Words can’t really describe how great this new trail is, so I will just agree with Fred Meijer and say, “It’s beautiful, absolutely beautiful.”  And it starts less than 2 1/2 miles from [...]]]>
Tuesday marked the opening of Phase 1 of the Fred Meijer Millennium Trail that will eventually connect Johnson Park to John Ball Park.

Words can’t really describe how great this new trail is, so I will just agree with Fred Meijer and say, “It’s beautiful, absolutely beautiful.”  And it starts less than 2 1/2 miles from Fulton and Monroe!

Now, onto the good stuff.

First a map of the new trail, as best as I could draw it up from memory.  Thanks to Microsoft for the aerial imagery.  I started my trip at the west end of the new trail.  I also drew in the location of the fantastic viewing deck that you can see in the above photo. To view a larger version, click any photo to visit Flickr. Once at Flickr, click the “All sizes” icon and select “Large” or “Original”. My complete set of photos may be found by clicking here.

The wires remind you that this is still an “urban” park.

This was the site of a large washout of the trail that happened during an 85-year flood that happened in January. The bridge was placed to protect the trail from future high flood events.

This is part of the site of the proposed ampitheather (looking west)

That’s it for the tour. More photos are here. We’ll probably be riding this trail on a PedalGR ride in July, on our way to Versluis Orchards, so keep an eye out. I hope that you get a chance to visit this trail soon, as the photos don’t really do it justice. If you’ve been on it already, what do you think? Please pass on this link to others, so they can get an idea of what a treasure this park will become!