Grand River Valley Rail Trail - Saranec to Ionia, MI

We took advantage of a gorgeous fall day on Monday (September 11, 2017) and drove to Saranac, MI to explore the Fred Meijer Grand River Valley Rail Trail.  We began our ride at 11:15 a.m. under clear skies and a perfect-for-riding 66 degrees!

This fairly new trail was finished in 2013 and is 8.25 miles in length from Saranac to Ionia.
Pictured is the old Saranac Depot and is the trailhead where we began our ride.

The Saranac trailhead is situated on the Grand River and has a nature trail, picnic area, and a historical museum.
We rode over 5 restored railroad bridges on our way to Ionia, such as the one on the left.
Beautifully crafted granite mile markers are placed along the trail to advise us of our progress.

Early on the ride we encountered golf ball sized objects on the trail.  I had no idea what they were, but Chris did.  He opened one so I could see what a walnut looked like before it made it to my pancakes!

Zoom in for a better view of the limestone surface

As you can see from the pictures, we are surrounded by beauty,  Tall trees and heavily wooded areas fill most of our view along with glimpses of the Grand River.
This rail trail is paved a short distance within Saranac and Ionia but the bulk of the trail is crushed, screened, and compacted limestone.
It was for this reason that Chris opted to load our trikes for this particular ride.  Several riders we encountered used regular upright bicycles with wide tires.

 We stopped on the bridge over the Grand River to take some pictures and enjoy the view.

Chris with the Grand River in the background

Pic on the left and located in west Ionia is the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility.  On the right is another trail pic.





Pictures here show the newly constructed pedestrian bridge over M-66.
The pedestrian bridge runs beside an old grain elevator and takes us into downtown Ionia.




The pic on the left is the old train depot in Ionia.  On the right is the Ionia Courthouse Building, completed in 1886.  This building was built using local pink sandstone and replaced an 1840s hall of justice.  When built the building was heated by 14 fireplaces and lit by gas!  Electricity was installed in 1922.  Spending a day in Ionia and looking at or photographing the historical homes and buildings would be an interesting excursion.

It's 1:00 p.m. and we're hungry!  Chris googled nearby restaurants and we headed off trail for Main Street.
Our destination was a 4 year old business called Aunt Stephie's.  We found a perfect place to park our bikes right out front!
Our waitress/server/cashier was Aunt Stephie and she was a delight.  Stephie was full of sparkle and eager to impress us with her homemade chicken salad, soups, and freshly made beef patties for mouth watering olive burgers.  I had the olive burger and Chris chose the Chicken Salad on a Croissant.  Both were delicious!

Aunt Stephie bringing homemade pie

We asked Aunt Stephie if she had pie.  And she did!  Freshly made by her husband's 91 year old grandmother!  Chris had the apple and I chose blueberry.  Both were delicious.  The food was good and the price was very reasonable.

Pics of downtown Ionia.  On the left is the Ionia Theatre and on the right you can see the brick road and some of the old historical buildings.

By 1:45 p.m. it is 76 degrees and we are ready turn around and head back to Saranac.




We stoped to take some photos with some of the seasonal colors.  Trees and shrubs are just beginning to get their fall colors.
(Click on any of these photos to enlarge.)

At one of our photo stops, while Chris was taking in the beautiful colors of nature, his trike took off in another direction.  Guess we were on more of a hill than we realized.

We were almost back to the Saranac trailhead when we decided to take a little scenic detour from our rail trail.  This is the Saranac Village Nature Park.

The park was a quiet ride and had a park bench,  rustic restroom, geese, and a pond.
Not sure why this tree had been cut down, but thought it made for an interesting picture.

 We made a loop and then biked out of the park and went a short distance on our trail again.  There was another little side trail that we followed and it took us by the Grand River and then to the back side of the old train station in Saranac...and thus, our car.
It was around 3:35 p.m. by the time our bikes were loaded and we were ready to head home to Muskegon, MI.  Our round trip of biking was approximately 20 miles.  The trail was well maintained and tree branches trimmed back from the bike path.  Crushed limestone on the trail made it slower to ride, but doable.  Because of the extraordinary beauty along the trail we both agree that the Grand River Valley Rail Trail is worth experiencing.

Happy Trails, from Chris and Debbie