As the railroad ceased operation in the mid-1980s, the Michigan Department of Transportation came to own the rail bed.

By 1994 the property was transferred to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which began replacing the rails with a trail for public recreational use.

The trail extends from Ann Street in Grand Rapids north to Cadillac.

Snowmobiles are permitted on most of the trail, between Russell Road (near Cedar Springs) and South Street in Cadillac.

[1] Archived August 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine also provide hundreds of volunteer hours of maintenance and advocacy work.