SAUGATUCK (WWJ/AP) – Government planners from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin anticipate being among those meeting this week to work on plans for a proposed 1,640-mile trail network around Lake Michigan.

The biking, hiking and kayaking route in the four states along the shoreline of Lake Michigan is the topic of the Nov. 8-9 Lake Michigan Trail Conference at Saugatuck Center for the Arts in southwestern Michigan. More than 150 people, including planners, are expected to attend.

“The objective … will be to establish a long-distance recreational trail that highlights the vast natural beauty of the Lake Michigan shoreline and the many historic, recreational and cultural offerings,” said Dave Lemberg, conference planner and associate professor of Geography at Western Michigan University.

The trail would be over land and across water. States and regional organizations have been independently putting together more shoreline trails in recent years.

The conference is expected to include discussion of an overall vision for the trail, creating water trail partnerships and incorporating existing routes into the trail system.

The conference is being funded by a grant from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Coastal Zone Management Program. The two-day event is free but requires registration.

For more information, visit www.wmich.edu.

TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.