Officials announced Monday that a novel hiking and biking trail stretching for hundreds of miles through Michigan will be officially named Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail.
The trail will run from Belle Isle Park in Detroit to Ironwood in the western Upper Peninsula, along the border with Wisconsin. Michigan Department of Natural Resources Principal Keith Creagh said in a statement that the name “effectively captures the beauty and strength of our state’s unique natural and cultural resources.”
Last year, the DNR accepted name proposals for the trail through a competitive process; over 8,800 ideas were submitted.
Related:See the full trail map
Portions are already open in Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsula, with additional segments scheduled to debut later this year. The DNR Division of Parks and Recreation, as well as other partners, are seeking private and public funds to protect and develop trail corridors.
“The hard work and thoughtful vision that has gone into Michigan’s existing trail system and future connectors over the years has helped set the groundwork for the completion of this important interstate trail,” Creagh said.
The trail, proposed by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2012, would include a 2,259-mile hiking route and a 774-mile biking route. Much of it follows the existing North Country National Scenic Trail, which runs from the New York-Vermont border to central North Dakota.
Creagh selected the name based on the recommendation of a committee of project partners: the Michigan Trails Advisory Council, the Michigan Economic Development Corp, the Michigan Recreation and Park Association and the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.
The competition for the name of the trail took place in September and October, and entries were sent via an online survey, Facebook and in paper form. Three winners of the competition were selected by drawing.
The winners were Amanda Mailer of Rochester, Matthew Husted of Jerome and John Meikle of Lapeer, Michigan. Everyone will receive one of three vacation prize packages for locations along the trail: the Detroit area, Mackinac Island and Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.
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