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City of Alpena to Harrisville/Cedar Lake
General Information:
Description of this segment of the Huron Greenways route begins in the City of
Alpena and ends at the southern extent of the Huron Greenways, south of
Harrisville. The City of Alpena is located at the mouth of the Thunder Bay
River, where the river empties into Thunder Bay. Alpena is the largest
community along the Huron Greenways. Alpena is also blessed with the largest
lake and longest bike trail within the city limits of any community along the
greenways. This southern leg of the Huron Greenways offers access to extensive
coastal marshes like Squaw Bay; miles of quiet, undeveloped shoreline; the
beautiful yet little known Negwegon State Park; and the communities of Alpena,
Ossinekee, Black River, Harrisville and Greenbush. The distance from Alpena to
the southern extent of the Greenways is approximately 35 miles.
Maps of
the
Huron Greenways trail system
for this segment are provided on this web site as well as local maps of side
trails.
Trail
Description:
The trail enters the City of Alpena
from the east, following Ford Street. After crossing the Thunder Bay River, the
trail system connects with Alpena Pathway System which offers 10 miles of hiking
and biking trails around the City.
The City of Alpena is an important
component of the Huron Greenways. Throughout the City, the award-winning “Bi
Path” has been developed. This pathway maximizes travel along the edge of the
Thunder Bay River, Lake Huron, and through the City’s extensive park system.
Historic structures downtown include the Centennial Block (1876), the
Depression-era Alpena County Courthouse, and Alpena City Hall. The residential
neighborhood surrounding Thompson Park also features a number of historically
significant 19th Century homes.
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Squaw
Bay is ringed with a rich, productive
coastal emergent marsh. Species include cattails, bulrushes, sedges,
sweetflag, arrowhead, and pickerelweed. The marsh provides spawning
habitat for fish and summer habitat for geese, ducks, great blue
herons, red-winged blackbirds, Foster’s tern and black tern. During
low water periods, such as the summer of 1999, water receded from
this shallow bay exposing the soft, moist lake bottom hundreds of
feet out from the shoreline.
Devil’s
Lake is located west of Squaw Bay This
long narrow lake aligns with the shoreline and in fact was once part
of Lake Huron. As the post glacial lake levels receded, this linear
depression became stranded from Lake Huron. Devil’s River flows
southeastward following an old beach ridge until it cuts through
near Ossineke and empties into Lake Huron.
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South of Alpena, the greenway follows
Piper Road into the Devil’s Lake area of Mackinac State Forest. The ski
trails of Norway Ridge, and an extensive network of snowmobile trails are
both available to hikers and bicyclists in the summer months. Piper Road
is an unimproved graded road on a sand
base and
can be rough in areas. Passing through Ossineke the trail follows Sampson
Road. At Brousseau Road the trail splits with the primary route going
south on Brousseau Road, then Wilds Road which turns into Sandhill Road. Note:
Sandhill Road is
an unimproved graded
road with a sand base. Vehicles with low clearance or poor traction may
get stuck in soft sandy spots. Also, street signs are limited. Traveling
south on Sandhill Road the greenway route enters Negwegon State Park. As
the name suggests, this park contains the archaeological remains of a
Native American settlement. The least used of all Michigan’s state parks,
Negwegon
offers a fine network of existing footpath and trails,
both along the Huron shoreline and in the wooded interior.
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Traveling south, take Black River Road east into the coastal community of Black
River. Here, Alcona Township is developing an improved boat launch and access
site at the mouth of the Black River, long a favorite with local boaters.
Following the lightly used Lakeside Drive southward from Black River, the
Greenway reaches Sturgeon Point Lighthouse built in 1870. Continuing south, the
Greenways route reconnects with US-23 and enters Harrisville. This is the
southern most community that offers full services to the traveler including a
number of shops, restaurants and lodging facilities. Harrisville State Park,
just south of the City, provides complete camping and waterfront recreational
facilities along with a bike route into Harrisville.
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route follows US-23 south of Harrisville. Approximately 4 ½ miles south of
the downtown, the route splits with one route being US-23, and the other
following County Road F-30 and Cedar Lake Road into Greenbush. The historic
community of Greenbush is located in southern Alcona County. Here the
Greenbush Township Hall (1868) and the Greenbush School (1870) are
preserved, with historic markers on public display. From Greenbush the route
follows Ridley Road and Poor Farm Road to the Alcona County line and
southern terminus of the Huron Greenways.
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An
alternate route
through Negwegon State Park follows Brousseau Road to the east. The
route follows trails and two-tracks along the lakeshore, and is only
usable by foot and bicycle traffic. Portions of this lakeshore route
follow State Park hiking trails. However, outside the park the trails
are not marked with signs, so bring a map and compass. This
backcountry route eventually reconnects with the main route on Lakeshore Drive. |
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Trail Distance and Type
Alpena: Route through the City of
Alpena
Distance: 4 miles
Route
Information: Ford Avenue
Water
Street
Prentiss
Street
South
State Street
Route: Alpena to
Harrisville/Greenbush to southern extent of Greenways
Distance: 35 miles. Note that
distances are approximate
Route
Information:
South
State Street paved road and bicycle path
Werth
Road (1 mile) paved road
Piper
Road (8.5 miles) unimproved dirt road
Ossineke
Road (0.4 miles) paved road
Sampson
Road (2.2 Miles) gravel road
Brousseau Road (0.5 miles) gravel road
Wilds
Road (1.5 miles) turns into Sandhill Road
Sandhill
Road (5.5 miles) rough unimproved road (be careful)
E. Black
River Road (1.25 miles) paved road
Lakeshore Drive (9 miles) paved road
US-23
(7.5 miles) through Harrisville, narrow paved shoulder
Co. Road
F-30 (less than 0.1 mile) paved road
Cedar
Lake Road (0.5 miles) paved road
Ridley
Road (1 mile) gravel road
S. Poor
Farm Road (5.6 miles) graded dirt road
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Black River Swamp
Sandhill Road
skirts the edge of the
Black River Swamp. An extensive patchwork of open marshes,
lowland brush and lowland forests, the Black River Swamp
provides critical wildlife habitat. The river and marshes are
important spring breeding sites for frogs like the spring peeper,
Copes gray tree frog and the wood frog, and salamanders. The
wetlands are associated with the much larger Black River Swamp, an
important waterfowl habitat area. The lowland forest area,
with a mix hardwoods and conifers provides both food and much needed
cover. Several threatened and endangered species such as osprey,
bald eagle and red shouldered hawk inhabit the floodplain forests.
Dunes and
Swales
Some of the best examples of old
glacial lake shorelines can be found along this segment of the Huron
Greenways. The old shorelines are most prevalent near
Devil’s Lake, Cedar Lake and Black River. Dune and swale
complexes are a series of alternating old beach ridges and linear
depressions that parallel the Lake Huron shoreline. Near the
lakeshore the ridges are covered with oak, pine and aspen while
lowland conifers and brush can be found growing in the wet
depressions.
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Terrain and Adjacent Landscape
As the trail system enters the City of
Alpena from the east, it goes through older shoreline industrial complexes. The
trail follows city streets through older residential neighborhoods before
crossing the Thunder Bay River and entering the downtown business district.
South of the downtown the trail first goes through a neighborhood of large, old
homes, and then through highway commercial development.
With the exception of Harrisville,
this southern segment traverses aspen, pine and cedar forests. Views of Lake
Huron, sandy beaches and lakeshore residential development are found along
Lakeshore Drive. The terrain is relatively level along the coast and becomes
lightly rolling south of Greenbush.
Points of interest:
City of
Alpena
Alpena
Bi-Path
Lake
Besser Natural Area
Squaw
Bay
Devil’s
Lake Recreation Area
Ossineke
Negwegon
State Park
Stone Cairns in Negwegon State Park
Michigan
Island National Wildlife Refuge
Black
River
Black
River Swamp
Ghost
Town of Alcona
Sturgeon
Point Lighthouse
Harrisville
Harrisville State Park
Greenbush
Greenbush Township Hall and School
Springport and Greenbush golf
courses
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Side-trails:
To see a map of the side trails click
on the trail name below. To return to this page click on the back gadget of your
web browser.
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