The Betsie Valley Trail is 22 miles long and extends from Frankfort through Elberta and Beulah to Thompsonville in Benzie County, Michigan. The trail exists on an abandoned railroad grade and is a primary snowmobile trail in the winter. The Master Plan for the trail is to surface the trail with asphalt from the Village of Beulah to the Village of Thompsonville to increase accessibility and make the trail usable for all. GFA was contracted to design and oversee construction of Phase 1 of the Master Plan: widening and resurfacing the trail form the Village of Beulah to Case Road. This work included widening the existing trail surface, clearing trees to meet Michigan Department of Natural Resources and AASHTO requirements, installing concrete ADA landings and detectable warnings at all road crossings, drainage improvements, and paving the trail segment with a special snowmobile resistant asphalt mix. The project was completed in the Spring of 2025 by Team Elmer's. This project was funded by a $400,000 Spark Grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and an $80,000 contribution from the Friends of the Betsie Valley Trail.
