Chelsea recognized as state’s latest ‘Pure Michigan Trail Town’
CHELSEA, MI – In Chelsea, you’re never more than minutes from one of the state’s premier mountain biking destinations and a growing multipurpose trail system that stretches across Washtenaw County.
It’s these amenities and more that led to the city being recognized as a “Pure Michigan Trail Town,” among about a dozen locations notable for their access to outdoor opportunities and major state trails.
City Manager Roy Atkinson announced that the city received recognition from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources during the Chelsea City Council meeting on Monday, March 20.
“That puts us in a really good camp of trails-based communities,” he said, pointing to Michigan’s other trail towns, including Cadillac, Charlevoix and South Haven.
“It recognizes our proximity to outdoor recreation and other government properties and facilities. With that, we want to use it largely as an economic development engine, (with) more marketing by the state,” he said.
City officials, in collaboration with the City Parks and Recreation Commission, the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation, the DTE Energy Foundation Trail System, the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce and the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative, participated in the completion of the Washtenaw County Border-to-Border (B2B) Trail that runs through Chelsea.
The B2B Trail is part of Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail, also known as the Pure Michigan Trail, which allowed Chelsea to qualify as a Trail Town.
Since last year, a new segment of B2B connects Veteran’s and Timbertown parks to the north with Werkner Road, stretching an uninterrupted length of approximately 6 miles. County Parks planners are working on additional links north and between Chelsea and Dexter.
Continue reading: The new Washtenaw County Border-to-Border Trail section opens more than 6 miles from Chelsea
The city is also working on the Letts Creek Trail, a branch of the B2B that would circle the edge of the water treatment plant property south to Sibley Road and into Timbertown Park before further connecting the park to downtown Chelsea, City Trail Town said -Application.
Atkinson said in an email the city knows that because of its proximity to Pinckney and Waterloo state recreation areas and the DTE trail system, it often takes singletrack enthusiasts up the M-52 to trailheads near Chelsea leads, is already welcoming visitors to gain access to more than 20 miles of trails specifically designed for mountain biking.
Continue reading: Opening date set for connecting route connecting more than 40 miles of mountain bike trails in Washtenaw County
The designation means that Chelsea’s outdoor amenities will be included in maps and marketing materials through Pure Michigan, the state’s tourism promotion campaign, and branded signage will be placed on hiking trails throughout the city.
The program originated with a state law passed in 2014 and is designed to highlight the state’s trail systems, according to a program website that lists 11 cities with the designation.
Chelsea will officially present the award at the Pure Michigan Governor’s Tourism Conference in Grand Rapids in April, Atkinson told the city council.
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