Lansing River Trail:
Michigan
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Description:
The Lansing River Trail courses along scenic riverbanks and through parks for 13. The trail follows the Red Cedar River from Hagadom Road on the MSU campus border west to its junction with the Grand River and then follows the Grand River north through Lansing. A spur trail heads south from Potter Park through Shubell, Scott Woods and Hawk Island County parks to end at E. Jolly Road.

Despite the urban setting, you will experience wetlands and woodlands and probably catch sight of the trail's resident ducks, squirrels and butterflies. The paved path has sections of wooden boardwalk passing under highways and skirting out over the water, avoiding almost all contact with motorized traffic.

From the Clippert Street trailhead at the trail's southeast end travel 1 mile before coming to the Aurelius Road trailhead and another 0.5 mile to Potter Park. The park is beautifully landscaped, and its location—right on the Red Cedar River—offers a soothing atmosphere to feed ducks or simply take a break. It is also home to the Potter Park Zoo and is a popular stop for post-zoo picnics.

Next, the trail crosses Pennsylvania Avenue via a wooden pedestrian bridge. An active railroad bridge parallels the trail at this point, and if your timing is right, you may find yourself racing a train. Where the Red Cedar and Grand rivers collide, head due north along the Grand River toward downtown Lansing. A collection of historical and cultural locations speckle the route from here, starting with the Impression 5 Science Center and its planet walk. Next door is the River Walk Theater and the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum.

Continuing north, beside the trail at mile 4 is the Lansing City Market. The market, in operation since 1909, is the place to stop for fresh local produce and handmade crafts. Shaded benches and tables in Adado Riverfront Park, adjacent to the market, make a great picnic spot.

Old Town Lansing—and the northern end of the rail-trail—provide some beautiful scenery. Simply stick to the path and you will see the peaceful Burchard Dam and the architecturally striking Brenke Fish Ladder, which allows fish to bypass the dam by scaling spiral steps. To wander through an art gallery or find a charming cafe, hop off the trail at mile 5 and visit downtown Old Town. The Turner-Dodge House is located at the trail's endpoint. This magnificent brick mansion, one of Lansing's most recognized landmarks, has been restored to reflect life in the 1800s. Arrange for a tour, drink tea on the porch or at the very least stop to admire the beautifully manicured lawns and gardens before returning along this urban oasis of a trail.

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Parking & Trail Access:
To access the East Lansing trailhead, take Interstate 127 north to Exit 8 onto Kalamazoo Street. Turn right on E. Kalamazoo Street then turn right on S. Clippert Street; go right to access the trailhead.

To access the Turner Dodge Park trailhead, take Interstate 496 through Lansing. Take Exit 6 north on Martin Luther King Blvd. for 3 miles then turn right on N. Grand River Avenue. The trailhead in Dodge Park is 0.5 mile on the right.

You can also park at City Market, Hawk Island, Lot 56/Cesar Chavez Plaza, Maguire Park, Oakland Avenue lot, Potter Park, on Saginaw Street and at Turner Dodge.

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Reviews: [2 trail ratings]
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Our first Lansing River Trail ride
By CHelge in July, 2011
Quite a varied experience! The physical trail itself has a nicely paved surface throughout and is fairly well maintained. However, the scenery varies from rust-belt urban blight that's a bit scary in places, to strikingly pretty and family-friendly.
For our bike ride, we parked on Michigan Avenue two blocks east of the state capital building, and after carrying our bikes down the steps on the river side of the Lansing Center, we rode to the northern end of the trail which terminates at the Turner-Dodge house. We then turned around and rode all the way south to Hawk Island Park, then back downtown.
We started off in front of the new and cool Lansing City Market. There's a great view across the river of the beautifully renovated Accident Fund building and its oddly hideous parking structure. Riding north from there was both fun and weird. Zooming our bikes over the river and under the bridges on the boardwalk felt almost like riding an old-fashioned wooden rollercoaster with the loud clacking of the planks under our wheels. Very fun! We liked checking out the Brenke Fish Ladder and some of the restored buildings in Old Town too. But there was weirdness. After passing a few family picnics and several old guys fishing, we rode past a shirtless guy walking down the path with a 9mm pistol slung on his hip. Never seen that before. And later when returning from the north end of the trail, before we went south of town, we passed this same guy who'd met up with his buddies who were all packing either similar pistols or assault rifles. It appeared to be a right-to-carry gathering I guess. We were a little uncomfortable. We rode on.
Heading south under Michigan Avenue we passed the Riverwalk Theater and the Impression 5 Museum as well as a very pretty ivy-covered brick building along the river's edge. But from there, until we reached Potter Park Zoo, except for some nice foliage on the immediate sides of the trail, much of this section of the bike trail was really awful. The view: abandoned warehouses, dusty barbed-wire fenced parking lots with hulking rusted trucks and banged-up oil drums. The smell: municipal water treatment facility. Very few riders along this isolated stretch. Easy to feel vulnerable. Not too fun.
But then there was the wonderful length of trail from Potter Park Zoo down to Hawk Island Park. This serene path winds beneath a canopy of lush trees alongside river, creeks, and ponds rimmed with lilly pads and wildflowers. It felt sort of enchanted with the distant sounds of the zoo animals. We saw bikers, joggers, dog walkers, and families with strollers on this part of the trail.
Hawk Island Park itself was great too. Since our bike ride was on Sunday afternoon, there were lots of picnicking families, kids playing at the water-park, and swimmers at the beach. We skipped the trail extension down to Jolly Road, and instead rounded the lake on a nice looping path and headed back toward town.
Overall, we had fun. We'll definitely do the Potter Park Zoo to Hawk Island Park section again, as well as check out the MSU, Moore's Park, and Jolly Road extensions.
Lansing River Trail Safety??
By aimbarth in May, 2011
I decided to try out the Lansing River Trail and obtained directions to the East Lansing trailhead off Kalamazoo/Clippert St. Upon arriving at the parking lot where I had hoped to leave my car, I discovered 5 separate areas of shattered vehicle window glass. Needless to say I did not feel comfortable leaving my car there. While I would not have left any valuables in the car (like the sign suggested), I still did not feel like dealing with a broken car window when I returned from my ride. Not sure how long the broken glass has been there??? Its too bad that individuals have to spoil what could be a nice route:(
Water covered trail! Be aware before you go.
By yellowtaffy313 in May, 2011
May 29, 2011. Yesterday my husband and I set out from the trailhead at Kalamazoo near MSU to find that just 1/2 mi into our ride, the trail was covered with water! Considering all the rain we've had I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised; and there were signs posted. We attempted to pedal through anyway since we have mountain bikes. We made it through the first area okay after removing our shoes and socks (the water came above our axles). It was soon apparent though we were going to have to abort our ride since every low area was covered in equally deep water, and for longer stretches. Exciting but a little slow going. It was very hard to see the trail through the murky water making it a little dangerous. It literally looked as if we were in the middle of a swamp! We had to get off and walk a couple times and that was cold! The mosquitos loved us! So, just be warned before you head out, what you're getting into. Wish someone had posted a comment here for us.
Trail Facts
Trail End Points: End of Josephine Dr. to Hagadom Rd. on MSU campus to Potter Park to E. Jolly Rd.
Counties: Ingham
Trail Length: 13 miles
Trail Category: Rail-Trail
Trail Surfaces: Asphalt
Trail Activities: Bike, Inline Skating, Fishing, Wheelchair Accessible, Walking, Cross Country Skiing
TrailLink ID: 6016174

Related Links
Guidebook: Learn more about other Midwestern rail-trails in RTC's Midwestern Guidebook.