Upper Macatawa Greenway Trail - Zeeland, MI

We arrived at the Upper Macatawa Greenway Trailhead around 10:00 am on Monday June 18.  The area is a natural area with a primary biking trail, but there are also hiking trails and mountain bike trails scattered throughout.

I had to determine which path to take at one point.  The hiking trails were obvious but at first it was a little confusing as to the difference between the bike trail and the mountain bike trail.   Oh, the asphalt becomes dirt on the mountain bike trail.  We stayed on the asphalt trail.

The 3 mile trail (6 mile round trip) was completed in 2015 so the bridges and bike trail are in great condition.  If you want to ride more miles, this trail connects to the Fred Meijer Kenowa Trail on the north and the Holland Area trails to the south.

 Debbie and I trade off on who rides the trike and who rides the bike.  If a hill is involved, Debbie rides the trike for stability reasons.  On the flats, she gets the bike for speed reasons.

 The trail is full of curves, reasonable hills, bridges and scenery which make it very interesting.

The creek crossings were definitely worth an observation stop.

Near the top of the hill was a scenic overlook.  There were several small lakes in the lowland marsh.

There goes a mountain bike trail underneath the wooden bike-trail-bridge.

Towards the bottom of the hill, Debbie is riding through a clump of willows.

Now we are near the marsh level looking back on the hill we biked through.

The wildflowers are always worth stopping for.

The songbirds were abundant on the trail.  One homeowner near the trail erected this bird condo to attract them.  That's a Red-winged Blackbird sitting on top of the condo.

One more scenic shot on the return trip through the natural area.

We gathered our bikes and traveled, through Zeeland and on to Holland for lunch.  Holland, Michigan was settled years ago by Dutch farmers, (obviously).  I met a man on the street, (while Debbie shopped the eclectic stores), who was actually from the Netherlands.  He was visiting his aunt who had settled here just after WWII.

Holland is a patriotic town as depicted by the bronze children saluting the flag.

Our favorite spot for lunch in Holland is Cranes.

Soups, salads, sandwiches, and desserts are on the menu.

We split the City Cristo sandwich.  It's turkey, provolone cheese, honey mustard, apple slices, grilled on apple butter bread, and sprinkled with powdered sugar.   It was pretty good but a bit sweet for us.

We did not split pie.  We each had one.  Oh well, back on healthier eating tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.

Holland (Metro Area Trails) to Saugatuck (MI)

 The Holland metro area claims to have an extensive network of paved trails.  This may be true if you were to count streets with cars on them and no marked bike lane.  Wednesday, August 12 we decided to ride from Holland to Saugatuck using our Michigan Trails Magazine as a guide and relying on our GPS and trail markers when in doubt.  The good news was that all the roads we traveled were paved.  Markers were nonexistent, which made for a very interesting ride.

We first planned to begin our ride from the Dunton Park Trailhead in Holland which was a 55 minute drive from our campground in Muskegon.  When we arrived in Holland we discovered that beginning at Dunton Park meant riding either street or sidewalk to get to the Unity Bridge pictured on the left.  We would need to cross that bridge so we decided to park at the CVS instead.  This change of location meant easy access to the biking/walking path across Lake Macatawa.

On the left is Lake Macatawa from the Unity Bridge.  On the right is our "bike path".  It was horrible navigating these barriers every few feet.  We probably weaved through 10 or 12 of these.  We could have ridden the street but I don't like riding with cars.

 There was a lot of industry in the northern part of Holland.  One thing I did enjoy seeing was quite a bit of art formed from steel.  It was very similar to some of the art we have seen in Grand Rapids at Art Prize.  On the left is a pic of one of the displays.
Along this path we saw a farmer's market in progress.  Somewhere just past the market we lost our trail.  We made a turn and found ourselves in the old part of downtown Holland.  We consulted our trail map and our phone GPS.  After awhile we found ourselves in front of a bicycle shop.  Eureka! As soon as we got off our bike a lady came out who worked at the shop and was eager to give directions to Saugatuck, MI.  She and others make the ride frequently and knew the route we were seeking.
It was about 35 minutes after parking at the CVS, biking through town and through housing editions, that we found our trail.  Absolutely no signs whatsoever to help us.  But that was okay.  We were in no hurry and people were very kind to give assistance and to not run over us on the streets.  They seem to be quite used to bikers riding all over town.

Trail runs parallel to road

Forested section of trail

Finally, we acquired our trail. The Beeline Trail south of Holland passed through beautiful residential areas and parallels Beeline Ave. 

 The above photo shows a crop of grapes.  We also traveled alongside fields of wild flowers and fields of corn.

 By 11:15 am we had traveled nearly 12 miles and had reached the northern area of Saugatuck.  It was now 71 degrees and a bright sunny day.  We could have traveled further south into the town of Saugatuck, but thought it best to start back to Holland.  This time we felt sure we could find the unmarked trail and avoid the old downtown area.

Such beautiful fields and wildflowers

A unique structure which I will call a "barn" caught our eye on the way south.  We decided on the way back north we would get a picture.  I had envisioned a structure similar to this many times in the past thinking that someday we might want to park our rig in a permanent structure - one that we might be able to live in as well.  When we got to the barn we noticed the owner was outside the house watering her garden.  We peddled into her driveway and complimented her on the unique building beside her home.  To our surprise she invited us to take a tour of the barn.

Oh my goodness!  It was amazing inside.  Bathroom and shower.  A climbing wall for the grands.  A loft.  Plenty of room for an RV, boat, and cars.  Her husband had designed and built this grand garage and we had been trusted with a viewing.  WOW!  This could very well have been my favorite part of the ride.  The lady told us how they love Michigan and this area in particular.  Even during the winter they could always go into town.  Her husband has the equipment to clear their driveways.  After a snowfall the roads are continually cleared.  She also told us that Holland has heated roads and sidewalks.  I looked it up and they do!  Warm water circulates through underground tubing in the downtown area keeping the area free of snow (which they get a great deal of)!
We took pictures inside and out for future reference, said thank you one more time, and took off down the trail again.

 This is the Kollen Park entrance in Holland and would be an excellent trailhead for the next ride to Saugatuck.  Located on Lake Macatawa this park offers plenty of parking, tons of space for bringing out the lawn chairs and soaking up the afternoon sun.  We saw a gentleman enjoying his day by fishing from the path.  We think this was part of the Holland Shoreline Trail, but, once again, there are no signs.

Panoramic view of Lake Macatawa and the bicycle/walking area

The grouping of pics below all show the area surrounding the lake.  The restaurant pictured on the right is the Boatwerks Restaurant and Lounge.  It appeared to be a popular dining destination on the lake.

Below is the Farmer's Market we had so hurriedly cycled past earlier in our ride.  This time we made a stop.  Unfortunately, many of the booths were packing up and heading home.  We were able to check out 3 or 4 booths who were hoping for last-minute customers.  One in particular that I liked had granola for sale.  They also had samples so we could check it out before buying.  I always like samples.  Thankfully, there was room in our bike bag for a sack of locally-made granola.

Eighth Street Market Place

 The return trip was turning out to be so nice.  We seemed to locate our streets/paths without any difficulty.  I had accepted that our route would include street and sidewalk travel along with dedicated bike paths.  In changing my expectations I was able to enjoy more of the ride.
When we chose our trailhead it was so that we could ride over the lake.  Here we are again, preparing to cross over the lake.

Kayakers on the lake

 This is where our bike path took an interesting turn.  We could continue on the current path, cross over the lake and then cross over to our CVS parking lot at a major intersection about a half mile ahead or we could use the bike path shown below to make the crossing over and miss the busy intersection.  I'm all about missing out on traffic.  In the pic on the left our current bike path is on the right and we are heading for the path that is sloping downward on the left of the pic.  The path is going under the bridge.

 The picture on the right is taken from the bike path just before going under the bridge.  You can see we are much lower now.  And the picture below is a shot from under the bridge where we are water level.  Water is on our path from where a boat came through and splashed.

 The bike path goes under the bridge then climbs to the path we had taken earlier in the day to cross the lake.  Now that was cool!  Loved this finale to the ride!

Lakeshore Trail - Grand Haven to Holland (MI)

 Friday morning (July 17) started out as a warm, cloudy, and humid 70-degree day.  With high expectations of the day becoming prettier, less humid, and even a little sunshine we set out around 8:30 am for Grand Haven.  Today's ride will be the Lakeshore Trail from Grand Haven to Holland, MI.  It is a 20 mile paved trail ranging from 6 - 10 ft wide in places.  This trail is not a rail trail which means that there in not the confining limit of a 3-5% grade.  By beginning at the Rosy Mound Natural Area we cut 1.5 miles off the 20, thus giving us a 37 mile ride instead of 40.  This staging area provides ample parking and restrooms.  We have not purchased a Michigan Park Pass this year so our cost to park was $7.  It is 9:30 by the time we are ready to ride.

On the left is the Rosy Mound background of hills and trees.  Because of the humidity and recent rain there is a haze in many of the pictures.  The sun made a couple of appearances during our ride, but never for very long.  On the right is a picture of the lush canopy-covered trail. The Lakeshore Trail runs parallel and east of the scenic Lakeshore Drive in West Michigan.  On our west throughout our ride are homes overlooking Lake Michigan.  It took us approximately 20 minutes of biking to move away from residential trail which crossed private driveways every 20-30 ft.  Early in our ride the trail is "hilly".  Only on one of the hills did we have to get off the bike and walk up the hill.  It was pretty steep and it was then that I made some kind of declaration about getting a big black magic marker and X-ing out every page in our Michigan Trail Magazine that did not make a reference to the trail being a rail trail.  These hills are for much younger people!  However we did have three young riders come up behind us while we were walking our bike up the hill.  Two of them made it and the other had to get off and do just what we were doing.  Okay, I don't feel so old now!  Maybe all the pages can remain in our book...maybe!

 To the left is a picture of the 40-acre Palomita Reserve which was established in 1995.  According to the sign posted on the trail, the marsh is a home to many birds, butterflies, and wildlife.  We did not see the wildlife but the area was beautiful.

Kirk Park is another scenic staging area which offers parking and restrooms.

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 We passed under pipeline running natural gas to the Consumer's Energy Power Plant. The only time we were required to deviate from dedicated trail to a bicycle lane on the highway was to cross over a bridge.  Below the bridge were these coal cars and train tracks.

Coal cars supplying nearby power plant

On the left our trail becomes a very nice wood bridge over Pigeon Creek at Port Sheldon offering a serene view of water, trees, marsh and rolling hills.

Pigeon Creek turns into Pigeon Lake.  From Pigeon Lake there is a channel into Lake Michigan.

South of Sheldon Landing the trail divides.  We continued on the western path which parallels Lakeshore Drive.  Parts of the trail are canopy covered.  There are beautiful tall trees on both sides of the highway and the trail is carved out through the forest.

Throughout our ride were homes on both sides of the trail.  Homes with pristine gardens, colorful flower beds, and lush green trees.  Many of the homes on the west of the trail that had a view of Lake Michigan were amazing.  A lot of time, effort, and expense had been put into making their lake home very special.

The two pictures below show the typical lake home driveway north of Holland.  Immaculate landscaping at the entrance to their private drive and many times a gated entrance to a long driveway lined with trees.  Very NICE!

After and hour and 45 minutes of biking we located a restaurant on the beach of Lake Macatawa.  Ottawa Beach Inn offers outdoor and indoor seating.  We dined indoors and enjoyed the air conditioning.  I had the taco salad and Chris had a fried perch sandwich.  The meal was delicious.

On our way back to Grand Haven we turned into the Tunnel Park entrance where we found a good number of people enjoying their warmest day of the year thus far with temps now around 80 degrees.
The day was still hazy but sand and water from Lake Michigan was warm and inviting.

We arrived back to our car around 2:40 pm.  The round trip was approximately 37 miles and took us an hour and 45 minutes to travel each direction.  This was our most ambitious ride...ever!
All things considered, the beauty in the area was well worth the trip.  A must do, at least once.