By Trevor Sullivan

On August 1st, a new segment of the Border to Border Trail opened for the public, celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony. This completed segment connects Zeeb Road to the Delhi Metropark.

This 2.1 mile section now means that three metroparks within Washtenaw County are connected, that being Delhi, Hudson Mills, and Dexter-Huron Metropark. In the future, they hope to connect to Huron Meadows and Livingston County, along with Kensington. 

The first speaker said, “We are now more than halfway from Dexter to the city of Ann Arbor, one of our most important and highest profile connections on the Border to Border Trail.” He also thanked millage funds, which is how the bulk of the money is generated, and private contributions of partners, such as Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative. 

Amy McMillan, the Director of the Huron-Clinton Metroparks, says, “The metroparks are so proud to be partners in this incredible effort . . . Year after year, decade after decade, people have been committed to this idea of connecting spaces from one place to another. This could not happen without partnership.”

Dr. Robert W. Marans, who was first appointed to represent Washtenaw County on the Metroparks Board of Commissioners 1986, talked about his visions of the future when he first joined. “I said I hope there’s a possibility of working more closely between the metroparks and county parks on developing the Huron Valley for recreational purposes.”

The celebration ended with Dr. Marans cutting the ribbon to signify the opening, with other elected officials around him.