Flat River Trail - Greenville (MI)

Trailhead at Baldwin Lake

Greenville, Michigan is approximately 1.25 hours east of our campground in Muskegon and was our destination Tuesday, July 21.  Greenville, named for the original settler, John Green, is a small community northeast of Grand Rapids.  At one time it was a station for the Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Western Railroad.  Most notable perhaps is that Greenville was where Hendrik Meijer settled in the USA after immigrating from the Netherlands and opened a grocery store in 1934.  Thus was the beginning of the Meijer chain of stores.  His son, Fred, inherited the chain upon his father's death. Many of the trails we enjoy in Michigan are made possible from donations by the Meijer family.
Baldwin Lake is where we began our ride of the Fred Meijer Flat River Trail.  The Flat River trail is 8 miles in length and makes a loop around and through Greenville.  In order to have a more extensive ride today we will also ride a portion of the Heartland Trail which will give us almost 17 miles of cycling.

The trail is approximately 10 feet wide and paved.  Hills are mild.  There is a small portion of the trail near the lake where bicyclists must share the road with cars and there is not a bicycle lane.  The picture on the left is of shared road.  We saw more cyclists than we did cars and felt safe on the road.  Before leaving we made sure we had 3 water bottles between us, smart phones, and a picture of the map of our trail.  It is 10:45 am and 73 degrees.  Perfect!

Baldwin Lake

 The photo of the trail map came in handy as we discovered very few directional signs along the route.  There are spurs along the Flat River Trail.  Some lead to nearby streets serving as an entry point for local riders.  At other times the Heartland Trail crosses our path.
The first time the trail forked we stopped to check our trail map and while we were stopped Chris spotted the deer in the picture below.  So glad we made the stop.  The pic on the right is the trail we needed to take.

We are back on track now and seeing beauty all around us.  There are several wood bridges along the way which traverse swampy areas, natural areas, or river.

Here is our first real look at the Flat River.  The river flows southwest and is a tributary of the Grand River.  A good portion of our trail will parallel the river.  The day remains comfortable and sunny with mild breezes.
On at least two different occasions while riding the FRT we can see the Heartland Trail nearby.  The pictures below show two of those occasions.

Both of these pictures show the Flat River Trail on the right, and the Heartland Trail on the left or in the background.

 On our way to Greenville we consulted our GPS and found a restaurant (other than fast food) not far from our trail.  We took the Heartland Trail spur and then took Greenville West Dr. to the Down Home Restaurant on Hwy 91.  We found healthy menu items and friendly wait staff.  My lunch choice was a turkey burger on a thin wheat bun.  Chris got a burger and both of us enjoyed their homemade potato chips.  It was very tasty, but then again riding always makes me hungry!  It was during lunch that we figured out the item we forgot to bring.  Our bike bag!  The little bag we carry on the back of the bike with the spare tire tube, inflatable device, first aide kit, bug spray, sunscreen, and who knows what else.  Thankfully we did not need any of the above items on this trip, but we will try to be more conscientious about loading the bag next trip.
After lunch the temperature warmed to 77.  We returned to our planned route and begin our short ride on the Heartland Trail north from Greenville.  The photo on the left is the Heartland Trail and was snapped while waiting to cross a very busy highway.  The trail is well maintained and framed with wild flowers.
The lake on the left is Churchill Lake.  On the right a canopy of tree limbs make a tunnel for us.
There is a portion of trail that is shared with Peck Rd. where we see corn and bean farms.  We road about 1 mile before deciding to head back to town.

A field of beans

We followed the Heartland Trail until it met the Flat River Trail in Greenville, then continued our ride on the FRT making a loop around town.  The trail goes underneath Hwy 91 and continues running parallel to the Flat River a while longer.

Flat River

 Shortly after traveling under Hwy 91 we saw the Flat River Historical Museum.  This exhibit was outside the museum and beside the trail.

 The tunnel on the left is 14' wide and 10' tall.  In the tunnel are several mosaic tile displays depicting history along the Flat River.  These interesting and informative mosaics were created by local artists of varying ages and backgrounds.

 The picture above shows gently rolling hills, tall grass, trees, and a picture-perfect sky.  Loved riding this part of the trail winding our way back to our waiting car at Baldwin Lake.

Baldwin Lake Beach/Parking

 On the left is a map of our ride from the Map My Ride app.  To the right is the downhill conclusion of our ride where the parking lot has filled and so has the beach.
The ride was fun, interesting, and filled with beauty.  Because of all the trees, this trail would be good to repeat in the fall.

Chris and I posing for pics along the Flat River.