“Trails connect more than places: they connect people to each other, to nature and to a shared sense of belonging.”
–Kiff Hamp, Executive Director, Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative
Dexter, MI (December 2025) - Winding quietly through Washtenaw County, the Border to Border Trail traces the Huron River, threading together neighborhoods, parks and towns from Ypsilanti to the edge of Jackson County. A 45-mile continuous pathway – nearly complete – it’s a place where the region’s communities meet: on foot, by bike and in motion.
Now, with support from the Walters Family Foundation, the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative (HWPI) is helping finish one of the trail’s final missing links, a short but vital connection from Dexter-Chelsea Road into downtown Dexter and the Mill Creek Trail. Once complete, this segment will give walkers and cyclists a safe, seamless way to travel between Chelsea, Dexter and Ann Arbor.
“This Dexter connection has been a long time coming,” said Kiff Hamp, Executive Director of HWPI. “It’s a short stretch, but an incredibly important one. It closes a gap that’s kept the trail from flowing through the county the way it was meant to.
The new segment follows a scenic, tree-lined route secured by HWPI, creating what Hamp calls “a rural, woodsy trail experience.” It’s designed to be both safe and beautiful, guiding travelers through trees, over Mill Creek and straight into the center of town.
At its center stands the Bell Road Bridge, a wrought-iron truss built in 1891 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. “It’s one of the oldest wrought-iron bridges in Michigan,” Hamp said. “We’re restoring it in Lansing and putting it back to use as a pedestrian bridge for the trail.” Once reinstalled, the bridge will be visible from Main Street and Mill Creek Park, a landmark connecting Dexter’s history to its future.
The project came together through the kind of collaboration that defines the Border to Border Trail: local leadership, county support and the generosity of partners like the Walters Family Foundation. “The Walters Family Foundation came in at exactly the right time,” Hamp said. “They were thoughtful and genuinely interested, and their grant makes it possible to get this done.”
The Dexter effort has also been powered by the community itself. A local crowdfunding campaign brought together more than 800 donors and raised over $250,000 in just two months. It’s a reflection of how deeply people care about the trail’s future, Hamp said.
The meaning of the Border to Border Trail goes well beyond recreation. It’s about access, connection and the small, everyday ways people experience where they live. “Everyone has their own reason for loving trails,” Hamp said. “They connect us to nature, to each other and to our towns in a way that’s both simple and profound.”
That connection – built slowly, mile by mile – is what makes every stretch of trail worth the work.