Hart-Montague Bicycle Trail State Park:
Michigan
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Description:
The paved 22-mile Hart-Montague Trail State Park is one of Michigan's great rural rail-trails. The trail is located in Oceana County, the "asparagus capital of the world," and the town of Hart hosts an annual asparagus festival complete with a parade, floats, and an Asparagus Queen. Agriculture may have a hold on this area today, but Montague, Mears and Hart all have museums showcasing the time when the railroad and lumber industry reigned.
The trail begins in Montague. From the trailhead in Montague there exists a connecting trail-the 4-mile White Lake Trailway-that heads south, crosses the White Lake River and continues through the City of White Hall. For the Hart Montague Trail, head north. Whichever way you go first, this is the spot to see the world's largest weathervane, a 48-foot structure depicting a Great Lakes schooner that went down in a 1901 storm.
The southern segment of the trail is straight and flat. Christmas tree farms and orchards line the trail-look for cherries, peaches, apples, even apricots and plums. Be on the lookout for deer milling around in the fields and orchards, especially in the morning and evening. Springtime features a colorful and fragrant trip past the blossoming fruit trees, while autumn brings the crunch of leaves of spectacular reds, oranges, and gold.
As the trail moves north through the small towns of Rothbury, New Era, Shelby, and Mears, it becomes hilly and winding. Between Rothbury and Mears there are viewing platforms with picnic tables offering scenic views of the wooded areas. The Village of New Era is near the halfway point of the trail, and during the summer trail users can stop for homemade ice cream at the trailside dairy bar. In the town of Mears, which has plenty of places to stop for food and water, you can spot remnant prairie grasses along the trail. The gently rolling terrain offers nice country vistas, with plenty of places to stop for a rest.
The rail-trail winds down in Hart, but your adventure could be just heating up: Hart is the gateway to the beautiful beaches and giant sand dunes of Silver Lake and Lake Michigan.
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Parking & Trail Access:
To reach the southern trailhead in Montague, take US Highway 31 north to Whitehall/Montague exit. Turn right on Bus. 31/Colby Street. Follow Business 31 past the stop light in Montague and to trailhead parking on the right.
To reach the Hart area, follow US Highway 31 north and turn right onto Tyler Road/Main Street. Gurney Park and the trailhead is at the corner of Tyler and Oceans roads.
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Reviews: [1 trail ratings]
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enjoyable but bumpy
By sweetcat on June 27, 2010
We started in Montague and biked around the area a bit before continuing on the trail. The trail was pretty bumpy and cracked in places for the first several miles. We both rode mountain bikes and the trail was easy but again - if you want it smooth this is NOT the trail for you. This part of the trail seems pretty flat. The cracks run across the entire surface and are now inches wide. Although there is vegetation growing up between the cracks it doesn't seem to help much. We biked to Arthur Road and then biked back it is about the halfway point. The next day we headed to Hart to bike the other half. According to a State Park and Trail Guide we had the trail started at The John Gurney Park. It took us awhile to find this little spot tucked back in the small town of Hart. There isn't really a trail head there. There is a small sand lot to park in and a beautiful old arch that once celebrated what might have been a lovely park . Now it is a gateway to a broken down dock and a small launching area and a gated off private RV spot. Once you leave this you bike on a sidewalk like path until - if you're like us - you completely lose the trail and founder around until you bike on streets and roads and work your way back to where you know you crossed the trail in your car. There is what looks like a "real" trail head. It is on the main road which is Polk Road near the Subway. Once on this trail from Hart south the trail is much nicer. It is just starting to deteriorate and in really good shape compared to the other half. It is woodsy and has more hills than the Montague section. It is a pretty good ride. Much nicer than the other section. We rode back to Arthur Road and returned to Hart. This time we found the trail through town a bit better - but I would still skip the trail head at John Gurney Park. There isn't really anything there to see but the back of a person's house.
Nice scenice ride.
By cyclops on April 22, 2010
I first did this ride about twelve years ago and found the conditions of the trail much better than they are now. There needs to be a major initiative to bring up the condition of the trail through major maintenance projects. Since I ride mountain and cross bikes the condition of the trail didn't effect me. However, those that have high end road bikes beware. There are bumps and dips in the asphault that have the propensity of doing major damage to delicate rims and tires.

Getting past the current trail conditions I find that the rural beauty is certainly there to enjoy. With the length of the trail I don't recommend tackling the whole length as a family unless all of the riders are accumstomed to riding 44 miles in one day. There are ample places to purchase food and beverages along the way along with many places of interest along the trail. It is certainly a must see experience to say the least. But again, regarding the conditions, make sure that you have tools, tubes and an inflation device in case of break downs along the trail.
Somewhat disappointed
By TimDutcher on August 10, 2009
Upkeep has been poor on this trail and its just plain dirty. Take some wipes to wipe the gritty film off of yourself as it is usually fairly windy and that dirt is raised up as you ride through it. Also, disappointed in the scenery. Hard to find a paved trail of that length but, IMHO, that is all the trail has going for it.

Montague is a beautiful spot but the rest of the towns on this trail are typical rural, country blight.......nothing "quaint" in the least.

Sorry, but hat's how I see it.

Midland to Clare is the best trail in the state of length and the Saginaw Valley RailTrail, at 9.2 miles, is the gem of the railTrail system in Michigan. Ultra clean, meticulously kept and the restrooms on Swan Creek road are the best kept anywhere. 9.2 miles of diverse scenery. Gorgeous.
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