Best known for its Great Lakes and glorious fall colors, Michigan can also claim to have the longest paved trail in the state and the third-longest paved trail in the U.S., thanks to Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park. At 92 miles long, it’s also Michigan’s longest linear state park and second-longest rail-trail after the State Line Trail. Running from Comstock Park near Grand Rapids – America’s beer city and a great stop on a Michigan road trip – to Cadillac, the trail passes through five counties and 15 towns and cities. But for most of the way, visitors can enjoy the picturesque forests and open farmland that lie in between.
Once a rail corridor for the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, passenger and freight services went back and forth between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Michigan from 1867 until operations came to a halt in 1984. The name Fred Meijer White Pine is a combination of the name of the businessman who helped fund trails across the state, and the tall pine trees with blue-green needles that once covered the Michigan landscape.
Although the trail has been open since 1995, it has only been fully paved since 2025, and can be accessed from multiple trailheads. With a reasonably flat surface, it’s ideal for walking, biking, and skating in the warmer months, and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter. From December 1 through March 31, the trail is also open to snowmobiles between the Cadillac and Russell Road trailheads.
Scenic highlights of Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park
True to its name, white pines can indeed be seen along the trail, especially in the northern sections. Growing up to around 200 feet tall, with trunks sometimes as large as 5 feet in diameter, many homes in midwest cities were built using Michigan’s state tree. As a result of heavy logging, much of these forests disappeared, but some old-growth trees remain and are protected in places such as Hartwick Pines State Park near the underrated river town of Grayling, further north. An abundance of other mixed hardwood forests, with aspen and maple, are part of the trail’s charm, providing tunnels of shade on a sunny day and vibrant color in fall…