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.