The 5 Best Bike Trails Around Grand Rapids

Not far from the great Mountain Bike Trails at Cannonsburg Ski Area, this winding four mile paved trail isn't necessarily a destination in itself as much as it is an access point to some of the great road riding you can enjoy in Northern Kent County.

I like to park at Warren Townsend Park and take the trail north to Sunfish Lake Rd, get off and do some road riding, and then reaccess the northern terminus of the trail at the Cannon Township Fire Department, and roll back its length to Townsend Park. Beautiful in the fall color season.

Part of a vast Kent County trail system that hugs the county roads just east of Grand Rapids, I like to get on at Roselle Park just south of Knapp, and ride it south through Ada, then across the river past Seidman Park and loop back around via Knapp.

Like the Cannon Trail, you can also get off and on it while doing some serious road rides, as it provides you easy access to the little traveled rural roads between Grand Rapids, Ada and Lowell.

Snaking through Muskegon and Ottawa Counties, this 25 mile paved trail is a fairly flat, steady ride that starts in Marne and winds west to Muskegon. It allows access to the rural farm roads of Ottawa County that are great for early morning weekend rides.

Rolling out of Millennium Park south toward Byron Center, the Kent Trails are best in their shaded glory on the east side of the Grand River as you haul it toward Grandville and Jenison, where you can access surface streets and other Ottawa County bike trails.

You can also use it to drop straight south through Wyoming and Byron Center to hook up with the Southern terminus at Walker Park. The Kent Trails offer lots of different rides for all levels of bicyclists.

The White Pine Trail rolls north from Grand Rapids all the way to Cadillac, although its not paved its entire length. My favorite section is a nice ride north starting at beautiful Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, up past Fifth Third Park in Comstock Park, and then along the Rogue River to Rockford, where the trail pulls right up to the Rockford Brewing Company if you desire a cold one.

It's also a nice ride north of Rockford to Sand Lake, where the trail becomes unpaved for a bit, although there is access to county roads to bridge the gravel gap if you want to plan a weekend trek to Cadillac.