Visitors enjoy the trail at Hartwick Pines State Park in Grayling. Some 15 locations around the state now have track chairs available for use at no cost, with 10 additional locations soon to receive chairs, thanks to a multi-year fundraising campaign …
(FOX 2) - Warren Dunes in the southwest part of Michigan and the Upper Peninsula's Tahquamenon Falls are just two of the 15 state parks that now come outfitted with specialized track chairs that can go where normal wheelchairs can't.
The chairs enable wheelchair users to go on trails, on beaches, and access a number of Michigan's favorite state parks that wouldn't normally be available to those with mobility issues.
With the help of more than $400,000 in fundraising, Michigan will soon offer track chairs at 25 state parks - the most that any state in the country offers.
The Department of Natural Resources announced last week it had hit is fundraising goal with the help of 300 donors, including Kali’s Cure for Paralysis Foundation, Safari Club International, Family Hope Foundation, and Friends of Ludington and Grand Haven state parks and Island Lake Recreation Area.
A total of $441,931 was raised over the past five years.
The track chairs can handle snow, sand and even move through half a foot of water. Each one costs around $16,000.
"We have states reaching out to us all the time to start this in their state. Kali’s Cure started this movement in our parks and started this movement across the country," said Michelle O'Kelly, a DNR Parks and Recreation Division resource and fund developer.
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Beaches that offer specialized wheelchair access include:
- Bay City State Park
- Brighton Recreation Area
- Grand Haven State Park
- Holland State Park
- Interlochen State Park
- Ludington State Park
- Mears State Park
- Muskegon State Park
- North Higgins Lake State Park
- Otsego Lake State Park
- Petoskey State Park
- Rifle River Recreation Area
- Sleepy Hollow State Park
- South Higgins State Park
- Traverse City State Park
- Warren Dunes State Park
- WIlderness State Park
There are also a number of cabins that are accessible which you can find here.
MORE: How off-road chairs are changing Michigan state parks for people with mobility challenges
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