The City of Chelsea has been recognized as a “Pure Michigan Trail Town,” by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
City Manager Roy Atkinson made the announcement during the March 20th city council meeting, according to MLive.com. Chelsea will officially be presented with the award at the Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Grand Rapids in April.
“It acknowledges our proximity to outdoor recreation, and other state properties and amenities. With that, largely we want to utilize it as an economic development driver, (with) more marketing through the state,” he told the outlet.
He further stated that the city already receives visitors because of its proximity to the Pinckney and Waterloo state recreation areas as well as the DTE Trail system, which hooks up M-52 to trailheads near Chelsea that allow people access to more than 20 miles of mountain biking trails.
The application for the award was a joint venture between the city, the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation, DTE Energy Foundation Trail system and the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce. Also participating was the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative, which is in the process of completing the Washtenaw County Border-to-Border (B2B) Trail, which runs through Chelsea.
Because the B2B Trail, which is part of Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail, already has a Pure Michigan Trail designation, Chelsea met the qualifications as a Trail Town.
The recognition allows Chelsea’s outdoor amenities to be incorporated into maps and marketing materials through Pure Michigan, the state tourism advertising campaign. The city will also get signage with the “Pure Michigan Trail Town,” to be placed at trail locations around the city.
