The McLean-Brownell River Trail MTU Trail Dedication Ceremony

Don and Norman McLean, along with Michigan Tech president Dr. Richard J. Koubek, dedicated the McLean-Brownell River Trail on July 31st in a ceremony held along the Pilgrim River, naming it after their late parents. Michigan Tech faculty and staff, River Trails landowners, and members of the Houghton community also attended, marking both the trail's opening and the land agreement between Michigan Tech and River Trails that made it possible.

Developer Don McLean & Tech president Dr. Richard K. Koubek at River Trails

"My parents were both lovers of the outdoors," Don told the crowd. "They made sure we spent our time outside, along with getting a good education. They taught us how to respect the outdoors, love nature, and love life." He paused, then made the point plain: "This trail isn't named after Norman and I. It's named after our father and mother. They'd be very happy about this."

The trail runs along the Pilgrim River starting from the Nara Nature Trails, on land that parallels the River Trails property. It's land the McLean family chose to donate to Michigan Tech rather than develop: Donated parcels total 26 acres. protecting a freshwater stream that feeds into the Lake Superior watershed. That choice secures its future. It stays wild for the people who walk it, long after any of us are gone.

For Don, the connection to this place runs deeper than the development itself. "My first memories at Michigan Tech were going down in Fisher Hall for Warren Miller ski movies," he said. His father was an attorney in Houghton and the whole family learned to ski at Mont Ripley.  After 40 years building real estate and planning new resort communities in Colorado, Don came back to Houghton County with his brother to do something different. "What we're doing here is a blueprint for responsible land development for Houghton County, hopefully for others to follow. More open space, smaller homesites, sustainable concepts, on-site food production." The community bans herbicides and pesticides on its grounds, a practice Don speaks about personally.

Three years in, the results are visible on the ground. "We have roughly 30% of this 126 acres as open space," Don said. "We have faculty who are living here, MTU grads who are living here, grandparents of MTU grads who are living here, and families of all ages." What started as a plan on paper is now a place where people actually live.

The agreement between Michigan Tech and River Trails protects one of the most beautiful assets our community has in Houghton County, and it points toward what comes next. The Pilgrim River itself is getting attention too: Chris Adams, Michigan Tech Adjunct Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences Professor, homeowner at River Trails, and a hydrologist with Trout Unlimited who wrote his PhD on the Pilgrim’s ecosystem, is pursuing grant funding to improve water quality and create new fish habitat along the corridor.

Walking the new McLean-Brownell River Trail

Don has bigger plans and collaboration ideas still. "We have a Michigan Tech civil engineering class designing their senior project around a pedestrian bridge crossing the river," he said. "That would ultimately connect to another 40 acres of potential trails on the south side of the open space we donated. In a perfect world, there'd be a trail connection going all the way up to Paradise Road and to the Keweenaw Land Trust Property."

If you're heading out to walk the McLean-Brownell River Trail, start at the Nara Nature Trails. That's the public entry point, not the River Trails neighborhood. The distinction matters: it keeps the neighborhood's private roads and homesites peaceful for the families who live there, while leaving the trail itself wide open to anyone drawn to the river and the woods around it. Public land, public access, no wrong turns into someone's driveway. Just park at Nara, find the trailhead, and let the Pilgrim River lead the way. Trail users need a Michigan Tech Trails day or seasonal pass to access it, so grab one on MTU’s website before you head out.

The trail is shared ground, open to landowners and to anyone who feels the pull of wild places and wants to spend time in them. Working with MTU, the goal now is to design and fund that bridge, connecting landowners and the public to even more protected acreage south of the Pilgrim River. One trail, then a bridge, then more trails. It's a slow build, but that's the point.