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!