Berry Junction - Hart-Montague Trail - Muskegon to Shelby (MI)

Fred Meijer Berry Junction Trail

We have been summer residents of Duck Creek RV Resort in Muskegon, MI since summer of 2012. It is by far the best designed and well maintained park in which we stay over the course of a year from Texas to Oklahoma to Michigan and then back; a course repeated annually.  Roger and Casey work 24/7 to see that the park is 5 Star and this year the campers at the park found the addition of a newly laid trail extending from the park entrance to the Fred Meijer Berry Junction Trail.  This will give bikers and walkers of all ages the security of getting on the trail without needing to share the road with motorists.  Big shout out to Casey and Roger for making the dream of this trail connector come to fruition!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

We are no strangers to this particular trail as we ride some portion of it almost weekly.  Not only can we ride out of our campground on our bike to access the Berry Junction Trail, but it then connects to the Hart-Montague Trail about 10 miles north of us in Montague.  We have eagerly anticipated biking this year because of the "face lift" given to the trail over the past year.  Brand new asphalt!  AND, all but one of the detours have vanished!  This, my friends, is so sweet!

It is 68 degrees at 8:35 am on Tuesday, June 21, 2016.  With Schooner in good hands at the nearby Dog Star Ranch, Chris and I set out on a day trip of biking our favorite trail.

One of the prettiest areas on the Berry Junction Trail is a heavily wooded area with three wood bridges (above pic) and a giant carved wooden eagle and its nest (left).

There are many pieces of art along the trail including this giant butterfly (right) found in a small park in south Whitehall.

Upon entering the resort community of Whitehall and across from the marina you will see the colorful sails pictured on the left.
Pic on the right is of the White River where it feeds into White Lake (which feeds into Lake Michigan).

The adjoining town to the north of Whitehall is Montague and where we begin the Hart-Montague Trail.

Along the trail is this gazebo, located behind Montague Foods.  There is also a campground, very nice restrooms, ample parking, and a nearby ice cream shop.  Every cyclist's dream trailhead!

One of my favorite things about this trail (and there are many), is the way the trail is lined with tall beautiful trees.  Many times we ride under a canopy of shade formed by the lush branches.






In Rothbury we must take a detour as the last bit of construction on this trail has yet to be completed.  The detour is well marked and easy to follow.  Before long we are back on the trail.
We plan to have lunch in New Era, but it is only 10:30am and we keep riding north past New Era and then past the Country Dairy. We always enjoy a stop at the dairy which serves up spectacular hamburgers, cheese curds, and the very best ice cream!  Now I'm going to start getting hungry!!!  Must...keep...pedaling!!!

These two pics of the trail are the reason we just keep on pedaling. The beauty here is magnificent!

The next town we ride through is Shelby.  There are several places in town to dine, but my favorite stop is the Shelby Gem Factory. One time we took the tour and were shown how the gems were grown.  After the gems are grown they are sent to gem cutters to create the final product.  Warning:  this can be one of the more expensive stops along the trail, but oh so fun!  Must...keep...pedaling!!!

Around Shelby there are multiple workout stations along the bike path.  At one of those stations we stopped for a quick stretch and water break.  Having ridden 25 miles from our campground we decided to turn around and head back south to New Era.

Trailside Restaurant in New Era

The Trailside Restaurant in New Era is the "dangling carrot" for me.  Knowing that we were making a stop for lunch at this cozy trailside eatery made the trip even more fun!
Monday through Friday turkey and dressing is the lunch special.  For the bargain price of $8.95 you also get fresh asparagus, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and a roll.  When Kathy greeted us today there was no doubt as to what we were going to have for lunch.  No menu required!

Fuel for the ride home

Dessert Menu

Shortcake with REAL whipped cream!

The only unknown was which of their fresh homemade desserts we were going to split.  We decided on the strawberry shortcake which is made using a sweet biscuit rather than cake.  Once again, Kathy took good care of us.  She even split the dessert for us!  The one below was all mine.  Let me tell you, it was so good!



Upon checking out, a young employee comments that she cannot read Kathy's writing on the check then heads back to work.  Kathy commented that she was known to have nice handwriting and Chris had no trouble reading it upside down.  Chris and Kathy decided the problem was that the ticket was written in "cursive" which is no longer taught in the schools and that being able to read cursive was going to disappear with this generation.  Chris said that along with cursive writing Kathy's strawberry shortcake was going to disappear with our generation.  The young employee comes back and asks what is disappearing.
Chris repeats "The strawberry shortcake will disappear with our generation."  The girl says "Oh no, the strawberry shortcake will still be here even if Kathy retires."
Chris asks "Okay, when Kathy retires are you going to make the strawberry shortcake?"
Girl, "Well no, not the biscuit."
Kathy responded, "It's going away with our generation."
Get it while you can, folks.  It's worth the trip, either biking or by car.

Between the lunch in New Era, the sunshine, and the newly paved bike trail we completed our 51 mile day trip at 2:35pm in 76 degree temps and had a little energy to spare.  Very little!

Hart-Montague Trail - Hart to New Era (MI)

 The William Field Memorial Hart-Montague Trail was dedicated in 1989, and was Michigan's first "paved" Rail Trail.  The 22.6 mile trail overlies the abandoned C & O Railroad right of way and stretches from Hart to Montigue, MI. The trail is asphalt and is a narrow 8 ft wide, but that is about to change.

Pre-construction work has begun and by November 2015 the trail will be repaved and will be 10 feet wide.  

Work has begun

The Hart staging/parking area is a 30 minute drive north from our campground and we arrive and unload our bike around 10:00 am.  It is the second full day of summer and currently 63 degrees.  Our destination is the Country Dairy in New Era, approximately 12 miles south of us.

 As we ride we pass from sections of canopy-encased trail to sections of rolling hills and orchards.  On the right is an apple orchard in Mears, with apples just coming on.

Another view of the canopy followed by a field of asparagus already going to seed.   We are riding in Oceana County which, according to locals, is the official "Asparagus Capital of the World", and Wikipedia agrees!

Field of Asparagus

Cherries almost ready to pick

Cherry Trees

To our west is a cherry orchard in the early stages of development.  To the east is a fully developed orchard and trees loaded with cherries which will be ready in just a few days.

Above is very nice place to stop and take a break in Shelby.  In the background is the old train depot converted to law offices.  On one of the buildings along the trail is the mural I used at the top of this blog.  Another place to plan a stop in Shelby is the Gem Factory.  You might want to bring a credit card along for this stop. 

The pic on the left is just one of the beautiful grain fields on rolling hills just outside Shelby.
After a leisurely 1 hour and 15 minute ride from Hart, which included many stops for taking pictures, we arrived at the Country Dairy.
The Country Dairy, located in New Era, is a producer-handler,  meaning that they do it all!  They have a herd of Holstein cattle and process the milk on site.  Their products are sold in stores around Michigan.

At this ice cream and deli we find a large selection of Country Dairy products and gift items.  We walk past the fresh meat and cheese, past the fresh homemade ice cream counter, and get in line to order from their deli.  A favorite for many is their "bottomless cup of milk" which comes with most of their menu items.

We will often order a hamburger here, which is exceptional, but today we went with wraps.  It came with one side, cheese curds, pickle, and the bottomless cup of milk.  The wrap is huge and could have easily fed both of us.

A popular stop along the trail

Adjacent to their building is their Moo School, which we attended a few years ago and found educational.   After Moo School be sure to head on over for a free tour of their beautiful facility.
It is 11:45 and we are ready to head back to our car which awaits in Hart.  It is now 67 degrees and sunny skies.

We had not previously stopped in Mears at The Wood Shed Bike Shop.  Today we dropped in to meet one half of the husband-wife team who have owned the shop for many, many years.  We were impressed with the number of bicycles, tandems, and recumbents that were available for rent.  The owner also sells new bikes and does bike repairs.  We so enjoy meeting people and visiting as we travel.

After the bike shop stop we pulled over to get a picture of this field of some sort of grain.  We thought it was wheat but were not sure because of the height.  Chris is standing in the field to give an idea of the grain height.

After riding 23.5 miles total we are back to our car by 1:15pm.  While Chris is loading our bike I spot this Rennhack Orchards Market across the street.  We are hoping for fresh strawberries, but evidently the strawberries are almost played out.  Thus, the strawberry selection is not great.  However they have a large and varied selection of jams, syrups, salad dressings, salsas, and toppings.  Most of these involved "fruit" of one variety or another.  We will need to come back another day to purchase some delectable gifts here.  Another beautiful day of biking in Michigan!