Kayaking fans in Michigan’s Great Southwest who have been waiting and hoping for a longer trip option on the Paw Paw River are getting exciting news today from the people who have been working to make that happen.
After decades of talking and planning and hoping, the Paw Paw River Water Trail (PPRWT) is finally a reality. Marcy Hamilton, Senior planner with Southwest Michigan Planning Commission, today announced the opening of newly cleared segments of the paddle trail in Paw Paw, Lawrence, Hartford, Watervliet and Coloma.
Segments of the trail are ready to paddle at all primary public access sites. Hamilton tells us, “Each of these towns now has a 3- to 4-mile segment of the river trail open that should be suitable for beginners.”She adds, “For people wanting to do a longer paddle, soon there will be 19 continuous miles of the trail open all the way from Hartford to Bundy Road west of Coloma.”
Having the support of the municipalities along the Paw Paw River was critical in getting this project funded and initiated. Their support moving forward will be needed to maintain and promote the trail once it is fully established. Hamilton also specifically thanked the Two Rivers Coalition (TRC) for providing volunteer feet on the ground (and paddles in the water) to help make the water trail project successful.
Kevin Haight is President of the Two Rivers Coalition. He explained why that group became involved, saying, “Although we are an environmental organization and not a paddle group, the mission of TRC is to promote appreciation and protection for our freshwater resources in the watersheds of SW Michigan.” Haight adds, “We have an amazing natural resource here in the Paw Paw River floodplain. We realize that the best way to teach people to value this beautiful river and its unique wildlife habitat is to get them out paddling and seeing it firsthand.”
Meanwhile, work continues to clear a paddle pathway on other sections of the river.
The goal is to be able to provide extended trip options to the already available short trips near Paw Paw, Lawrence, Hartford, Watervliet, Coloma and Benton Harbor. Hamilton says that even though the water trail is officially 68 miles long and extends from the Village of Paw Paw all the way to the river’s confluence with the St. Joseph River in Benton Harbor, there are still some sections that are extremely difficult to maneuver because of their remoteness and the large numbers of fallen trees. She estimates that 30 miles of the river trail is currently open and predicts that number will rise substantially by the end of the summer.
Eventually, the water trail will have its own website with information for paddlers to plan their trips, including maps of primary public access sites and secondary bridge crossing access locations. But for the time being, the most up-to-date source of information is the Facebook page for Paw Paw River Water Trail. www.facebook.com/PawPawRiverWaterTrail/. You might want to “Like” that page to keep tabs on the latest happenings all along the Paw Paw River Water Trail — a magnificent resource in Michigan’s Great Southwest.
