SOUTH HAVEN, MI — A new route from South Haven to Port Huron may not be quite as simple as getting in a car and heading east, but for outdoor enthusiasts who wish to make the 275-mile trek on their bicycles, the path is getting a bit smoother.

A 10-year vision come to fruition and the first of five coast-to-coast destination trails planned by the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, Great Lake-to-Lake Trails Route No. 1 links 18 trails through nine counties in southern Lower Michigan.

Though work is still underway to bridge remaining gaps along the route, which roadways all currently connect, organizers will unveil Route No. 1 Friday, Sept. 13, with a ceremony and cross-state bicycle ride, starting in South Haven and ending in Port Huron.

The trail itself is 75% complete, according to Bob Wilson, the nonprofit trail group’s executive director. He expects the final stretches to be complete within two years.

“There are still some areas that are connected by road down in Albion, Pontiac and St. Clair,” Wilson said. “Ultimately, we’d like to get into a situation where it is all paved with asphalt or crushed limestone. That’s what we’re working toward. Then, if someone wants to take a road bike from one side of the state to the other, they can.”

Great Lake-to-Lake Trails Route No. 1 opens Sept. 13, 2019 and will stretch from South Haven to Port Huron, passing through nine counties and connecting 18 trails.

With much of the work — a collaborative effort between the state, the alliance and the local communities the trail passes through — now in the rear-view mirror, cyclists can head from one lakeshore to the other uninterrupted, Wilson said.

On Sept. 13, state and local officials will join members of the alliance at 10:45 a.m. at the Kal-Haven Trail State Park entrance in South Haven. The group will celebrate the work that has been done on Route No. 1 and cut a ribbon signifying the trail’s official opening.

At the conclusion of the opening ceremony, 50 cyclists will dip their bicycle wheels in Lake Michigan and then embark on a 275-mile journey to Port Huron, stopping in a half-dozen Michigan towns along the way, including Kalamazoo, Marshall, Jackson, Green Oak Township, Auburn Hills and, finally, Port Huron.

“We are thrilled to host the inaugural ride,” said South Haven Mayor Scott Smith in a news release issued by the alliance. “This event celebrates a tremendous accomplishment in connecting our wonderful state via a great network of trails."

Attracting outdoor enthusiasts to Michigan communities is one of the main goals of the destination trails, Wilson said.

“The future of these trails is so bright, because now it’s just not the individual trail communities but everyone working together realizing that for the greater good of all the trails,” he said. “This new destination trail will benefit all of the communities it passes through.”

The trail, Wilson said, will provide plenty of opportunities for hikers, bikers and even paddlers as there are numerous entry points to rivers. And with the Amtrak tracks running parallel to much of the route, there are also opportunities for cyclists to ride from one town to the next and then hop aboard a train to return to their starting point.

Additionally, Wilson said, the alliance plans to put an emphasis on history and culture, installing signage and utilizing existing landmarks to cast a spotlight on Native American history, prisoner of war camps in the region and even a stretch of trail between Kalamazoo and South Haven where Joe Louis once trained.

“We are trying to tell a story, so when you are traveling out on that trail you are traveling back in time and you are experiencing natural resources, cultural resources, historical resources," Wilson said. “The biggest benefit that we have found is that when you build trails it helps to strengthen communities. It is a transportation corridor and a recreation opportunity."

Of the other four Great Lake-to-Lake trails in the works, two expect to officially open in the next two years, Wilson said.

Route No. 2 will span 210 miles and connect Bay City and Muskegon, and Route No. 3 will connect Charlevoix to Cheboygan and then southeastward to Alpena, totaling 120 miles.

Route No. 2, Wilson said, is done with the exception of a small chunk of trail that needs to be completed between Bay City and Saginaw. He expects that to be finished within the next year, and for a kickoff event of sorts to occur for that trail sometime in 2020.

Route No. 3, he said, is mostly done and the organization is currently working with the Department of Natural Resources to place signage along the trail.

The other two trails, both in the Upper Peninsula, are expected to take a few more years.

Route No. 4, stretching from Manistique to Marquette, and Route No. 5, from Escanaba to Ironwood, will stretch 80 and 150 miles, respectively. Both of those trails will be multi-surface, mixed-use trails, once complete.