One of the great city planning goals for Monroe has been a riverwalk that connects to Sterling State Park.  It would finally connect the city to the lake and, hopefully improve investment and quality of life.

Well, let’s stop waiting and start hiking because that city/park connection already exists.  It isn’t paved all the way.  And it isn’t pretty, but it is possible to hike and bike to the state park from the city with only a brief road hike.

Here’s the deal.  City sidewalks and the Riverwalk already connect pedestrians to far-flung places like Munson Park.  If you take city sidewalks to East Elm, you’ll eventually end up at the River Raisin Battlefield.  Those pathways already exist.

From there, it is a couple of tenths of a mile - walk in the grassy road shoulder - to the marina/restaurant/party store complex that holds the Clamdigger Restaurant on the south side of East Elm along the River Raisin.  Walk through the parking lots.

The Super-Secret connection is a small paved path on the north side of Elm just before the southbound I-75 exit ramp at Elm.

Follow this path to a fence gate.  On the gate, you will see several signs that essentially make no sense.  What they do say is that foot travel is welcome and that a walker is now entering Sterling State Park.

You have to walk a few feet on a crazy makeshift bridge to walk around the gate.

Then, you have to cross a set of railroad tracks.

Next, you have to pass underneath the I-75 overpass.  Check out the neat graffiti as you walk.

Then, take this path towards the park.  It will eventually pass an old pumping station, follow a natural-surfaced dike and connect with the southwest sections of the state park Marsh Trail.

Things often move very slowly in Monroe.  But regular and increased use of this de facto - and legal - connection will create a constituency for the trail’s improvement.  Do you want a better trail system in Monroe?  Well, start hiking.

Here’s the route on Virtual Earth:

http://maps.live.com/?v=2&cid=628A87FDBE3AF2A!110&encType=1

Dan Shaw, the managing editor of the Evening News, hiked the route with his wife to see the fireworks.  Here is his report:

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/editors/?p=80

Here’s an aerial shot of the trail:

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/expatriate/?p=932

This is a good map of the route:

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/expatriate/?p=884

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