The Town of St. Michaels was awarded a $35,000 DNR Grant for a Feasibility and Design Study to construct a 1.25-mile extension of the St. Michaels Nature Trail/Multi-Use Bikeway. The vision for this project was initiated by the St. Michaels Rotary Club, who helped build the original Nature Trail, which was completed in 2010.
Project partners include the Commissioners of St. Michaels, the St. Michaels Planning Commission, Rauch Inc., Environmental Concern, and the Rotary Club of St. Michaels. The proposed multipurpose ADA compliant bikeway/pedestrian trail will connect the southeast side of Town (near the high school) to the northwest side of Town, terminating at Perry Cabin Park. The trail will provide a safer route for pedestrians and cyclists to bypass the downtown area, thereby avoiding the busy traffic on the main thoroughfare. It will also provide a safe alternative means to get to/from school events and the ballpark.
As illustrated on the attached map, the trail extension will connect with Bradley Park on Railroad Avenue and continue northward to Perry Cabin Park. Disruptions to private property are anticipated to be minimal as the trail will be located on State Highway Administration easements. Preliminary investigations including soil studies, wetland studies, and engineering studies will guide the design and engineering.
Once the Feasibility and Design Study are completed the Town and partnering agencies will seek funding from various grants to construct the trail extension. We look forward to highlighting the Town’s natural beauty and serenity through this Nature Trail extension. As this project moves forward, please continue to visit this site on the Town’s website for project updates. Please click on the attached link for additional information regarding this Program.
Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network Program
Meetings and Updates:
July 8, 2023: Public Input Meeting
The Town of St. Michaels and our consultants, RAUCH Engineering, held a public input meeting at
Bradley Park pavilion in St. Michaels on Saturday July 8th, 2023, to provide the opportunity for the community to review a draft alignment drawing of the proposed trail extension plan and various design issues and options.
The project will extend the existing 1.3-mile nature trail by another 1.25 miles for a total of 2.55 miles. The plan is to extend it northward from Bradley Park in St. Michaels and terminate at Perry Cabin Park ballfields on the north end of town. A feasibility alignment study and preliminary engineering work is currently underway. Additional final design and construction funding is yet to be determined.
We appreciate everyone who attended and/or provided feedback regarding the proposed design options. The consensus of the group was to include all three trail options at the top of the map. We will proceed accordingly.
July 19, 2023: Public Update
The Nature Trail extension project is a multi-year project. At this time, we are working on preliminary feasibility drawings. We just submitted a grant application from the State to complete construction drawings which will take another year. After that, we will search for various funding sources for the actual construction. We estimate it will be 2 ½ to 3 years before it is actually completely built.
September 14, 2023: Public Update
On September 14th the Maryland Department of Transportation awarded the Town of St. Michaels $48,360.80 to complete final construction drawings for the 1.25 mile nature trail extension project. The trail will extend from Bradley Park to Perry Cabin Ballfield Park and include a shorter loop there, as well as an extension to the north that could be continued in the future as a county project (refer to the diagram at the top of this page). The work on the final construction drawings should begin in the New Year 2024. By next summer, we hope to begin fund raising for construction of the trail, which is estimated to require about 1 million dollars.
