Falling Waters Trail: Notes

I originally posted these hike notes on the Great Lakes Hikes Yahoo Group:

Falling Waters

05/15/02

I had a couple of hours tonight and decided to scout the Falling Waters Trail out of Jackson. It's an old rail bed, but I think it just might make a great hike. It goes through some pretty wild area with lots of lakes, streams and marshes. There is a small section that is paved in the city of Jackson, but once it heads into thecountryside, the trail turns to single and double track. I'm not sure if there are any bridges out, but it seemed passable to Homer -with a small break in Concord. I'm not quite sure how much is publicly owned beyond that, but the railbed goes to at least ThreeRivers. So, it's at least 25 miles long, maybe 50. Anyway, I'm going to start hiking it.

05/16/02

Okay, so when's a trail not a trail?

Answer: Falling Waters Trail

I decided to call around to get more info. on this thing and apparently, it still is in private ownership. I talked to the guy who is spearheading the place. He's spent about 10 years trying to get the state to buy it. Apparently, the county and cities support it and some sections near Jackson are public.

The funny thing is that he told me he grew up hiking the trail and earned his Boy Scout hiking badge on trips on the thing. And from the looks of it, it's probably the most used non-trail in the state of Michigan. In fact, it's the only non-trail I know of that has a real name as cool as "Falling Waters." This guy even gave me suggestions on good sections to hike.

But, I guess the next time I stop in one of the trail parking lots, I'll just have to ignore the thing.

07/06/03

Also, the MMBA website had a post with a DNR purchase plan for 108 acres of the "Falling Waters Trail" in Jackson County. This is an old railbed in Concord, Spring Arbor and Summit Townships. If you follow the Lakelands Trail or Waterloo-Pinckney to Jackson Prison, you are not far from the Jackson city trails. These use the Falling Waters railbed. The western end of this purchase takes the hiker almost to Homer and close proximity to the eventual path of the NCT.

I've hiked many of the paths that lie on this route and a hiking route from Lake Erie to Lake Michigan doesn't seem too outlandish.

09/25/03

I was reading the Natural Resources Commission minutes for July and I came across the discussion and vote to purchase the Falling Waters Trail in Jackson County. The purchase covers about 9 miles SW of Jackson. This is an old railbed that reaches almost to Homer. This is good news and means that there are only a few short missing sections to a trail that connects the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail to the North Country Trail route.

BTW, in terms of railtrails, the Falling Waters Trail is really nice. There is one section that bisects a lake with water on both sides. And it also follows a river for a nice stretch.

10/06/03

I got on my bike today and biked about 5 miles of the Jackson Intercity Trail and Falling Waters Trail. I did most of the paved portion through town and a bit of the dirt pathway that starts at Weatherwax Drive and heads west.

Trail conditions west of Weatherwax are unimproved, which makes hiking the preferred mode of transportation. The vegetation is very nice, even on the paved city portions.

I ran into a nice older couple and the man said he'd been running that trail for 20 years. That's the funny thing. I've never seen atrail that has gotten so much use without being public. The thing had a name, an advocacy group and many users while it was still private land. Now, the state - I believe - only bought the line to Concord. This man said that another line branched to the south - on maps it heads to Hanover and Horton. He said he'd run it regularly for years.
The paved trail also veers south along Weatherwax into populated areas. I'm not sure how far that section of trails goes. Also, I'm curious if the informal use of the trail extends past the purchase along the line into Homer. If it does, there might well be a useable connection to the NCT route right now.

Finally, the trail basically connects to Ella Sharp Park - the site of 10 to 15 miles of disjointed dirt trail.

07/20/04

Also, the Jackson County Parks Department will soon take possession of the Falling Waters Trail from the MDNR, making an 18 mile trail across Jackson County a fairly imminent possibility.

8/12/4

I would advise anyone to read the "State Land Rules" on the following website. It covers all state land that is NOT a state park or recreation area. It opens some additional camping possibilities that might help with a backpack. For instance, sections of the Lakelands Trail and, I believe Falling Waters Trail are state owned but not designated "state park." This likely means that there are some sections of the corridor in which it is legal to camp.

www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370-31657--,00.html