Volunteers with the Delta County Non-Motorized Trails organization build a path at the Escanaba West Side Recreation Area. (Escanaba Daily Press photo)

ESCANABA — A local organization is working to clean up and improve any and all non-motorized trails in Delta County.

Delta County Non-Motorized Trails, started in 2018, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to support and create a trail system in the county.

DCNT Marketing Committee Secretary Rick Elrod shed light on the organization, speaking to its conception, accomplishments and current projects.

“The idea of single track mountain bike trails has been talked about for many years,” Elrod said.

He explained that back in 2015 during the Convention and Visitors Bureau for Delta County, Visit Escanaba hired a trail designer from the International Mountain Bikes Association to assess and design a trail system.

Unfortunately, the plan did not have enough traction to be implemented.

Fast forward to 2018 where a group of local mountain bikers discussed the potential that Delta County has for improving current trails as well as adding new ones.

Thus, a group of passionate non-motorized trail users joined forces and created DCNT.

“Since our formation in 2018, we have made some great progress on improving trails in Delta County,” Elrod said.

DCNT has accomplished quite a bit since being formed according to Elrod; built three miles of single track mountain at Days River Pathway; placed crushed aggregate on multiple sections of the Days River Pathway ski trail loops to mitigate sandy areas as well as improve the usability for mountain bike riding; added over 2,000 feet of boardwalk at the Escanaba West Side Recreation; constructed boardwalks at Days River Nature Trail over wet areas to improve year round access; and hosted various trail running, cross-country skiing and mountain biking events.

“Making the Days River single track trails a reality was a big part of the drive to form a nonprofit, however our goal is to make improvements and grow any and all non-motorized trails in Delta County,” Elrod said.

DCNT also partnered with DNR and received MDOT Recreation Trails Program (RTP) funds to get the remaining nine plus miles of single track at Days River Pathway designed and built.

“This process is still in progress and expected to begin construction in Summer of 2025,” Elrod said.

Elrod wanted to reiterate that the single track at Days River Pathway is getting built, but they are at the mercy of MDOT.

“At this point, the project is fully in the hands of the Michigan Department of Transportation,” he said.

MDOT is working with a consulting company and a professional trail building contractor to design the trail.

“Since the project is on state land and managed by a state agency there are some additional steps in the process which has drawn out the timeline a bit longer than expected. However the good news is the trail should begin construction in summer of 2025 and will be professionally designed and built, which means it will become a destination trail for the area,” Elrod said.

Elrod said that the organization could always use more volunteers, specifically an events coordinator.

“We encourage anyone who is interested in joining the board of directors or one of our committees to reach out to see how they can get involved,” he said.

He said that DCNT is looking for an individual that has the interest, time and skills to be the events coordinator so it can get back to hosting events.

“Also, in general the public hasn’t heard much from us lately, so we’d like to reassure people that we’re committed to our mission of improving the non-motorized trails in the area,” Elrod said.

“As (a) board and organization we’re in a phase of re-assessing what our next priorities are and re-igniting the passion (and) excitement for improving trails in our community.”

To learn more about DCNT as well as membership inquires, visit dcntrails.com.