BROWER PARK, Mich. — The long-awaited, long and winding Dragon Trail is now fully open.
Built for hiking and mountain biking, the 45-mile trail wraps around the Hardy Dam Pond in Newaygo and Mecosta counties, featuring sharp switchbacks and sprawling overlooks along a path that meanders through Michigan forests, including an old-growth white pine.
The two-direction, natural-surface trail of "intermediate" difficulty will be open year-round. Trailheads can be found at county parks, including Brower and Davis Bridge parks.
"A lot of science, a lot of art," said Nick Smith, the director of parks and recreation in Newaygo County, describing the route drawn by Spectrum Trail Design, an Indianapolis-based company.
"When you build a trail, you don't just go straight down a hill," Smith said. "When our trail designers and builders came through the area, they looked for those existing natural features to complement and make the trail stronger."
Planning for the trail began in 2009. Ten years later in 2019, construction started. In 2024, the trail's final sections were finished, completing the 45-mile path.
Located almost entirely on land owned by Consumers Energy, the Dragon Trail is segmented into eleven different sections. Segment one, for example, contains an ADA-accessible path, while segments seven and nine are for more experienced mountain bikers.
"To be at the finish line is just a phenomenal feeling," said Jeff Abel, the superintendent for Mecosta County Parks. "For not just us as parks directors, but for everyone that had the initial idea of this trail becoming a reality."
Abel says Mecosta and Newaygo counties will annually set aside a combined $10,000 for future improvements, though they're not the only ones investing in the outdoors. The West Michigan Mountain Biking Alliance will weekly maintain the trail.
"The people that are going to come and visit this trail, they're going to want to stop somewhere before they get here. They're going to want to stop somewhere afterward," said Abel, describing the economic benefit of the Dragon Trail.
"The real bonus: You don't have to drive four-and-a-half hours to find those things we now have right here in the Lower Peninsula," Abel said.
Find the trail map here.
