The County of Jackson has been awarded a grant of $40,000, from the Jackson Community Foundation’s Unrestricted Community Needs Endowment Fund, Dorothy Johnson Blakely Endowment Fund, the E. Marlin and Evelyn A. Jones and Extended Family Endowment Fund, and the Phil and Pat Willis Endowment Fund to help with the trail connector from Sparks Park to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Trail.
The trail connector provides a direct link between Sparks Foundation County Park, including its Cascades Trail Loop, and the Falling Waters Trail/Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Equity Trail. This trail network ties in the County’s flagship Park with the City of Jackson, Village of Concord, and Townships of Summit, Spring Arbor, and Concord. Property to complete the project was acquired in 2014 from previous grants from the Community Foundation and the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant.
The trail connector traverses a substantially undeveloped property which provides direct access to natural resources, including woodlands and wetlands. The trail will be a combination of a 12-foot paved path and raised boardwalk trail with observation areas to preserve the natural environment.
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners and the Jackson County Parks Commission wish to express gratitude to the Jackson Community Foundation and its members for their support of the connector trail project. ###