TRAVERSE CITY — Reaching the newest of a trio of neighboring parks just west of Traverse City is about to get a lot easier.
Hickory Forest’s trailhead at Barney and Harris roads is almost complete, with a ribbon-cutting set for 2 p.m. next Friday, said Matt Cowall, executive director for the Traverse City and Garfield Township Recreation Authority. The authority owns and manages two of the three parks in that trio, with the 76-acre Hickory Forest and Hickory Meadows sandwiching the city-owned and -run ski area, Hickory Hills.
Not only is Hickory Forest a great addition to the authority’s portfolio, but it adds to about 325 acres of contiguous parkland a short hop from the city center, authority board Chairwoman Laura Ness said.
“It’s a new park, the trails are beautiful and we are really excited about the enthusiasm we are seeing for the park,” she said.
The authority agreed to pay Elmer’s Crane & Dozer up to $85,187 to build the trailhead, Cowall said. A contingency fund of $17,038 is included as well, but Cowall said he expects the project will finish largely on budget. One cost saving — $1,500 for skipping a temporary driveway — ended up a “wash” when the Grand Traverse County Road Commission required a culvert be installed under the drive the trailhead will share with a neighboring assisted living facility.
Building the trailhead ensures the property has dedicated access beyond parking along the road, or hiking through the adjacent Hickory Hills, Cowall said. Joint recreation authority board members felt strongly that Hickory Forest have that direct access.
“So we’re really excited about that, it’s one of the big sort of critical pieces of that park and we’re happy that it’s coming together,” he said.
Visitors to the trailhead, once open, could soon see improved signage as part of a joint effort between the authority, Traverse City and nonprofits giving a financial boosts to signage for the three parks.
Nonprofit Preserve Hickory, of which Ness is president, designed the signs with a grant from Rotary Charities of Traverse City and a donation from Traverse City Track Club, she said.
Next, the authority and city will install signs helping people navigate all three parks as a cohesive experience, Cowall said. It’s in recognition that park visitors don’t see the boundaries and jurisdictions as they pass from one park to another, but will need proper wayfinding to make the trek.
Plans are to color-code the signs so visitors can easily tell which park they’re in, Cowall said. That should be helpful not only for recreation but for maintenance requests as well.
Those signs, including wayfinding all throughout Hickory Forest, will be installed during the summer, Cowall said. There’s also more trail work to do to finish up previous efforts within Hickory Forest.
Trailhead parking includes accessible spots in anticipation of future plans to add a universally accessible loop, Cowall said. So far the concept is to apply for another grant to create that loop within the flattest portion of an otherwise hilly park, potentially adding an observation deck as well.
The recreation authority closed on the property in mid-2023, as previously reported. That was about 18 months after the state Natural Resources Trust Fund approved a $467,600 grant to purchase the property once owned by the late conservationist Clarence Kroupa.
Money from the recreation authority’s operating millage, which city and township voters renewed for 20 years in November 2020, paid for the remainder of the $668,200 cost. The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy helped with the acquisition, holding onto the property for a time and helping to develop plans for its future use.