Communities Come Together to Dream Big –Nakwema Trailway

As early as 2004, longtime community partners at the Rotary Club of Elk Rapids had an ambitious goal to connect the TART to Elk Rapids and, one day, Charlevoix. Gaining community support along the way, they persevered and today, a much larger coalition of trail advocates are helping that big, bold dream take the shape of the Nakwema Trailway. Nakwema—Ojibwe for “where paths connect”—will provide critical foundational infrastructure for happy, healthy, resilient individuals and communities.

Non-motorized recreation and transportation infrastructure is invaluable to our region and the Nakwema Trailway is going to be a game changer for Antrim County! Providing residents and visitors non-motorized access between Traverse City and Charlevoix is a true investment in our community health and safety, and will provide a boost to our local economy year-round. There’s so much to explore along this north-south corridor including roadside parks, farmers markets, fruit and vegetable stands, parks and beaches—making connections that one may never experience by car. I can’t wait to be able to hop on this trail with my family and explore more of what our region has to offer.”

—Joe Short, Owner of Short’s Brewing Co.

As we now turn to making further connections like Acme to Deepwater Point, Elk Rapids to Maple Bay, Fisherman’s Island State Park to Charlevoix and all the many points in between, we are fueled by the visionaries who set this path before us.

Construction of the 1.8 mile Acme Connector Trail in the fall of 2022 was celebrated with a groundbreaking ceremony that spoke directly to the collective effort and shared community values of access, health, and economic development the trail provides. Acme Township Parks and Trails committee, in partnership with TART Trails, spearheaded trail planning and design and helped secure funding from local, state, and tribal partners. Representing the southernmost section of the Nakwema Trailway, the trail now connects the current TART terminus at Bunker Hill Road to the intersection of M-72 and US-31 in Acme. In addition, another section of the new trail runs east toward the Acme Meijer store and Grand Traverse Town Center development. TART Trails and Top of Michigan Trails Council are hard at work along the entire Nakwema Trailway corridor with active projects in Charlevoix, Fisherman’s Island State Park, Torch Lake Township, Elk Rapids Village and Township, and Acme Township.

1995

TART constructed to Bunker Hill Road (formerly the TART terminus)

2015

Traverse City to Charlevoix Concept Plan and Development Guide is launched

2022

The Acme Connector, the southernmost end of the Nakwema Trailway, complete

2023

Engineering for Elk Rapids to Maple Bay; Charlevoix to Fisherman’s Island

2024

Deepwater Connector construction in Acme Township 2025

Continue to work along the corridor to connect communities and complete the Trailway