William Field Memorial Hart-Montague Trail State Park – Montague, MI

Riding “Rails to Trails” routes is a favorite of ours. The trails are available for all to use and offer varied uses from bikes, walkers, equestrian, snowmobiles and so on. Yet we never really think about how the trails came to be. Sure they are on abandoned railroad beds, but what happened between the time the railroad left and the trails were opened?This question was not something we really thought about until we road the Hart-Montague Trail. The trail is a Michigan Linear State Park, one of 14 such trails in the state. Michigan says it has the most rail trails covering hundreds of miles. These rail trails are also called linear trails and some in Michigan are state parks. The Hart-Montague Trail covers 22 miles from Hart to Montague. It is also one of Michigan’s first “Rails to Trails”.

The full name of the trail is “William Field Memorial Hart-Montague Trail State Park”. Hence, the history of the trail. The trail is part of the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad built in 1872. Over a hundred years later, in 1982, William Field, an asparagus and cherry farmer, was the driving force behind the trail. Field had the foresight to see the recreational possibility of the old rail line. Although he faced local opposition, Field was not deterred. He purchased the property for $175,000 then donated the 22 mile section to the DNR of Michigan. In 1989 the first 11 miles of the linear park was opened and today all 22 miles are open to enjoy.

We stayed at the Montague trailhead in Trailway Campground. The trail is behind the park and offers routes not only to Hart but also to Whitehall. The Hart-Montague Trail links with the Whitehall trail, White Lake Pathway, which is approximately 3 miles and connects to the 6 mile Berry Junction Trail.

Which way should we bike

Riding these trails offer many options for stopping including dairy farm, brewery, cafes, picnic spots and more. We were out of water and found a pass through to a convenience store. These are great trails to ride and enjoy the scenery and stops along the way.