Lakeshore Trail Reopens In Muskegon

I know it's been a rainy week, so the news of something being reopened that was underwater is strange, but the Lakeshore Trail is doing just that.

A 12 mile section of the Lakeshore Trail from the Muskegon River to the Pere Marquette Beach along Lake Michigan has reopened after being shut down due to high water for the past year.

High water and winds battered the trail between Hartshorn Marina and the Muskegon neighborhood of Lakeside, but the trail officially reopened as of today.

The trail was raised to above the Muskegon Lake flood level and reconditioned to shore up some of the bridge abutments.

The trail is a key cog in the trail system that links Lake Michigan to Grand Rapids along the Musketawa Trail and Meijer Trails. It also links to the north-south running Hart-Montague Trail.

The trail was the victim of high water the last two years along Muskegon Lake and Lake Michigan, causing erosion and damage to it. It was shut down until repairs could be made. The eastern half of the trail repair was funded by Muskegon at a cost of $244,000.

Other parts of the trail re ab were included in the $3.1 Million cost of the restoration of the Amoco Gas Tank Farm which sat on Muskegon Lake.

The Muskegon Lakeshore Trail runs for 12 miles along the Muskegon River to Muskegon Lake and on to Lake Michigan and the spacious Pere Marquette Beach.

The repairs and subsequent lowering of Great Lakes water levels in the past year should secure the Lakeshore Trail for years to come, Muskegon Director of Public Works Leo Evans told Grand Rapids Magazine.