Find the top rated trails in Coldwater, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
_119856_st.jpg)
_0_st.jpg)
The Rieke Park Trail runs behind the large community park in Auburn, Indiana, on an abandoned New York Central Railroad corridor. The paved trail is shaded for most of its route, although it emerges...
The Shanklin-Mullet Trail, named for the two parks through which it runs, follows the Elkhart River through dense woodlands on the western side of Goshen. Mullet Park is a peaceful 15-acre open space,...
The pleasant little Albion River Trail runs along the south bank of the Kalamazoo River through the town of Albion. The trail runs between McClure Riverfront Park on the west end and Victory Park on...
The Battle Creek Linear Park trail encompasses nearly 26 miles of connected trails in Battle Creek. Residents use the loop trails to put some snap, crackle, and pop in their exercise routines, while...
Ridge Run Trail, in the northern Indiana town of Middlebury, offers helpful connections in the community. On its southern end, the paved pathway connects with the beloved Pumpkinvine Nature Trail,...
Tradition says that Michigan has 11,000 lakes. The eastern section of the Lakelands Trail State Park passes through a chain of them as it rolls from the town of Hamburg and Lakeland to Munith some 26...
The DeKalb County Trail was constructed in 1976 and is called Indiana's first rail-trail. It runs between Morning Star Rd. at the Greenhurst Country Club in Auburn and Cedar Street along Wayne Street...
The Wayne Avenue Trail serves as a pleasant east-west connector through the quiet, tree-filled neighborhoods of Middlebury in northern Indiana. On its west end, it provides residents with access to...
The Wabash Cannonball Trail in northwest Ohio is actually two trails in one: the north fork runs east–west for 46 miles and the south fork makes up the balance of this 63-mile trail. The trails...
Shaver Road Bikeway begins on the south side of E. Centre Avenue in the southern Michigan city of Portage. On the north side of the roadway, a connection to the 4-mile Portage Creek Bicentennial Trail...
For more than 4 miles, Angola's trail winds through the heart of the city, which sits in the northeast corner of Indiana, just 10 miles from the bordering states of Michigan and Ohio. The paved...
The Millrace Trail meanders through wooded parkland on the west side of downtown Goshen, a walkable town itself with historical buildings and nice shops. The scenic trail follows the hydraulic canal...
Romence Road Bikeway is a utilitarian east-west route across Portage, a city just south of Kalamazoo. The west end of the paved pathway begins at Westnedge Avenue, adjacent to a shopping center...
Lovers Lane Bikeway provides a paved, north-south route through the southern Michigan city of Portage. The paved pathway parallels the east side of Lovers Lane for 2 miles with a wide grassy median...
The Wilden Avenue Trail stretches for roughly 3 miles from the northern Goshen city limits to the community's downtown. In the north, the trail is a direct continuation of the MapleHeart Trail (and is...
The Falling Waters Trail is a 10.4-mile asphalt rail-trail that links the town of Concord with the city of Jackson. The trail follows the old rail bed of the former Michigan Central Railroad, and...
The Vicksburg Trailway runs for nearly 2 miles on a former railroad corridor in a small village south of Kalamazoo. The paved trail is surrounded by dense woodlands for all but the southernmost...
The arrow-straight Jackson Intercity Trail follows the old rail bed of the former Michigan Central Railroad for 3.4 miles through the southwest section of Jackson. The trail provides a nice...
The St. Joseph River Greenway begins on the southern outskirts of the small town of St. Joe, not far from the Indiana–Ohio border. The short paved trail (just over 1 mile long) runs through a scenic...
The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail covers more than 17 miles (with a short 1.5-mile section on rural roads) between the towns of Goshen, Middlebury and Shipshewana. The railroad line between Goshen and...
Central City Trail runs right through the heart of the northern Indiana city of Goshen, connecting to the 17-mile Pumpkinvine Nature Trail on its northern end and Goshen College on its southern end....
The Millrace Trail meanders through wooded parkland on the west side of downtown Goshen, a walkable town itself with historical buildings and nice shops. The scenic trail follows the hydraulic canal...
hen complete, the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail will run for 35 miles throughout Kalamazoo County. Currently, the trail consists of two continuous segments connected by bike lanes: one segment extends...
Romence Road Bikeway is a utilitarian east-west route across Portage, a city just south of Kalamazoo. The west end of the paved pathway begins at Westnedge Avenue, adjacent to a shopping center...
More than a half-dozen old railroad towns between Kalamazoo and South Haven offer rest and replenishment to travelers using the Kal-Haven Trail. The 34-mile crushed-limestone rail-trail links these...
On the east end of Portage, this paved pathway begins near the intersection of S. Sprinkle Road and Zylman Avenue. On the south side of Zylman Avenue, you can easily reach Ramona Park, which offers a...
When complete, the Paul Henry - Thornapple Trail will be a 42-mile, multi-use recreation trail, extending from Grand Rapids to Vermontville; it eventually may be extended to Jackson. The trail is...
As its name implies, the Northwest Portage Bikeway traverses the northwestern neighborhoods of Portage, a city in the Kalamazoo metro area. The 3-mile paved trail begins just south of Crossroads Mall,...
Shaver Road Bikeway begins on the south side of E. Centre Avenue in the southern Michigan city of Portage. On the north side of the roadway, a connection to the 4-mile Portage Creek Bicentennial Trail...
For more than 4 miles, Angola's trail winds through the heart of the city, which sits in the northeast corner of Indiana, just 10 miles from the bordering states of Michigan and Ohio. The paved...
Ridge Run Trail, in the northern Indiana town of Middlebury, offers helpful connections in the community. On its southern end, the paved pathway connects with the beloved Pumpkinvine Nature Trail,...
The scenic Winona Interurban Trail lies in the southeastern corner of Goshen near the Indiana–Michigan border. The paved pathway is part of the larger Maple City Greenway network that links...
The Battle Creek Linear Park trail encompasses nearly 26 miles of connected trails in Battle Creek. Residents use the loop trails to put some snap, crackle, and pop in their exercise routines, while...
The Falling Waters Trail is a 10.4-mile asphalt rail-trail that links the town of Concord with the city of Jackson. The trail follows the old rail bed of the former Michigan Central Railroad, and...
The arrow-straight Jackson Intercity Trail follows the old rail bed of the former Michigan Central Railroad for 3.4 miles through the southwest section of Jackson. The trail provides a nice...
The Wabash Cannonball Trail in northwest Ohio is actually two trails in one: the north fork runs east–west for 46 miles and the south fork makes up the balance of this 63-mile trail. The trails...
If you’re looking for a rustic escape form the din of everyday life, consider the Calhoun County Trailway. The Trailway weaves through three of the county’s four parks. The 5.3-mile trail kicks off...
The pleasant little Albion River Trail runs along the south bank of the Kalamazoo River through the town of Albion. The trail runs between McClure Riverfront Park on the west end and Victory Park on...
The Main Trail runs for just 0.5 mile along an east–west corridor through the Whitehouse Nature Center. The trail links a series of loop trails through the nature center and begins at the visitor...
The Litchfield Nature Trail meanders through scenic property owned by the City of Litchfield, in some places adjacent to the St. Joseph (St. Joe) River. At one point, the trail passes through...
The Rieke Park Trail runs behind the large community park in Auburn, Indiana, on an abandoned New York Central Railroad corridor. The paved trail is shaded for most of its route, although it emerges...
The Millrace Trail meanders through wooded parkland on the west side of downtown Goshen, a walkable town itself with historical buildings and nice shops. The scenic trail follows the hydraulic canal...
Shaver Road Bikeway begins on the south side of E. Centre Avenue in the southern Michigan city of Portage. On the north side of the roadway, a connection to the 4-mile Portage Creek Bicentennial Trail...
The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail covers more than 17 miles (with a short 1.5-mile section on rural roads) between the towns of Goshen, Middlebury and Shipshewana. The railroad line between Goshen and...
_119856_sc.jpg)
The Kiwanis Trail occupies an old railroad bed between Adrian and the southern edge of Tecumseh. The trail is currently the only open component of a much longer proposed regional greenway trail. In...
The Falling Waters Trail is a 10.4-mile asphalt rail-trail that links the town of Concord with the city of Jackson. The trail follows the old rail bed of the former Michigan Central Railroad, and...
The scenic Winona Interurban Trail lies in the southeastern corner of Goshen near the Indiana–Michigan border. The paved pathway is part of the larger Maple City Greenway network that links...
As its name implies, the Northwest Portage Bikeway traverses the northwestern neighborhoods of Portage, a city in the Kalamazoo metro area. The 3-mile paved trail begins just south of Crossroads Mall,...
Central City Trail runs right through the heart of the northern Indiana city of Goshen, connecting to the 17-mile Pumpkinvine Nature Trail on its northern end and Goshen College on its southern end....
Ridge Run Trail, in the northern Indiana town of Middlebury, offers helpful connections in the community. On its southern end, the paved pathway connects with the beloved Pumpkinvine Nature Trail,...
The pleasant little Albion River Trail runs along the south bank of the Kalamazoo River through the town of Albion. The trail runs between McClure Riverfront Park on the west end and Victory Park on...
More than a half-dozen old railroad towns between Kalamazoo and South Haven offer rest and replenishment to travelers using the Kal-Haven Trail. The 34-mile crushed-limestone rail-trail links these...
The Vicksburg Trailway runs for nearly 2 miles on a former railroad corridor in a small village south of Kalamazoo. The paved trail is surrounded by dense woodlands for all but the southernmost...
The Wayne Avenue Trail serves as a pleasant east-west connector through the quiet, tree-filled neighborhoods of Middlebury in northern Indiana. On its west end, it provides residents with access to...
hen complete, the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail will run for 35 miles throughout Kalamazoo County. Currently, the trail consists of two continuous segments connected by bike lanes: one segment extends...
If you’re looking for a rustic escape form the din of everyday life, consider the Calhoun County Trailway. The Trailway weaves through three of the county’s four parks. The 5.3-mile trail kicks off...
_0_sc.jpg)
Though the Millennium Trail runs just over a mile, it connects several attractions in the southern Michigan city of Portage. Its east end connects to the scenic Portage Creek Bicentennial Trail,...
On the east end of Portage, this paved pathway begins near the intersection of S. Sprinkle Road and Zylman Avenue. On the south side of Zylman Avenue, you can easily reach Ramona Park, which offers a...
The Wabash Cannonball Trail in northwest Ohio is actually two trails in one: the north fork runs east–west for 46 miles and the south fork makes up the balance of this 63-mile trail. The trails...
The arrow-straight Jackson Intercity Trail follows the old rail bed of the former Michigan Central Railroad for 3.4 miles through the southwest section of Jackson. The trail provides a nice...
We live just 1/2 mile south of the South Fork. I run the trail most every day. It's always in great shape. In winter the trail is cleared off before the roads are. Well maintained and popular trail. Just have to be careful crossing the roads. The trail crosses many busy roads so watch for traffic, especially crossing State Route 295 (both forks cross this road). Enjoy!
We started at Oak Openings and rode east over US24, past the battlegrounds and on a ways before turning back and following the south fork to the end, then back past the parking area to the west ending point before returning to the Jeep just after dark. This trail says it closes at dark, a drawback for us as we would have put in a few more hours of riding if allowed, start early!
Mostly a smooth trail, some slightly washboard areas that were only minimally noticed, trail is in fairly good shape and a joy to ride!! We will return. The one real grip is all the stops every half to mile due to raod crossings, nothing major!
I have ridden it twice and enjoyed the natural setting, many wild flowers and butterflies, and varying terrain of this moderately curvy and hilly path. Mountain bike or at hybrid suggested due to fine gravel surface, so slow down in curves, some mildly washed out sandy areas, and on board walks when damp. The Ott Biological Preserve has separate foot trails and the North Country Trail also separates for a while, which otherwise follows the trailway. Most of the trail is wooded and shady. Historic Bridge Park at the southern end has a nice picnic area, canoe launch, and playground.
My husband and rode this trail for the first time and loved it. It amazes me that people call a trail such as this boring. It is beautiful nature----loved the first part out of the Kalamazoo trailhead---pristine and full of lush trees. We rode 10 miles and turned around and saw rolling landscapes and agriculture. Gentle incline but be prepared that it is a gravel trail. After the first mile it became hardened and easier. Also---keep your heads up for the crossroads. Next time we will start in South Haven. Beautiful and we are very appreciative that we are provided with trails such as this to keep us off the road.
Just rode this for the first time started in wauseon and finished in oak openings 35 Miles round trip. Was a great ride can't wait to try the south fork
My wife and I visited Battle Creek for the first time solely to ride this trail Sunday. Even after reading some reviews and seeing "poorly marked" noted several times, we decided since it was relatively close to home (75 minutes or so) we'd give it a try. We started at Friendship Park downtown since it looked like it was smack in the middle of the trail, but when we got to the park there wasn't a trail sign or marking to be found, at least that we could see. Most of the downtown area is closed on Sunday, it was like a ghost town at noon. We drove around for 30 minutes following both Google Maps and the map found on this site, and finally figured out where the trail was (we thought). We unloaded and started riding, following what we thought was the Linear Park trail, only find that after a mile or so of turning around and riding in circles, it was not even the actual trail. Once we found the proper path, the ride was choppy in the downtown area... lots of stops for cross streets, still having to stop and check street names and such because the trail was not marked at all in town. Riding out of town we started feeling much better about it. It follows the river for a ways and the scenery is very nice. We got to a sports complex that we vaguely identified on the trail map, saw the dotted line for the trail on the map, but again there were no markings at the outer edge of the park that identified where the trail continued for us to do the entire loop. We ended up doubling back to where we started and then rode out a ways in the other direction. Again, the actual Linear Park trail veered off on a city street to loop around at the other end of town, but there were no signs at all noting that. We ended up continuing for about 3 miles on a trail that connected to someplace else and had no way of knowing how to get back to the Linear Park path without doubling back. So again, we had to double back and try to find where the turn was for the Linear Park loop. Once we found it, we again were happy with the scenery, and the trail goes through the Leila Arboretum which offers some more challenging terrain. But soon after that the trail again goes through residential areas with sidewalks in every direction at the intersections, and very little signage to indicate which direction to go to stay on the actual bike path. It's almost embarrassing to note that the perimeter loop is supposedly 10.5 miles.... with all the doubling back and circling around to try to stay on track, we rode over 25 miles. No, not kidding. No, it wasn't on purpose. No, we're not idiots, either, just determined to find the whole trail. :)
So all in all, it was a disappointment. This "trail" has some great potential, but there are a lot of things working against it, and most of those could be avoided or easily corrected. Here are some of our observations:
1) The trail is badly overgrown in most of the areas outside the downtown area.
2) There is a serious need for more signage and trail markings. Seriously. If you don't know this city, it's nearly impossible to follow the trail at times.
3) The trail crosses several busy roads with no warning signs for cars, no way to signal when you cross. It's like playing Frogger on a Trek hybrid. It's downright dangerous at 2 crossings in particular.
4) When in residential areas with sidewalks in all 4 directions at intersections, your best bet is to follow the sidewalk that is asphalt instead of the lighter colored concrete... most times that's the only indicator of which sidewalk is the actual trail.
5) At a few intersections or other transition areas, look for small, white signs that read "no motor vehicles". Most often that's the only marking for some sort of trail entrance across the street. You can't always see the path itself, so at times these signs (when they actually have them) are the only way you know there is a path across the street.
This city has put a tremendous amount of money in the downtown area. Parks everywhere, a beautiful river walk, seemingly nice restaurants (most were closed... we'd recommend Clara's on the River... very nice after our ride), etc. But once you leave the downtown area, things get pretty run down in a hurry. This could be a great trail and a destination for cyclists... but as it is it will be a one-and-done for us. No reason to ride this one again until they clean it up and get it marked a little better.
Just for note, we aren't trail snobs. We don't expect every trail we ride to be laid out, groomed, and marked perfectly. We ride a lot of rails-to-trails routes and we go looking for trails like this that potentially offer some fun off the bike kicking around in the downtown areas. Unfortunately, Battle Creek is shut down on Sundays (apparently they make extra cereal on Saturdays so the city can close up on Sunday) so we were pretty discouraged.
Do not go out of your way to ride this one. No Trailhead on the north end. The trail runs directly next to a busy State Road, and it is one of the bumpiest sidewalks I have ever been on! Parked at the south end where there happens to be a golf course turned into a city park. THAT was a peaceful, beautiful and quick ride. However, some of the paths in the park dead end because of bridges being out. Better than the actual trail though!
With a few small, but reasonably steep hills, this trail runs behind Meijer and Walmart while passing some apartment complexes. Lots of stopping at cross streets and to actually stay on the trail. It seems this is much more for residents to commute in the area or get in a quick run. Both ends of the trail have parking. The south trailhead ends at the high school. It was perfect to ride to the hot air balloon festival and avoid the hassles of parking. I suggest staying on the street behind walmart instead of hopping up onto the path. Also, when coming north to south be on lookout at the park for the left turn on to a street marked "no outlet." You will end up riding directly next to a play ground. (We missed the turn when riding and had to double back) There a bit of riding on the road, but it is mostly on a sidewalk. The residents were super sweet and always waved us on or backed up because they thought they were out too far into the intersection. :) May ride it again if in the area and need to get a ride in. Would not come here just to ride this though.
I can literally walk to this trail from my house (which I do quite often). It's beautifully kept and I see deer nearly every time I walk/run here. I feel safe walking this trail and it's the perfect length! And it has a great balance of sunny/shady, and lots of curves to keep it interesting. I love it so much!!
I ride trails a lot and will ride trails close to my home over and over because they are close. I ride trails as I travel and there are many that I will ride again if I'm in the area. Battle Creek Linear Park is NOT on my list of "ride again". I thought the trail was very rough in spots, it is not always well marked. This trail is in need of maintenance - low, overhanging branches, twigs, rocks, sand, etc on the trail. There are remote trails that I am not afraid to ride alone, but I sure was glad my husband was with me on this one. He even said he did not feel safe at times.
I use the trail mostly West of Stockbridge, but I am a hiker. I do think that there needs to be some rules set for the horse people. They need to stay either on the left or right side, but stay out of the center for the bike people. It is no secret the horses tear up the trail, and in wet weather it is much worse. This is a multi purpose trail, and the horse people have a right to ride on it, but must respect the rights of others as well. As a hiker it makes little difference to me, but I know that many cyclist claim that the trail is not usable, after horses have used the trail. A little consideration on all sides would make the trail much more enjoyable for all.
They have started to clear and improve the trail from Munith to Jackson. It is my understanding they will connect with Jackson Intercity Trail, sometime in 2018. I would guess that the surface will be crushed lime stone. It should be a great additional resource.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
