Year’s first Adopt-A-Highway pickup starts Saturday, April 11

Fast facts:

•      The first Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Adopt-A-Highway pickup of the year is April 11-19 for the southern part of the Lower Peninsula.
•      The first pickup for the northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula will be from May 9 to 17.
•      Sections of highway are still available to adopt. Go to the Adopt-A-Highway website more information and a map of available segments.

LANSING, Mich. ­- Volunteers will fan out across the southern part of the state beginning Saturday to give the state highway roadsides their annual spring cleaning as Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Adopt-A-Highway (AAH) groups pick up litter from April 11 to 19.

The year’s first AAH pickup for the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula (Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Iosco, Kalkaska, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Mason, Missaukee, Ogemaw, Osceola, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon and Wexford counties) will be later in the spring (May 9-17) when warmer and drier conditions have set in.

"Our Adopt-A-Highway volunteers show their dedication to their communities each year by keeping the roadsides clean," said State Transportation Director Bradley C. Wieferich. "These groups make a huge difference every year. Please help them stay safe while they’re out there. Please be alert for the volunteers and drive cautiously during the pickup periods."

Volunteers pick up litter three times each year. Statewide, there will be a summer pickup from July 11 to 19 and a fall pickup from Sept. 19 to 27.

As of last year, about 2,600 groups have adopted more than 6,000 miles of state highway through the program. An estimated 19,000 participants collected almost 40,000 bags of trash from the roadsides during the three annual pickup periods in 2025.

Sections of highway around the state are still available for adoption. A new interactive map on the AAH website shows what stretches of road are available. Groups are asked to adopt a section for at least two years. AAH signs bearing a group's name are posted along the stretch of adopted highway. There is no fee to participate.

AAH groups wear high-visibility, yellow-green safety vests required by federal regulations when working within a highway right of way. MDOT provides free vests and trash bags, and arranges to haul away the trash. Volunteers include members of various civic groups, businesses and families. Crew members must be at least 12 years old, and each group must number at least three people.