You reap what you sow. The Lakeshore pushed through the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail (SBHT) before people understood the full impact of it. Now people are justifiably wary of any park planning.
It’s too bad the bike trail was built first, because its impact on the environment, on people who can no longer enjoy their favorite hiking trail (because it is now a paved bike superhighway), and on the communities of Glen Arbor and Empire is much greater than a simple hiking path would have been. To use a current expression, the SBHT has “poisoned the well” for future park projects.
I agree with the comment that trying to connect the three separate parcels of the park with an official trail that is not on park property can only lead to conflict. It does seem like overstepping their authority for the NPS to plan and promote a trail that is not on federal property.
As far as the assurance given by Friends of Sleeping Bear that there would be no campfires allowed on the Bay-to-Bay Trail backcountry campsites, I’d take that with a grain of salt. First, campfires are allowed at the existing backcouuntry campsites, and second, Friends of Sleeping Bear is a volunteer organization, not the official Lakeshore rulemaker.
I am glad that people appear to be keeping themselves better informed about park plans than they were during the SBHT planning process.