Traverse City’s Boardman Lake Loop Trail: a guide to the 4-mile walk around the lake, where to park and what’s along the way

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — For a walk, run or easy bike ride close to downtown Traverse City, the Boardman Lake Loop Trail circles the whole lake in about 4 miles, and late fall’s bare trees open up more views of the water.

The final segment closing the loop was finished in July 2022, according to TART Trails, which calls the trail the centerpiece of its network. The trail is owned by the City of Traverse City in partnership with Grand Traverse County and Garfield Township, and TART helps develop and maintain it.

The route. The north end is urban, with access to businesses, TART says. The east side is heavily wooded, with gentle curves and a mix of pavement, boardwalk and gravel. The south end has two bridges over the Boardman/Ottaway River and a long boardwalk over Boardman Lake Cove with bump-outs for resting. The west side has lookout piers, fishing decks and kayak launches.

Along the way. The loop passes the Traverse Area District Library, Hull Park, Medalie Park, the Art on the TART installations, interpretive signs and Northwestern Michigan College’s University Center, and connects to the Boardman/Ottaway River Trail.

Parking. TART lists northwest access at the Oryana 10th Street trailhead and off Eighth, Lake and 14th streets; northeast parking off Hannah Avenue south of the library; and south parking at Medalie Park in the Logan’s Landing area off South Airport Road.

Good to know. The trail is listed as fully accessible, and dogs on leashes are allowed. Seasonal portable toilets are at Hull and Medalie parks, and there is a public restroom inside the Oryana co-op. TART has posted a short detour onto the Woodmere Avenue sidewalk between Hannah Avenue and Centre Street, so watch for signs.

Sources:
TART Trails, “Boardman Lake Loop Trail” (length, surfaces, route, parking, restrooms, ownership, detour), https://traversetrails.org/trails/boardman-lake-loop-trail/
City of Traverse City, “The Boardman Lake Loop Trail Officially Open on Friday, July 1” (2022 completion), https://www.traversecitymi.gov/news/the-boardman-lake-loop-trail-officially-open-on-friday-july-1.html
Photo: Phoenix-Five, “Boardman Lake Trail Traverse City.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boardman_Lake_Trail_Traverse_City.jpg

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Tags: Traverse City · Boardman Lake Loop Trail · Trails · Things to Do · TART Trails