Charlevoix, Charlevoix County | Petoskey, Bay Harbor, Harbor Springs, Emmet County
Hiking Trails | Bike Trails
The “Bike Path”, as it is locally called, runs 26 miles from Charlevoix to Harbor Springs in Charlevoix and Emmet Counties. The trail is mostly dedicated and paved in asphalt. It is currently the best developed and most suburban of our trunk line trails. The part between Petoskey’s Bayfront Park to Petoskey State Park follows closely the path of the original Little Traverse Wheelway that stretched from Petoskey to Harbor Springs in the 1880s and ‘90s. A gate over the trail at the east end of Bayfront Park proclaims “No Teaming or Driving,” and replicates the original gate that stood at nearly the same spot. This gate is a reminder of a time when people were prohibited from riding horses or horse-drawn carriages on the trail. Two other identical gates have been built to the west on Petoskey’s portion of the trail.
In late 2008 construction was completed on the 1.4 mile “Resort Bluffs” segment between East Park in Bay Harbor and Magnus Park in Petoskey. This new trail replaces the “road shoulder “segment that had forced users to ride along US 31. It is a glorious section of the trail, known as “the Miracle Mile.”
Horses and snowmobiles are not permitted.