News

The Friends were excited to receive the news in October that our second try for a Michigan Spark Grant funded by American Rescue Plan Act was approved by the Michigan DNR. “We were quite happy with the news of the grant,” said Jim Gribble, Director of Marketing and Public Relations… Read More »

In September, about 75 members and guests gathered at the Stormcloud Taproom for a  special member meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to conduct a vote to change the Friends non-profit corporate designation from a member organization to a directorship. “Last summer, we were looking into updating our by-laws… Read More »

“Last summer, I heard someone say it was smart to put a brewery on either end of the Trail and it got me thinking,” commented Jim Gribble, Friends Marketing & PR Director, “we should do something to celebrate that! That’s where the idea of having the first Brew-to-Brew Trail Day… Read More »

The Friends of the Betsie Valley Trail are very fortunate to have Crystal Mountain as a business sponsor. They help support the trail in many ways and we are most grateful for their partnership. Please patronize this wonderful Benzie County resort and thank them for supporting the trail! Crystal Mountain… Read More »

A lot of folks are unaware that snowmobiling is permitted on the Betsie Valley Trail from Beulah to Thompsonville. The Benzie-Manistee Snowbirds act as stewards of this section of the trail during the winter. The club is also a sponsor of the BVT and we thank them for their support!… Read More »

That was the sentiment of Betsie Valley Trail Care Coordinator, Charlie Gregory, when he took on this project last year. “We don’t want to pack the trail with signs,” he commented at a past board meeting. “I’m looking to simplify messages and actually reduce the number of signs along the… Read More »

Last year, we announced the ground-breaking for A New Gathering Place Along the BVT at Lewis Bridge Overlook. The new ‘pocket park’ was completed recently and last Saturday, representatives from the DNR, the Friends of the Trail, and members of the public gathered at the site to reflect on the… Read More »

Last November, the Friends announced our intent to raise the needed funds to pave the Trail from Beulah to Thompsonville. Since then, we’ve been working to identify potential funding sources for this big project. We’re looking at nearly $3 million to pave the 12-mile section. A Potential Game-Changer for Thompsonville… Read More »

The dedicated volunteer Trail Crew has long had a need for a storage facility along the trail. Currently, the Friends have several spread out, inconvenient, and costly storage sites, none of which are ideal for storage of motorized grooming equipment. Often, the Friends rely on volunteers to bring their own… Read More »

Resurfacing the trail along Crystal Lake last spring represented the first major upgrade of the trail in decades…and we’re just getting started! The Friends have been working hard the past couple years to build the capabilities of our organization. We’ve added several new board members and staff who are actively… Read More »