First day on the Iron Belle. Took an Uber to Ecorse, got started around 7:30 a.m. 13 miles, about five hours. I should have started earlier. Not surprisingly, the early morning hours were the best–quieter, cooler.
Because the trail is still in development, I wasn’t sure how much signage to expect. I saw exactly no Iron Belle signs, and just this one for the Downriver Linked Greenways System. (The Iron Belle links up a lot of existing trails.)
I wasn’t sure what sort of scenery to expect, either. Though the Detroit River is nearby, the path doesn’t exactly follow the water. There are a few nice glimpses, though.
There’s a new Visitor’s Center under construction at the Humbug Marsh Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.
Plenty of factories, abandoned factories, and other industrial spaces.
And lots of great signage.
Took a quick break in Elizabeth Park in Trenton. Got stuck in Elizabeth Park…there’s no real exit to the south, and lots of flooding that blocked the exits to the west.
After Ecorse, the path went through Wyandotte, Trenton, and to Gibraltar.
Final stop: a well-deserved lunch at the Gibraltar Grill.
elizabeth lindau 
You picked a good day for your walk. Once one is away from the big box store strips, the shops and signs and houses make it seem like the mid-20th century America of my youth. Speaking of which, when we were kids Dad would drive us to the foot of Southfield Rd and we’d sit in the park along the river and watch the freighters go by. Passage in the Detroit River was listed daily in the Free Press. Looks like that’s where you started.
By the way, how did you get home?
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Yes I think was lots of beauty to be found, though obviously it’s not a “walk in the woods” by any stretch. Jeff picked me up at the restaurant. 🙂
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