Recommendations will empower citizens to take action in helping connect Great Lakes trails from Grand Portage, Minn., to Massena, N.Y.

Imagine taking a multi-day bike trip from Chicago to Niagara Falls in Buffalo, N.Y., basking in stunning Great Lakes views all along the way. Local communities benefit from regional trails like these through increased economic opportunity: people stay in hotels, eat along the way, and enjoy the cultural and historical sites of different Great Lakes communities. A graduate research team at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) has announced their Great Lakes Waterfront Trail Starter Guide that jump starts that process, bringing us one step closer to this incredible vision.

Inspired by the success of Canada’s 2,200 mile (3,600 km) Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, the emerging U.S. Great Lakes Waterfront Trail (U.S. GLWT) aims to expand outdoor recreation opportunities, promote conservation, and enhance local economies and quality of life along the Great Lakes waterfront. The ultimate goal is to empower communities to connect individual trails that already exist along the shores of the Great Lakes, with the vision of a 4,800-mile bikeable trail extending from Grand Portage, Minn. to Massena, N.Y. 

An initiative working on this massive region must account for the complexity of coordinating across federal, state and local agencies and the wide geographic space they manage. To navigate these multi-state, multi-agency challenges, the SEAS graduate team developed and tested a trail design starter guide for the U.S. GLWT, starting in Pennsylvania. This guide will help members of other Great Lakes communities to get involved, learning from the insight gleaned in the Pennsylvania pilot.

“The work that the SEAS team has done looking at the Pennsylvania section of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail has galvanized local partners, helped link together local plans, and set up a model to be replicated on other sections of the trail,” said Jess Lienhardt, Great Lakes program director at the Council of State Governments Midwest. “We are so grateful to the team for their focus on engaging community partners and delivering a product that is an essential tool for our partners in Pennsylvania, as well as stakeholders across the region.”

Erie County, Penn., home to the beloved Purple Martin songbird and the unique Presque Isle peninsular, is the first place to test this starter guide. In January 2026, Erie County locals tested the SEAS-GLWT trail design tools and brought Erie County knowledge, vision and experiences into trail discussions. For such a long trail, local expertise is critical when connecting trail segments across various state and local boundaries.

The SEAS team’s starter guide outlines a process for making trail decisions and highlights what priorities to consider at local and multi-state levels. This starter guide is the starting point for trail design, providing easy-to-use tools and resources for planning experts and non-experts alike. 

Resources include:

• Lessons learned from the Erie County pilot site
• A framework outlining the trail design process
• A decision tree breaking down types of trails
• A toolkit of design resources

Designed for anyone passionate about improving trails in the Great Lakes region, the SEAS-GLWT Starter Guide is an exciting step for the U.S. Great Lakes Waterfront Trail. As John Hartig from the University of Windsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research and a member of the Council of State Governments team working on the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail says, “A U.S. Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, combined with Canada’s Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, will connect communities, create unique recreation experiences, and emphasize the importance of the Great Lakes and conserving our ecosystems.” 

Keep on the lookout for more updates on the emerging U.S. Great Lakes Waterfront Trail. 

Project team members: Christine Sit, Emily Carra, Xiao Chen, and Xingyan Chen, Roberto Carriedo Ostos

Advisors: Lisa DuRussel (SEAS Professor of Practice), Isabella Shehab (SEAS Doctoral Candidate)

Learn more about:

• A Starter Guide for the US Great Lakes Waterfront Trail | SEAS
• U.S. Great Lakes Waterfront Trail | CSGMidwest
• Working Towards a Binational Great Lakes Waterfront Trail | CSGMidwest
• Canadian Great Lakes Waterfront Trail | Waterfront Regeneration Trust