51ÂÒÂ×

Walk your way to health by exploring the trails on Delta's beautiful 640 acre campus. With over 7 miles of trails that wind their way through the beautiful countryside, you'll be able to enjoy the great outdoors while you get your daily exercise. 

Who knows, you might even see a few deer or a wild turkey along your way.

 

The trails

Hike your heart out with miles of trails and multiple access points throughout Delta's main campus. Make sure you see all the sights when you visit Delta for your next walk.

Download a map of the trails

 

Green Trail

The Green Trail begins on the east side of campus at the Covered Bridge Trailhead. Following the trail to the north leads visitors behind the college’s maintenance buildings through the wooded area just south of Hotchkiss Road. It features native old-growth maple trees from centuries ago. Trails are being groomed with wood chips resulting from the removal of dozens of diseased ash trees across campus. 
 
The trail passes a golf putting green and farm field, and then leads to the athletic fields, where, in addition to the trail through the woods, there is also a series of sidewalks allowing for an easy walk on the west campus, nearest Mackinaw Road. The trail continues along the Klauss Drain, which was improved in 2011 to address a stormwater issue. This watershed drain runs from MBS airport out to Saginaw Bay.  Just south of the south parking lot, Interpretive signage has been installed that provides environmental educational content about the history of the land, responsible storm runoff, and actions we can take to support the environment. 
 
The trail continues to the east along the tree line and Delta Road, where the route connects to and runs adjacent to the Orange Trail.

Orange Trail

51ÂÒÂ× currently has two miles of trails on the east side of campus, which run closest to Four Mile Road. There is parking available off Delta Drive, in the east parking lot, or off Four Mile Road. The trails have been used for years by cross-country runners.

Blue Trail

The Blue Trail can be accessed at the Covered Bridge Trailhead by parking on the east side of campus or from the Four Mile Road Trailhead parking lot. This trail is a 1 mile loop and runs adjacent to the Klauss Drain and nearby farm fields. 

Sculpture Walk

If you enjoy walking, be sure to come closer to the main building and discover the Delta Sculpture Walk. With more than 20 works, it is a free, outdoor sculpture exhibit featuring a wonderful combination of works held by the college. The variety showcases multiple styles and media used by the artists and sculptors. All are placed within the beautifully landscaped grounds of 51ÂÒÂ×, in the heart of Michigan's Great Lakes Bay Region.

Learn more about the Sculpture Walk

---

The covered bridge

51ÂÒÂ× installed a 30-foot covered bridge in 1976, in order to link its nature trails with cross country courses used heavily by area high school teams. The effort was led by mathematics and science division faculty members. Designed by Architect Ralph M. McGivern, associate professor in the college's Technical Division, the Covered Bridge demonstrated our patriotic spirit. Faculty in the Mathematics, Technology and Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Divisions worked on the structure, which was dedicated as part of America's 1976 bicentennial celebration.

In 2021, 45 years after its original installation, the covered bridge closed due to erosion around the footings. After necessary repairs were made, the covered bridge reopened.  During 2025-2026, it will again be closed for a more extensive renovation, intended to last for another 50 years.

In the vicinity of the covered bridge

There is a concerted effort to clean up the wooded areas around all of campus, with a big focus on removing dead ash trees. Those trees are leading to a huge supply of wood chips to help improve the college’s trail system, including around the covered bridge area, which has become overgrown over the past four decades.  

History of the covered bridge

A sign installed at the site contains the following language:
Squaconning Bicentennial Covered Bridge – this bridge was dedicated in the summer of 1976. It was constructed by the 51ÂÒÂ× faculty as a permanent bicentennial project. The foundation, on which the bridge was built, originally supported a railroad spur used to haul coal from the Beaver mine located approximately one mile east. The main shaft of the mine was sunk in 1902 by the Hecla Portland Cement and Coal Company. The mine was purchased in 1912 by the Robert Gage Coal Company and under the guidance of company president Charles Coryell, Sr. of Bay City, was successfully operated until its closure in 1930. This was one of the more than 30 mines in the tri-county area during the 1890s and early 1900s, when Saginaw and Bay counties were the state’s largest producer of soft bituminous coal.