Ranger Tales
Sharing a Very Narrow Road

Sharing a Very Narrow Road

The story

Sharing a Very Narrow Road — a stop on the Tunnel of Trees.

A practical stretch, because this road has an unusual mix of users and the geometry is unforgiving.

M-119 is a famous cycling route. It is beautiful, it is rolling, and it has no shoulder whatsoever — so cyclists ride in the lane, because there is nowhere else to be. When you come up behind one, you will need to cross the centerline to pass, except that through the tunnel section there is no centerline and often no sight line either. So: wait. Wait until you can see properly. It will cost you thirty seconds.

The same applies to the pull-offs. Several of them are barely a car wide and open directly onto a blind bend. Signal early, get fully off the pavement, and when you leave, look twice — a cyclist coming downhill here is doing thirty miles an hour and is invisible until he is on you.

Deer are the other one. This is heavy deer country, the woods come right to the edge, and dawn and dusk are the dangerous hours. A deer standing in dappled shade on this road is genuinely hard to see.

None of this is a reason not to drive it. It is a reason to drive it at twenty-five, which is the speed the road is best at anyway.

Good to know
Where is Sharing a Very Narrow Road?
Sharing a Very Narrow Road. Sharing a Very Narrow Road — a stop on the Tunnel of Trees.
Is there an audio tour of Sharing a Very Narrow Road?
Yes — Sharing a Very Narrow Road is a stop on the M-119: The Tunnel of Trees (Michigan) self-guided audio tour. The story plays automatically by GPS as you drive there, and works offline. Get the free Ranger Tales app on iPhone or Android.
🎧 Get the tour

Hear Sharing a Very Narrow Road's story on the drive

Download the tour, leave your phone in your pocket, and let it play itself as you go. Works offline.

Buy the self-guided tour, or get it in the app.