Changes To The Little Sand Bay Trail

[esteger]

Why were the changes made to the Little Sand Bay Trail? It makes it a much longer trip for those who have difficulty walking.

[Cindy at LTC]

Thank you for your questions about the Little Sand Bay trail. We did consider many aspects of the trail and the needs of trail users before making the changes to the parking area. We conducted an informal survey of preserve visitors, who indicated that they would not object to the change. We truly regret that the added distance will make it difficult for you to visit the preserve.

The condition and maintenance of the long access drive extending far into the interior of the preserve has been problematic over the years. (We have received complaints about low-clearance vehicles bottoming out, and cars getting scratched by the junipers.) In general, we try to locate our preserve parking areas near road frontage, in order to minimize interior road maintenance and vehicular impacts to the preserves. Little Sand Bay has always been an exception to this standard.

In Summer 2009, LTC was approached by the Beaver Island Historic Society (BIHS) about the possibility of acquiring and preserving the Gallagher house (also known as the Early/Doney Home), which is thought to be one of the oldest homes on the Island, dating from Mormon times. BIHS made a preliminary request to acquire and move the house to another site for restoration. Instead of moving the house, in February 2012 LTCâ??s Stewardship Committee approved the decision to keep the house on site and reconfigure the trail head and parking for the preserve. Rather than have two parking areas on the preserve (with associated maintenance costs) we planned that the parking lot near the house would serve double-duty for both preserve and historic site visitors.

The reconfiguration of the trail adds .18 mile (950 feet) to the distance from parking lot to the beach. We designed the trail so it would go through open areas with smooth footing, and made sure to keep the â??pedestrianâ?￾ sized opening at the fence and gate wide enough for a wheelchair to pass (32â?￾).

You may want to check out our new Petritz Preserve, located just north of town with a trail that starts at Lake Street (behind McDonoughâ??s Market.) There is a nice trail that goes 1,500 feet to the dunes at the lake shore, instead of the 2,300 foot walk to the beach at Little Sand Bay.

Thanks again for contacting us, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
Sincerely,

Cindy Mom
Stewardship Specialist
Little Traverse Conservancy
3264 Powell Road
Harbor Springs, MI 49740
231-344-1011 phone
231-347-1276 fax
cindy@landtrust.org

[jflanagan]

Cindy

Will the trail map on your website be updated?

Jim

[Cindy at LTC]

Yes, we'll get our maps updated ASAP.

[Adam Richards]

Our family was also surprised at the change in parking for the Little Sand Bay. This is our favorite beach to visit during the summer. Walking the trail to the beach is a challenge on any normal day for our family of six, with beach toys, snacks, umbrella, towels, etc....but definitely worth the effort while taking in the beauty

Could you perhaps place a sign at the front of the existing road that says "PROCEED WITH CAUTION, ROUGH ROAD AHEAD"??

The shorter distance would be much appreciated.

Thank you for your consideration,
Sheri Richards