Pere Marquette Rail-Trail - Evart to Farwell, MI

It was 63 degrees Monday, July 24, 2017, at 11:00 am when we began our ride of the Pere Marquette State Trail out of Evart, MI.  The section we are riding today begins at Evart and goes east through Lake and then to Farwell.  Each of these towns offers staging areas, and Farwell has two staging areas.

The trail is paved with asphalt, is wide, and is well maintained.  The picture on the left is the old train depot which now serves as a community center and holds some city offices.  There is a huge parking area at this trailhead.  We noticed someone had brought their travel trailer and parked it in the lot.  There was plenty of room.

Almost immediately upon leaving town we found this beautiful old bridge taking us across the Muskegon River.  On the right is the Muskegon River viewed from the bridge.




Pictured here are 2 of the 3 tunnels we cycled through.



It is fun to ride the rail trails knowing that there was once a train that passed this way quite frequently, and most likely there were people on the train looking out the windows seeing some of the same beauty we are seeing.  This was a gorgeous trail and we had such a perfect day in which to take in all of nature's best!

We saw farmlands, lakes, marshes, wildflowers, and many trees.

Loved the "sled parts" sign!

Can you imagine being on the trail in the winter and needing "sled parts"!  Oh my!

From Evart it is 13.6 miles to the town of Lake (our Michigan Trails book says Lake Station).  The picture on the left is the old train station along with a section of the old train.
On the right is the Lakeside Bar and Grill where we had lunch.

Before leaving town we went to this old General Store to check it out.  It had a little of everything!
We selected a package of trail mix for an energy boost on our ride.
Rail Trails have a max of 3 - 5 % grades, which is one reason we prefer riding them over other trails.

From Evart we noticed a small change in elevation during most of our ride into Lake.  We had been slowly climbing!


Just outside of Lake is the coal chute or coaling station used to resupply the train.  We have seen refilling stations before and they are usually situated at the top of the grade.  So when we came to this coaling station we knew we would be going down hill on our way to Farwell.

Farwell is about 8 miles from Lake, where we had lunch.  The landscape remains every bit as enchanting.

One of my favorite sites on our rides is the remarkably tall trees. Pictured on the left are some of those trees.  Wow!
On the right is a field of wildflowers and  tree branches.
Picturesque!

This picture is of a marsh where a beaver or perhaps several beavers have made their home.  Their construction site looked massive!

After 21 miles we reached Farwell and turned around at Little Field Park.  We then began our ride back to Evart.  The total miles for this ride were 42.  It was our biggest ride of the year and our longest on our recumbent bikes to date.  We both did very well on the ride and the mild temperatures helped make that possible.  There was a moment on about mile 33 that I was wishing my bike seat could be "fluffed" a bit!  HaHa!  We arrived back at our car in Evart around 5:00 pm.

Clare, MI is on our way to Midland where we are staying a couple of nights while riding nearby trails.  In Clare there is a bakery which has been in constant business since 1896.  In 2009 when the business (Clare City Bakery) was within weeks of closing its doors, the police officers of Clare (all 9 of them) went together and saved the historic business.  Thus the name "Cops and Doughnuts"!  On an interesting side note, a friend in our RV park said that this bakery was in their family at one time, owned by her grandparents!  It is so fun to learn the history of such places!

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!