The Dragon: Hardy Dam Pond’s new 47 mile long mountain biking and hiking trail will become National Attraction by 2022 (White Cloud, Michigan)

Hardy Dam Pond, the site of awesome annual boat party Hot Boat Weekend, is also the world’s 3rd largest earthen dam.

The Dragon is a new 47-mile long mountain biking and hiking trail that will go all the way around the 4,000 acre pond.

It is partially completed and is expected to be fully completed by 2022.

When complete, it will include: 20 footbridges, 13 scenic overlooks, rock armoring and periodic boardwalk sections, and more.

The dam-formed pond resembles the shape of a Chinese dragon and is part of the Muskegon River. Hardy Dam is owned by Consumers Energy and has been operating since 1931.

The 2-foot-wide trail will pass through untamed terrain, 6 campgrounds and 8 boat launches and marinas.

The single-track Dragon Trail, which some believe could become a national attraction, is a decade in the making and has a price tag of $3.7 million.

Boardwalk is an effective way to cross some types of bogs, shallow marshes, and wooded wetlands. It uses sawed and treated lumber to elevate the trail tread above wet areas that are not feasible to drain. It provides a hardened surface that lasts for many years due to the use of heartwood cedar decking.

Rock armoring effectively hardens the trail tread across short wet areas, mud holes or in areas to create a unique trail feature. Suitable large, flat stones that are firmly set so that they do not move.

FB page

https://www.facebook.com/newaygodragon/

The Dragon Trail Map @ Hardy Dam Pond

https://www.thedragon.us/the-dragon-trail/trail-map/

Trail Segments

https://www.thedragon.us/the-dragon-trail/sections/