A ceremony is scheduled September first to dedicate a recently added water trail around Beaver Island.
The water trail was added to the DNR’s list of Michigan water trails this summer. It gives island-goers the opportunity to paddle the entire 43 miles around the island.
Nicholas De Laat is the executive director of the Preservation Association of Beaver Island.
“It’s not going through the island it’s not actual waterways that we’ve cut into the land, it’s going, you know, around the outside of the island close to the beaches. The difference is we have a lot of public land up here and a lot of untouched land. This island is really unique and so this water trail allows you to see this natural beauty of the island you can’t find at a lot of places anymore.”
De Laat said the project has been in the works for more than five years.
He said a lot goes into establishing a water trail… establishing emergency services, printing maps, and collaborating with police and coast guard to ensure proper safety precautions on the trail.
More information on the water trail can be found here.