The rain and her floodwaters that washed out sections of M-119 in late June were of a scale that I had never seen before. My grandmother has never seen anything like it in her 80 years living here. It was unexpected, brutal, and magnificent in its power.

For Trillium Woods, and for the Tunnel of Trees at large, we are saddened by the disaster, and grieve with our community for the destruction we’ve undergone. At the same time, we are buoyed by the love and support our people have shown us through this abrupt disruption.

Waganakissing - L’arbre Croche - Tunnel of Trees has been a home for people, a place of commerce, and a pilgrimage site for hundreds of years. For Michigan, it is almost synonymous with the fall color season.

M-119 is one of the best places in the state to be immersed in the wonder of nature. To feel yourself soar on the bluffs above Lake Michigan, at a height with the eagles, and still made small by the enveloping shadows of the forest is a core memory for so many people. It’s important to who we are as Michiganders, and how we want to share that energy with our guests.

These events have shown that us that our roads and adjacent properties are under-engineered for the storms of today, and it is not only critical that we rebuild, but that we rebuild with an eye towards resiliency and long term thinking. The fix will take time…perhaps a lot of time in the case of the bluff damage at Devil’s Elbow. We need to continue to uplift the story and encourage our government to make funds available for MDoT to prioritize the reconstruction of M-119.

Trillium Woods will have to re-imagine ourselves in the coming times, and while we are absolutely heartbroken for the losses Good Hart has endured, we truly look forward to doing so until the Tunnel of Trees returns to some semblance of normal operation. We’ll never stop wanting to share the beauty and peace of the land we live in , and the joy of gathering together here.