Kimball Township has spent almost two years putting together a public canoe and kayak park on the Black River near Wadhams Road. The land side of the project is close to finished. The Legislature has funded the state grant for the purchase. The site survey is done, and the township is sending that information to the state so it can close on the property. The money to build the launch is a separate grant request on a different timeline. That request is in front of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund board at its Dec. 9 meeting. Owning the riverbank and having a way down to the water are two separate projects. Until the second one is funded, the Wadhams Road shoulder is still where paddlers put in.
The Bank at Wadhams Bridge
The township took on this project because of a specific safety problem. Supervisor Rob Usakowski described it to The Keel in February 2025:
"A lot of people try to use the Black River for canoe and kayak launching, but the problem is they have to park along a main road, which is Wadhams Road... there's a somewhat steep embankment so there's no ease of use to get in there. It's certainly not handicap accessible in any way, shape, or form, so it's been a priority."
The public listings for the spot say the same thing. The Michigan Water Trails entry for Wadhams Bridge lists the access as an unimproved legal right-of-way with roadside parking on the east side. The Blueways of St. Clair route page warns that getting to the river at Wadhams Road is difficult, that cell coverage there is extremely poor, and that the water can run low late in the season. Usakowski told The Keel that the first reaction he usually hears about the new park is relief at finally getting off the side of Wadhams Road.
Grant One: Buying the Land
The property is north of I-69, near the east side of Wadhams Road and North River Road, on the north side of the Black River. State grants take a long time, so the township asked the Community Foundation of St. Clair County to buy the land first and hold it. The Foundation's president and CEO, Randy Maiers, told The Keel the township had two years to buy it back. That gave the slower state process time to catch up.
The acreage depends on the source. The 2025 local coverage says 37 acres. The state's budget summary for the grant says 39. The money adds up like this:
| Piece of the purchase | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total acquisition cost | $320,000 |
| Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund share | $175,000 |
| Local match, including Community Foundation money | $145,000 |
The Trust Fund board recommended the $175,000 in its 2025 list. The Legislature then funded it, and on Aug. 18, 2026, the township board voted unanimously to approve the grant agreement. On Oct. 6 the board approved a $10,535 survey package covering a boundary survey and topographic work on the planned launch area. At the Oct. 20 meeting, Usakowski reported that the survey had been finished the Friday before and that the information would go to the State of Michigan so the township could close.
The purchase took longer than first expected. In early 2025, Usakowski estimated the land purchase for "around June of next year." Getting from the board's recommendation through legislative funding to the township's approval of the grant agreement took until August 2026, and the closing was still pending as of the Oct. 20 meeting.
Grant Two: Building the Launch
Buying the land gives the township a riverbank. It does not pay for a launch, parking, or paths. Those are in a separate application. In June 2026, Kimball Township brought its Black River Park Accessible Development proposal, TF26-0111, to the Trust Fund board.
- Trust Fund request: $367,700
- Local match: $160,000
- Total project cost: $527,700
The state's description of the acquisition project already outlines what the township wants to build: an ADA-compliant launch area with parking, pathways, and safety features. The Keel reported that St. Clair County Parks and Recreation plans to help set up the launch.
The application is competing for limited money. At the board's August meeting, DNR staff reported they were finishing site visits and scoring, and said this cycle had 111 applications asking for $66 million in total. The board makes its recommendations at its December meeting, set for Dec. 9, 2026. Under the board's process, the DNR then drafts a supplemental funding request, the State Budget Office sends it to the Legislature, and lawmakers act on it. The purchase grant followed that same path, from a 2025 recommendation to the township's August 2026 approval of the agreement. A good result on Dec. 9 begins the building grant's trip through Lansing. It does not finish it.
Why This Stretch of River
The site makes sense on the regional paddling map. Usakowski told The Keel that two Blueways of St. Clair water trails meet at this location. The Blueways route pages show both trips using the Wadhams Road Bridge:
- Wadhams Bridge Run is an 8-mile, one-way downstream paddle that starts at Beard Road Bridge and ends at Wadhams Road Bridge.
- Fort Gratiot Sojourn is a 12.2-mile round trip that goes upriver from North River Road Park to Wadhams Road Bridge and back, rated beginner.
So the Wadhams bridge is where one route ends and another turns around, and it is also the access point with no ramp. The route page also says Woodsong County Park, upstream in Clyde Township, is not a good place to end a trip because the walk to its parking lot is difficult. That leaves no easy take-out between Beard Road and Wadhams.
The closest accessible launches are downstream:
- North River Road Park in Fort Gratiot Township has an ADA-accessible canoe and kayak launch on the Black River.
- Bakers Field Park has a boat ramp and an ADA kayak and canoe launch. It is one of the starting points for the 4.7-mile Black River Urban Paddle into downtown Port Huron.
Today, someone coming down the Wadhams Bridge Run or turning around on the Sojourn hits the one stretch of the system with no proper ramp. The township's park would add that ramp.
The Trail Grant on the Same Agenda
Kimball isn't the only Wadhams-area application in this round. St. Clair County applied for Wadhams to Avoca Regional Trestle Rail Trail Development, TF26-0041, asking for $250,000 with a $250,000 match on a $500,000 project. The county's trail page describes a trail of more than 12 miles. More than five paved miles run through Kimball Township from McLain Road southeast to Griswold Road, and there is a Wadhams Road trailhead with off-road parking. The trail's best-known feature is the Mill Creek Trestle, 640 feet long and 60 feet high, decked and railed for walkers and cyclists. The trestle crosses Mill Creek, not the Black River. Both the launch grant and the trail grant are on the board's Dec. 9 list.
What Hasn't Been Decided
The park doesn't have a name yet. At the Oct. 20 meeting, a trustee asked whether anyone had thought about a name for "Black River Park," and the board settled nothing. There is no published opening date or construction start, and none can be set responsibly until the building grant is decided.
Kimball has two municipal parks, Sutherland Park and Smiths Creek Community Park, plus a nature trail at the township office. Sutherland covers 43 acres off Allen Road just south of I-69. It has pavilions, Little League fields, tennis courts, a nature trail, and a pond used for fishing and swimming. The township planned to pull the portable toilets the week of Oct. 20 and close Sutherland for the season at the end of October. Over the next few weeks, the place to watch for news is the board's Nov. 17 meeting at the township office, which comes before the state's December vote. More on the area is on the Kimball Township neighborhood page.
As a Port Huron native, I've watched projects like this one move along the Black River for years. I'm glad to talk through how the river, the trails, and the parks shape everyday life in Kimball Township and the nearby communities. Lisa Glombowski is happy to help whenever you'd like to talk. Let's Connect.
