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.

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.

White Pine Trail - LeRoy to Cadillac (MI)

 It is another beautiful sun-filled day day as we leave Muskegon at 8:30am to drive the hour and a half to LeRoy, MI.  Schooner is safe and secure at the nearby Dog Star Ranch and we are confident of a great day of biking on another Michigan rail-trail.  Today's goal is to ride 17 miles of the 93-mile Fred Meijer White Pine Trail.  Including the return trip we have an ambitious 34 mile ride planned.
The White Pine trail lies on the former Penn Central Railroad from Grand Rapids to Cadillac, MI.

It is 10 am on Friday July 11 under clear sunny skies with a temperature of 70 degrees F when we arrive in LeRoy, MI.  Once the bike is unloaded we seek out the nearest facilities for a pit stop before beginning the 1.5 hr ride to Cadillac.  As a trailhead, LeRoy is not the best.  Parking is sparse.  Facilities limited.  The pic on the left are the "facilities" that we found.
Just as we were preparing to get underway we met an interesting man just cycling in from the south.  His name was Terry and he was from Dallas at one time.  He said in 2003 he was told he had one year to live, max.  He and his wife decided to move to Howard, Michigan where she had family, in an effort to defy the diagnosis given to him.  He daily pursues a healthy lifestyle.  Would like to have visited longer with Terry, but he was completing a ride and we were starting one.  We concluded our visit feeling very glad to have met this living miracle.

The trail is approximately 10 feet wide and is paved with asphalt.  This is one of the nicest trails we have ridden in Michigan or anywhere.  It is well maintained, clear of debris, and so very scenic!  From wildlife to wild flowers the trail is filled with wonders.

A few miles up the trail is the village of Tustin.  The trailhead here provides ample public parking.  There is a cafe and museum nearby.  Pic on the left is the trailhead at Tustin.  Pic on the right gives a glimpse of the town.

A beautiful forest 

Because we are riding on a rail trail there is never more than a 3-5% change in grade, thankfully!  We are surrounded by gently rolling hills covered with forests of various types of trees as well as lush farms with crops either just harvested or ready to harvest.  When on a hill we gazed across the valley and could see over the tops of pines growing on the hills around us.  It was breathtaking.

Dense forest with tall ground cover

A farm beside the trail

Lake with beaver dam

Canopy-covered trail

Tunnel just before Cadillac

The staging area just south of Cadillac includes a large parking area, a porta-john, and, well, that's pretty much all it includes.  We kept riding north.

Soon we enter the town of Cadillac.  Below are pics of Cadillac Lake.

We parked our bike and walked a couple of blocks to the Simply Delightful Cafe.  The special of the day was a Turkey Rueben for $5.95.  The Rueben was delicious but they also had Moomers Ice Cream.  We shared a bowl of Red, White, and Blue-berry Cheesecake ice cream.  OH MY!

This contained a serious amount of YUM!  No calories, just yum!

On the left is the town of Cadillac.  On the right is the After 26 Cafe occupying the old train depot.  

It is now 1:20 and time to head back to LeRoy.  

We are about 6 miles down the trail and we see the gentleman pictured below.  A man we will not soon forget.  We stopped to see if he had a story to share with us, and he did just that.  

This is Wil Reding an interpretive naturalist.  He left Grand Rapids, MI 5 days earlier and was walking his way to Cadillac where his wife was scheduled to pick him up around 6:30 pm tonight.  At 69 he is eager to take a break and share with us.  

         Wil showed us his tatoo and explained that in 2006 (when he was 60) he and his wife set out to retrace John Muir's 1000 mile walk to the Gulf.  They used Muir's journals, Civil War maps, and did countless hours of research to recreate the journey.  It took the Redings 53 days to walk 800 of the 1000 miles.   He currently has plans for a walk in Spain (and surrounding countries) for his 70th birthday next year.  Meeting Wil Reding was definitely a highlight on our ride.

One of many beautiful farms as we head home

It is 3:15 when we conclude our ride on the White Pine Trail.  We begin our drive southwest toward Muskegon.  What a day filled with fun, adventure, and beauty beyond words.  I love our trail rides.  I love spending time with my sweetheart as we share the wonder of God's creation--the waters, the animals, the lands, and especially the people.