Best Greater Grand Rapids Bike Trails for Families
When it comes to warm-weather things to do, going for a bike ride is a classic!
Whether you’re looking for an urban trail, mountain bike trails, or something in between, the options in greater Grand Rapids are almost endless.
Use this list of the best West Michigan bike trails to help your family find a great place to pedal.
West Michigan Bike Trails You’ll Love
Training wheels or not, if you have a way to transport bikes to a different location, you’ll have miles of Michigan to explore.
You can do an easy one or two mile ride on a paved path, or venture out for something longer or more challenging.
There are many Grand Rapids bike trails that hook up to other parks or scenic areas, and many include ice cream pitstops.
Our family loves biking the White Pines Trail at Comstock Park and riding to Rockford for dinner and then topping it off with ice cream at the end of the trip back in Comstock Park. Find this trip and other great family bike paths listed below.
PS – Bike trails are just one part of the expansive parks systems around Grand Rapids. If you don’t have your bike with you, you can still enjoy hiking trails, parks & playgrounds, and even splash pads.
Trail Length: 6 milesNatural Hiking TrailTrail Difficulty: ModerateMountain Bike TrailsDog-Friendly
The 6 miles of trail is built through an old growth forest: beautiful beach trees, giant oaks and maples, large ravines, marshes and huge side slopes.
Merrell Trails is well marked with arrows and intersection posts displaying marker numbers and maps.
Since it was built for mountain bike riders and consists of shared trails, it may be best to leave little wandering hikers at home.
The mountain bike trail is part of a larger park system that will eventually include ball diamonds, an archery center, soccer fields and a BMX park.
Expect to encounter fast rolling downhills, long climbs, berms, skinny log rides, cedar bridges, boulder roll overs and jumps.
The trail is closed to all user groups when wet or during the spring thaw. This trail system open to biking, snowshoeing and hiking all year long, including night riding.
Merrell Trails is well marked with arrows and intersection posts displaying marker numbers and maps.
Since it was built for mountain bike riders and consists of shared trails, it may be best to leave little wandering hikers at home.
The mountain bike trail is part of a larger park system that will eventually include ball diamonds, an archery center, soccer fields and a BMX park.
Expect to encounter fast rolling downhills, long climbs, berms, skinny log rides, cedar bridges, boulder roll overs and jumps.
The trail is closed to all user groups when wet or during the spring thaw. This trail system open to biking, snowshoeing and hiking all year long, including night riding.
More About Merrell Trail
Park Features
- Dog Friendly
- Free Admission
- Hiking Trails
- Mountain Biking Trail
- Restrooms
West Michigan Bike Trail Systems
Looking for more places to go for a family bike ride? Try one of these West Michigan trail systems on for size:
- Paul Henry – Thornapple Trail Bike Trail
- Kal-Haven Trail State Park Bike Trail
- Forest Hills Trails in Ada
- Cannon Township Trail System
- Kalamazoo River Valley Trail Bike Trail
- M-6 Trail Bike Trail
- Grand Haven/Spring Lake/Ferrysburg Trail Network Bike Trail
- Lakeshore Trail Bike Trail in Holland
- Holland Metro Area Trails
- Muskegon Lakeshore Trail Bike Trail
- Hart-Montague Trail State Park Bike Trail
- Fremont Town and Country Trail Bike Trail
- Van Buren Trail State Park Bike Trail
You omitted two gorgeous trails: Upper Macatawa in Zeeland, and the Portage trail system south of Kalamazoo.
What a great list! I love riding bikes with my family and it will be fun to have some new destinations in mind. It is a bit of work right now because we have a tag-along plus a Burley and then our 2 adult bikes and 1 child bike to transport- that means we do a lot of neighborhood rides. Do you have any tips on how to get so much gear from point a to point b easily?