(WXMI) — Blue Lake Township Park has been transformed from a neglected area into a multi-use recreational space. The work has been done mostly by hand and by dedicated community volunteers.
The township closed off the property five years ago. In 2023, the 300-acre park began its transformation. Scott Brannam and his wife Angel, organized volunteers who cleared out 6.5 tons of trash and over 100 tires from the park to begin the project.
"This section of the trail was done by hand using chainsaws and hand saws," Brannam said. "The corridor is approximately cut five feet wide. So anything within five feet is cleared out and approximately eight feet tall," Brannam said.
Most of the path creation has been done by hand to preserve the natural plant life in the park.
"We're trying to build a sustainable trail that looks and feels like it's been here for a couple generations and that will be easy to maintain overall," Brannam said.
Currently, there are nearly five miles of open trails available for public use. When completed, the park will feature approximately 10 miles of trails.
The project has attracted significant volunteer support, with close to 900 volunteer hours logged last year. This year, volunteers have already contributed nearly 700 hours.
"I get more satisfaction getting up in the morning and coming out here working on this trail system than I do jumping on one of my own mountain bikes and riding," Brannam said.
Blue Lake Township has also applied for a $120,000 grant to create an ADA-accessible path and lookout onto Grass Lake, which would make the park more inclusive for all visitors.
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