Ludington, MI - Pere Marquette Trail (7/29 - 8/5/25)

Beginning our trip east, our first ride was the Pere Marquette Trail. This 55 mile trail is another Hall of Fame Rail Trail on our list to ride. We stayed at both the Ludington East KOA and the Wiedman KOA. We rode the trail in out-and-backs over 4 days.

Although the trail did not go through Ludington, we did visit here a few times because it was right on Lake Michigan and had many restaurants on or near the water.

Before we started our trail riding we headed to the Ludington Bay Brewing Co. for dinner and drinks.

This trail is a tale of multiple experiences. On the west side the surface is limestone gravel which at times was loose and rough in places and could be difficult to ride with skinny tire bikes.

Of course it had the requisite towns with renovated depots to rest and relax.

Outside the towns on the trail you can go many miles before even a bench was available in some stretches.

The trail begins in Baldwin and ends in the town of Midland with several towns in between.

The trail is very rural and does have scenic areas of interest.

Around end of the first third of the trail it became paved, but the first 10 miles or so was fairly old and not very good condition which made for a bumpy ride at times.

About half-way the trail improves significantly with more recent paving that was a much smoother riding experience. This is a picture of a two-lane coal dispenser. In summary, I wouldn't call this trail one of my favorites due to the trail conditions in places, but it did have its moments of value.

After we left Michigan, we spent a bonus day of riding on Presque Isle State Park in PA (near Erie) on our way to NY.

This island has a trail loop that is about 13 miles long.

Along the way are points of interest such as lighthouses and monuments.

Much of the ride shared views of the bay and lake Michigan. Although this wasn't a HoF trail, it was well worth the stop to visit.

Now we head to Niagara Falls to see something new for us while we continue our tour of the Northeast U.S. Stay tuned for my next several posts where we detail our experiences...