Find new trails, challenge yourself during Michigan Trails Week

Whether you're into hiking, biking, horseback riding, snowmobiling, off-roading or paddling, Michigan Trails Week, Sept. 19-26, is the right time to explore your options.

Michigan - with more than 13,000 miles of state-designated trails - makes it easy to find nearby or destination trails just right for you.

Though Trails Week is an effort to elevate Michigan's reputation as the Trails State for eight full days, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources hopes people get outdoors and explore all year long.

'Trails Week encourages everyone to enjoy and discover Michigan's extraordinary trails system that provides safe, outdoor space for recreation, exercise and fun,' said Dakota Hewlett, nonmotorized trails grant coordinator for the DNR Parks and Recreation Division. 'To give Michiganders one more reason to explore trails during this tribute week, we're holding Michigan Trails Week Challenge for the second year in a row.'

'State parks and trails are welcoming places with ample opportunity to improve your physical and mental health,' said Ron Olson, chief of the DNR Parks and Recreation Division. 'Getting outside on a trail is an easy way to promote good health and take in the outdoors, and that's the concept behind these resources that are part of 'Michigan's big green gym.''