Explore the best rated trails in South Gull Lake, MI, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Fred Meijer Flat River Valley Rail Trail and Fred Meijer Standale Trail . With more than 51 trails covering 694 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
BCT is a great experience for anyone looking for a worthwhile trail.
Buck Creek river runs alongside most of the trail, providing a comforting susurrus.
Nature is in abundance throughout the entire trail, with some urban popping up here and there. Bird poop is everywhere in the Wedgwood Park section, so check shoes/bike tires.
Pavement is mostly smooth, with the exception of Wedgwood Park, where it can be a little bumpy.
I would recommend this trail to anyone looking.
The first section is very rough with potholes and bumps everywhere, the path itself is very narrow with no scenery to speak of.
The second section is a vast improvement of the first, as the path is wider and free from cracks and holes but with nothing to see except power lines, and road crossings are very common in this part.
I might consider skipping this one.
I found this trail to be a bit of a mixed bag, as it's *very* hilly and was hard to complete but the entire trail is shaded all throughout, and you can cruise downhill for parts of it.
Scenery is beautiful, as you are taken through wooded areas, marshes and neighborhoods.
Pavement is mostly smooth but with some rough bumps here and there.
An enjoyable yet short trip.
The Grand River is common sight throughout the trail and and plant is lush and abundant and otherwise there isn't anything to see here but I would recommend it.
The parts of the trail not on Ravine Rd seem great. Sure, the downtown route is a bit tricky but they have center lines to mark the bike path now along arcadia creek and the festival site, etc. My real complaint is they were not able to find a solution for nearly a couple of miles along Ravine Rd, other than a small segment on the property of Kalamazoo Public School Transportation, where someone on inline skates or a small bike could enjoy a small break from a narrow bike lane. Is that what they hoped they would be able to do all along that side, but only the Kalamazoo owned public transportation would agree to it, and the rest, you have to use a fairly narrow bike lane. The exception is that the last quarter mile or so, on the south side of Ravine before Douglas Ave, there is a really nice bike lane, with extra shoulder on the right of it. Why couldn't that have been extended further up? I have even used that against traffic when coming back before crossing over to the right side of the rd, because it is such a wider area than the bike lane on the north side of Ravine at that point. After all this time, it would have been nice if they found some options to improve that segment. The rest of it, I really like though!
This is such a lovely trail with beautiful views of farms, but also places to stop for snacks if you're into a more leisurely rides. You can make it longer by adding miles on the Greenway. Something for everyone!
Love that this trail is close to home for me. It’s a little bumpy in places but my husband and I really enjoy it.
We rode from Bailey Park west on the Linear trail to the end. While the surface was pretty good, the fact that there are several busy road crossings, no signs or maps, no water or restrooms, made this trail undesirable. What a shame that the city of Battle Creek doesn't spend a few bucks to make this trail top-notch.
I don't know why it's called the River Valley trail since most of it goes right next to the highway, with only occasional views of a river and no valley to be seen. We rode 20 miles starting in Galesburg. The first couple of miles were scenic, through a wooded area but the next 10 miles were along the highway - BORING AND UGLY. When we got to Kalamazoo, we found several detours because of unsafe bridges. That forced us to cross busy highways. While the trail surface was mostly good, the location of the trail was terrible.
This trail is one of those half-urban, half-nature trails. It's a bit difficult to stay on the urban parts, as trail markings are a bit rare, with the trail really hitting its stride in the nature segments.
What a lovely ride through the countryside! We rode in late April, so saw plenty of spring flowers and budding trees through the woods. We also enjoyed seeing some lambs and foals in the livestock pastures that we passed. The entire trail is paved, and in very good condition most of the way. We rode from Abshire Park in Goshen to Shipshewana and back, and stopped in Middlebury on the way out for lunch, and Mooey's for ice cream on the return trip. Just be aware that a lot of places are closed on Sundays, so try to ride on Saturday or a weekday. I would love to do this trail again in the fall, to see the change in scenery.
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