Michigan's first recreational rail trail is getting spruced up in time for its 50th anniversary in 2020.
The Department of Natural Resources says the 32-mile Haywire Grade has installed markers that feature the mile number and historic Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad logo. That's a nod to the history of the abandoned railroad corridor in the central Upper Peninsula.
The mile markers begin at Manistique's Intake Park and continue to Shingleton on the tail's east side. They are tall enough to poke out of the area's traditionally deep snows.
Organizers say the next plan is to develop 12 interpretive stations along the trail in time for the milestone.
The Haywire Grade debuted in 1970, two years after the rail line was abandoned. The railroad operated for almost 60 years.
