Echo
More trails, more water access recommended in public lands report
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More access to forests, lakes and trails are among the goals the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has in store for public lands.
Recreation
Veteran hopes to boost economy, fitness by blazing Michigan trail
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Hiker Chris Hillier is set to blaze a new trail from southeast to northwest Michigan.
Michigan government, tourism and business officials hope the route cements the state as the number one trail state and boosts local economies.
Recreation
North Manitou and South Manitou islands get trail map treatment
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The National Park Service and MichiganTrailMaps.com have produced new trail maps of a pair of Lake Michigan islands near Traverse City, Mich. North Manitou Island and South Manitou Island, part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, have been added to MichiganTrailMaps.com’s Classic Trails of Michigan map series. Each map illustrates trail grades, primitive roads, maintained trails and unmarked modern and historic pathways. They also mark historic sites, ruins, natural features, elevation changes and hiking amenities found throughout the islands. Each map costs $4.95, and are available at the Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitor Centers, MichiganTrailMaps.com, the Manitou Island Transit ferry company and outdoor shops throughout the state.
Recreation
Duluth man rebuilds city’s trails
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Dan Procter has spent seven years restoring Duluth’s Chester Park Trails using nothing more than hand tools. After recent flooding, Procter was the only man up for the task of repairing the damage. The main trail has since been named after him, and members of the Duluth community reflect on his hard work and inspiring attitude.
Recreation
Minnesota trail best for donating blood; what about others?
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Outside Magazine just named 32 best trails, each with a different claim to fame — “Best Trail that Doesn’t Exist,” “Best Trail for Getting High,” etc. Four titles are awarded to trails in our Great Lakes states:
Best Prehistoric Trail: Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Wisconsin
Best Trail for Donating Blood: Superior Hiking Trail, Minnesota
Best Canoe Trail: Northern Forest Canoe Trail, partly in New York
Best Burrow: Freedom Tunnel, New York
The only one of these along a Great Lake, however, is Minnesota’s Superior Hiking Trail. This can’t be the only Great Lakes trail worthy of a spot on their list! So help us out. Name your favorite Great Lakes trail and its claim to fame in the comments below!
Echo
Minnesota couple finishes 1,500 mile hike around Lake Superior
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Mike Link and Kate Crowley, a couple from Willow River, Minn., know the answer to a variation on an old joke: How do you walk around Lake Superior?
One step at a time.
Recreation
DNR planning significant expansion of Pike Lake area
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(WI) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – The Pike Lake Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest – a popular hiking and camping destination just 25 miles northwest of Milwaukee – would be expanded nearly fivefold in the future to protect the headwaters of the Ashippun River and possibly provide hunting opportunities, under a draft master plan for the unit. The developing plan also recommends construction of a ramp for launching boats with motors – the first access for motorboats on the property since it opened as a state park in 1971, said Therese Gripentrog, a landscape architect with the state Department of Natural Resources in Milwaukee. The park was designated as a unit of the state forest in 1997. More