First Michigan Section of The Marquette Greenway is Complete!
April 3, 2025 (New Buffalo, MI) A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on Friday, April 25, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. EDT to celebrate the opening of the first completed Michigan portion of the Marquette Greenway in New Buffalo City and New Buffalo Township. This event will take place at the Trailhead at Smith and Mechanic Streets in downtown New Buffalo (rain location is New Buffalo City Hall). The public is welcome, and coffee and donuts will be served. This event is being hosted by the Harbor Country Chamber of Commerce in tandem with the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber of Commerce and Friends of Berrien County Trails.
Numerous participants will gather to celebrate this remarkable achievement that will ultimately connect to a 60-mile non-motorized walking and cycling trail from Chicago to New Buffalo. Volunteers from the founding group, Friends of Berrien County Trails, as well as local bicycle enthusiasts, hikers, funders, donors, local and county public officials, and state representatives will attend and speak about what the project means for them and their communities.
For over a decade, volunteers worked diligently to raise funds, apply for grants and help plan the local piece of the puzzle that would connect to a 60-mile hiking and cycling path that begins in Calumet Park in east Chicago and ends in New Buffalo, MI. The trail connects the coastal communities of three states around the southern bend of Lake Michigan. While the Marquette Greenway terminates in New Buffalo, work continues to connect to the Red Arrow Trail to the north and beyond.
“This extraordinary achievement took years to plan and fund. It has been a dedicated collaboration and labor of love from many committed people and organizations,” said Gary Wood, President of Friends of Harbor Country Trails, a local citizen-based, non-profit seeking to connect Berrien County through a network of trails. They started the project in 2015. “When we first had this idea, we were absolutely blown away by how many folks jumped in to participate. It wasn’t easy and we certainly had moments of discouragement. We could not have done it without the steady hand and professional guidance of Marcy Hamilton from the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission.
According to Ms. Hamilton, Deputy Executive Director at SWMPC, who has successfully consulted on numerous public/private projects in Berrien County over the years, including the expansion of the public Cherry Beach in Chikaming Township in 2019, “The Marquette Greenway walking and cycling trail will be transformational for community residents and visitors alike. Earlier sections were built in Illinois and Indiana, but this is the first section completed in Michigan,” she said. “Because of that, it’s a really big deal! Although this first phase is just three miles in length, it was fraught with complications we had not encountered before. Its completion now serves as a lynchpin and connector to the Red Arrow Trail further north in Michigan.” To illustrate one specific challenge, Hamilton assisted New Buffalo Township in securing an easement from Amtrak. This 10-foot-wide, paved path follows the train tracks along a portion of US 12 Highway, south of New Buffalo and without the Amtrak easement, it could not have been built.
Funding was contributed from many diverse public and private sources including The Pokagon Fund, New Buffalo Township, the City of New Buffalo, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) federal Transportation Alternatives Program, the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program, Berrien Community Foundation, many generous family foundations and more than 200 wonderful individuals. Contractor Kalin Construction and the engineering firm Abonmarche patiently oversaw the year-long trail construction which began last spring. The trailhead at Smith and Mechanic Streets features parking, a picnic area and a bike repair station. Michigan’s Phase II along Grand Beach Road to the Indiana state line will be completed in 2026 in cooperation with the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission, Berrien County Road Department, Grand Beach Village and New Buffalo Township.
The tri-state trail will connect five counties with fifteen municipalities, one National Park, one state park and be accessible to almost 200,000 people living within 1.5 miles of the trail along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Wood enthusiastically says, “We will continue to work to connect the Marquette Greenway up the Lake Michigan coastline and one day, it will connect walkers and cyclists all the way to the Mackinac Bridge!”
For more information on the Marquette Greenway visit https://www.
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Invited Speakers
Gary Wood, President, Friends of Berrien County Trails
Vance Price, Mayor, City of New Buffalo
Michelle Heit, Supervisor, New Buffalo Township
Mac Elliot, Chair, Berrien County Board of Commissioners
Peter Dickow, Office of Senator Gary Peters
Lee Belding, Office of Congressman Tim Walberg
Carly Swanson, Office of the Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Jonathon Lindsay, Michigan 17th District Senator
Joey Andrews, State Representative District 38
Kelsey Dietz, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Mike Smith, Michigan Department of Transportation
Debbie Schmidt, Jointly Selected Director, The Pokagon Fund
Sandra Sporleder, Jointly Selected Director, The Pokagon Fund
Vance Price, Mayor, City of New Buffalo
Michelle Heit, Supervisor, New Buffalo Township
Mac Elliot, Chair, Berrien County Board of Commissioners
Peter Dickow, Office of Senator Gary Peters
Lee Belding, Office of Congressman Tim Walberg
Carly Swanson, Office of the Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Jonathon Lindsay, Michigan 17th District Senator
Joey Andrews, State Representative District 38
Kelsey Dietz, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Mike Smith, Michigan Department of Transportation
Debbie Schmidt, Jointly Selected Director, The Pokagon Fund
Sandra Sporleder, Jointly Selected Director, The Pokagon Fund
