Polar-Equator Trail

The following information was excerpted from a Michigan Polar-Equator Club brochure from the 1990s. Additional information and photographs are planned for this page in the future. It is currently unclear whether the Michigan Polar-Equator Club is still in existence as many of their trail markers have fallen into serious disrepair over the years.

In January 1965, the Michigan Polar-Equator Club was established on the campus of Michigan State University.

One of the objectives of the MP-EC was to establish and maintain a trail across the State of Michigan as close to the 45th Parallel as possible. The 45th Parallel crosses Michigan from east to west starting just south of Alpena, through just south of Gaylord in central Michigan, then crosses through the Jordon [sic] River valley and across beautiful Torch Lake.

Near the west side of Torch Lake is a 12-foot cairn, erected in 1938, on the 45th Parallel. Constructed with native stone, each of the 83 counties in Michigan is represented by having its name carved on a stone. There is also one piece of granite from Brunswick, Georgia. The 45th Parallel continues west across Grand Traverse Bay through Leelanau County near the communities of Suttons Bay and Leland. The 45th also touches the southernmost point of South Manitou Island, 15 miles west, in Lake Michigan.

In February 1971, the House and Senate of the State of Michigan recognized the Michigan Polar-Equator Trail as a significant tourist attraction in Michigan.

The State of Michigan is about 135 miles wide at the lattitude of the 45th Parallel, but the Polar-Equator Trail is a little longer than that. Torch Lake, some rivers, wetlands and the lack of roads makes it impossible to travel to east to west. So, there are a few jogs in the Trail.

You may notice that many of the mile marker signs now have Bluebird houses mounted on them. This is a project supported by the MP-EC to help promote preservation of the "Trail signs." The MP-EC Trail mile marker signs and Bluebird houses have been installed and maintained exclusively through the financial and volunteer efforts of the members of the Michigan Polar-Equator Club. There is a 20-page Trail book available to help guide you mile by mile across the State of Michigan along the 45th Parallel. The guidebook highlights the interesting sites that you will find along the Trail. The guidebook was also edited and printed through the volunteer and financial efforts of the Michigan Polar-Equator Trail Club.

The last two known mailing addresses for the Michigan Polar-Equator Club are included below. It is unclear if either of these addresses is still correct or if the Club is still in existence.

Additional Information

• The 45th Parallel: Cairn Highway, Michigan - a short page from Matt Bergstrom's "45th Parallel" page in his Minnesota Museum of the Mississippi with some photos of the cairn along Cairn Hwy north of Elk Rapids.