Woodland Hike Options at Seidman Park
8155 Conservation Road, Ada, MI 49301
natural hiking paths through hardwoods, boardwalk, creek & hills
Trail Length: 4 miles
Trail Difficulty: Moderate, with some hills
Dogs Allowed? Yes, but they must be leashed.
Facilities: Port-a-potty
Stroller Friendly? Mostly no, but this does connect with the paved Ada Trail as well
Time of Year Accessible: Open year-round.
WEBSITE
Seidman Park is home to a beautiful set of interconnected, rustic wooded trails in the Ada area.
You can hike as little as a quarter-mile loop or up to five miles.
The park is also bordered by the paved Ada Township Trail if you’re up for more adventure.
Seidman Park is one of over 50 walking trails in West Michigan
Hiking at Seidman Park
Most trails at Seidman are well-marked, although we did find ourselves at signless junctions more than once.
PRO TIP: Take a photo of the map with your phone to help you navigate crossroads without signs.
Trails are mostly wooded, passing through rolling hills. Since some of the elevation is low and near a creek, the Seidman Park trails can be quite muddy in early spring or after a good rain.
There are two parking areas. Normally both have port-a-potties or rustic toilets nearby. There’s also a covered area with picnic tables near the Seidman Park Conservation Ave trailhead.
On one hike, while hiking with a little kid along, we optimistically set off to conquer the main yellow loop. (Park at the Conservation trailhead for this option.)
Right after you hit the trail, there’s a bridge with an active creek babbling through. You don’t have to go far from the parking lot to make it to the creek.
If there’s one thing my kids love most about a hike–it’s a good bridge and a full creek. (Okay, that is two things.)
Tips for Your Hike
From there it was primarily wooded (you may want bug spray during peak mosquito season) with some decent hills scattered throughout.
The trails range from hard-packed dirt to sandy to muddy at certain times of the year.
A hiking backpack would be preferable to bringing a jogging stroller. These trails are not handicap accessible.
The yellow loop was just the right length with enough variety to keep a preschooler enthusiastically hiking along.
While kids can make hiking unpredictable, making it to one of the boardwalks (shortly after the yellow connects to the blue, but on the blue trail) was a highlight for my family.
The boardwalk twists and turns and is quite lengthy.
Hiking Discoveries
Our time on the boardwalk felt like we had found a secret forest!
My son could not have been more delighted to peek into the mud on the hunt for turtles or a frog. Or a millipede.
Beyond the boardwalk, you’ll find more wooded hiking trails through rolling hills and a meadow. It truly is beautiful.
We hiked the 4-mile outer loop of Seidman Park during one visit and that took us a little under two hours. We didn’t have kids along that day and were only passed by trail runners.
Hiking is the primary way to enjoy Seidman Park in warm weather months. It is a popular place for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the wintertime.
Map of Grand Rapids Parks and Trails
Find your next outdoor adventure near you with this map of the best hiking trails, playgrounds, and parks in West Michigan.
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