Support the Friends of the Betsie Valley Trail by signing up for the 4th Annual Brew-to-Brew Trail Day to be held on Saturday, June 27th! The donation / registration fee includes a free tech-style event t-shirt, PLUS vouchers for two beers — one at Stormcloud Brewery and one at Five Shores Brewery!
The Betsie Valley Trail is 22 miles long and extends from Frankfort through Elberta and Beulah to Thompsonville in Benzie County Michigan.
The Trail is popular for bicycle and pedestrian use.
Dogs are permitted on most parts of the Trail as long as they are on a leash and under control. Dogs are not permitted on the portion of the Trail between Mollineaux Road and Beulah.
Important message from Charlie about this Saturday’s call for volunteers:
“Warm greetings to all. The season was almost upon us until a late spring blizzard was measured in feet and not inches! The trail is open, but now the work begins to get it in shape after another winter of winds and snow plows and then a tsunami of rain.
Our first Spring clean-up is scheduled for this coming Saturday May 2nd at 9:00AM. Let’s meet at the Beulah Park by the pavilion. I will have a list of work that needs to be done. Coinciding with the running of the Kentucky Derby, you might say we’re off to the races! We’ll concentrate on the limestone section from Beulah to just past the big curve where Crystal Ave heads up the hill to M115.
Most of the work needing to be done is raking the trail and repairing, as best we can, damage done by the snow plows. Please bring rakes to include hard steel beach rakes as well as a leaf blower, if possible. I will be on hand with the BVT trailer and tools from the shed. I have asked AJ Excavating to provide a quote for repairing the section just below Benzie Street as that is a total train wreck.
In the coming days I will blow the paved section to Frankfort. And in the coming weeks we’ll schedule a work day to tackle the section from Beulah to Thompsonville. Thanks to all who can help out this Saturday and thanks to all our volunteers for helping make the Betsie Valley Trail such a wonderful asset to our community!
BTW, after six years as the Care Coordinator I will stepping aside and handing the reigns over to Stephanie Kennedy. She is retiring in May, but not for long. In June expect to see Stephanie leading the charge!”
.... A grateful Charlie
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A huge THANK YOU to Kelly Maxey and crew from Paul Oliver Mental Health for the trail clean up they performed over the weekend. They picked up 59 pounds of trash from Frankfort to the first parking lot in Elberta! Fantastic job!
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Great shots! Thanks for sharing!
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Enjoy the wildlife along the trail! No lions or tigers, but you may see a bear 🐻! Send your pics and reports to media@betsievalleytrail.org
Here are some of the birds recently encountered in the marsh and along the trail: Canada Goose, Trumpeter Swan
Common Tern
Double-crested Cormorant
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle (2 mature + 3 juveniles)
Tree Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
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Expanding access to those with mobility challenges is an immediate need and today the Friends are launching the Trail Access Accessibility Project! We’re always working towards increasing the use of the trail for everyone of all ages and abilities. We work with the Michigan DNR to keep the trail beautiful… Read More »
Our third annual Brew-to-Brew Trail Day was a big success! Thank you to our event sponsors and everyone who participated! It was a lot of fun! Check out the recap video:
Over 50 people attended the Friends ribbon cutting ceremony in early June marking the completion of the first mile of paving from Beulah to Thompsonville. The joyful occasion recognized those who made this accomplishment possible, including the Michigan Department of Natural Resources who awarded a $400,000 Spark Grant to Benzie… Read More »
