering the restaurant.  We both went to their table and introduced ourselves and for the next 20 minutes or so, we had a great conversation. We are now Facebook friends with Ken and Mary from Plano, TX. 

White Pines

Our complete trip was 26 miles, and yes, there were white pines on the trail.

Point Betsie Excursion

Point Betsie  Lighthouse

Our primary goal for the day turned out to be touring the Point Betsie Lighthouse. It's good to be flexible. We were planning to do a bike ride but sightseeing around the Frankfort area made for a wonderful day .

Arcadia Bluffs Lookout

On the way we stopped at a scenic lookout.  In the above pic we are looking south towards the town of Arcadia at the upper far left and Lake Michigan on the right.

One happy couple

Yes, this is July 22nd.  It was a cool morning.

Action off the wave breaks

Surfing anyone? 

Betsie Point Lighthouse 

The lighthouse sits atop the beach north of Frankfort.  The location overlooks where several shipping lanes combine to form one lane heading north toward the Mackinaw bridge. It is still a working lighthouse.

Stairway to the light

The stairway was steep, narrow,  and low overhead,  but we made the climb up  34 steps.

An original casting for the light

Fog signal building 

The fog signal building is now an art gallery.  All the art depicted the lighthouse.  Half of the art had "sold" on it.  There was also a gift shop and a boat house on the property. The boat house had doubled as a history museum. Reading about the history of an amazing rescue was well worth the time .

Former Coastguard Quarters 

Lunch stop in Frankfort

World Record Brown Trout

This was caught in Betsie Lake in 2007 and hangs in the restaurant.  If I hook one like this, "Dave, we're going to need a bigger net!"

Betsie Valley Bike Trail

The bike trail is under water near Frankfort on a small section.  Lake Michigan, which determines the level of Betsie Lake, is approximately 2 1/2 feet above average.  Sandy beaches have shrunk and some lakefront homes have water in the basement. 

Lighthouse at Frankfort 

Lake Michigan has many lighthouses.  I noticed one tourist getting a booklet stamped at the Point Betsie Lighthouse. It would be an interesting challenge to tour ten or twenty Lighthouses along the lake.  Most would not have a way to stamp the booklet though.  No bike ride but we had an eventful day.

Leelanau Trail - Traverse City to Suttons Bay, MI

Our Wednesday ride takes us through farm country with multiple cherry orchards, rolling meadows, small forests, and the resort towns of Traverse City and Suttons Bay.  The Cherry Festival in Traverse City will take place this coming weekend.  Approximately 800,000 tourists are expected.  Some have come early as there were many bikers on the trail and traffic in town was slow.

Leelanau Trailhead

We began our ride on the Leelanau Trail at the trailhead off Cherry Bend Road.

Shady trail

The Leelanau trail is a rail-trail built on the former Leelanau Scenic Railroad right-of-way so the inclines and declines are very gradual.

Wildflowers

When we ride, we stop for pictures and take in the scenery.  We only average around 8 miles per hour.  Serious bikers will sometimes average between 15 and 25 mph but they miss a lot of the beauty.  One speed limit sign is posted on the trail for bikers at 10 mph.

Tractor Warning

Even though the train went away years ago, the farms remained.  Many times the trail intersects a farmer's road between two of his or her fields.  This sign warns bikers of a tractor crossing zone and to be nice to the farmers.  They gave permission for the bike path to be built.

Corn field

By this time of the year, the corn should be head high.  Because of all the rain this year, planting was very late.  I hope and pray that the farmers are able to make a harvest.

Hops field

The hops vines should be well up the poles by now.  Hops are used in the production of beer.  I suspect the price of beer may go up this fall.

Cherry Orchard

The cherry orchards are in good shape but the cherries were still green on these trees.  I guess the vendors at the Cherry Festival will have to pull cherries out of the freezer.

Not really the finish line

In the middle of the trail were these flags as if it was the finish line for a race.  Perhaps part of the festival includes a run.  "No Debbie, we have 7 more miles to go."

Restroom Trail

Normally, we would not stop for this but when you need to go ....

Trail Outhouse

If she comes out smiling, I'm good, if not, I'm in trouble.  Whew!  I'm good.  I noticed when I went in that they had serviced that outhouse the day before.  It was actually very clean.

Trail Bridge

 We always enjoy the creeks and bridges along the way.

Tree Canopy

Sometimes the trees just swallow the trail.

Small Lake beside the trail

Where's my fishing pole?

45th Parallel Cafe

 We made it to Suttons Bay.  We rode to the top of the world, that is, if you pass the 45th parallel going north, you are on the top half of the northern hemisphere.  Very few people ever see both the top and the bottom of the world.  Not sure we'll make the bottom of the southern hemisphere.

Soup and Sandwich

This was pretty good grub.

Suttons Bay storefronts

A lot of people come to Suttons Bay just to shop the quaint shops.

Ice Cream Shop

Why do we always find ice cream on these trails?  Because it tastes so good!

Bus for Bikers and Others

Sometimes trails have shuttles so that bikers only have to go one way rather than doubling back.  Unfortunately, trikes and other peculiar bikes can be a problem.  Even so, we decided to ride the bus back to the Cherry Bend trailhead, without our trikes, to catch our car.  Then we drove back to Suttons Bay to pick up our trikes.  Our total bike ride was 14.3 miles.