Explore the best rated trails in Vermontville, MI, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Fred Meijer Flat River Trail and Fred Meijer Flat River Valley Rail Trail . With more than 56 trails covering 769 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.
On Saturday, May 24th, I was cycling 50 miles on the trail between Elwell and Stanton. I was on an out-and-back trip. On the trip back I saw a golden-tawny animal sitting on the trail. I stopped riding quite a distance away from it, maybe 400-500 feet away. The cougar was sitting on the trail and then leaped into the woods and away from me. I knew it was a cougar when I saw its long tail and sleek movement back into the woods. My gut said to turn around. I was far enough away on my bike to turn around and book it out of there. My goal was to get a 1 1/2 miles away and closer to Edmore where I could have help if needed. So, I decided to go around the area it was located. I took a paved road to a dirt road to loop around the woods it was in. I ended up back on the trail and had a longer ride than expected but was safe. The cougar was seen between Deja and Cedar Lake Road. Through research I've found there have been cougar sightings in Montcalm County over the years. I've reported this to the DNR and emailed the Freinds of the Heartland Trail. Overall, great ride and I was safe. The trail is fairly bumpy and root filled between Elwell and Vestaburg. Smoother sailing between Edmore and Stanton. Loved the tree canopy as it was very low and beautiful in some parts. Also, seeing the landscape change from a flatter Central Michigan to the beautiful rolling hills of Western Michigan was stunning. Road crossings became sandier as there is more sand in West Michigan. I would say this compares to the rural nature of the White Pine Trail that runs between Big Rapids and Cadillac. Road crossings between Elwell and Stanton were a breeze, quite calm, and peaceful. Now for some signage on cougars would that keep riders, walkers, and runners, safer and more aware. Just be aware, be prepared, and have protection such as bear spray, pepper spray, noise makers, etc.
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.
EWT is a good round trip experience for any locals and visitors looking for a good trail.
It's not very scenic, with power lines, water streams and community gardens making up most of the landscape.
Busy road crossings are somewhat common.
It's not too hilly, and the pavement is in very good shape.
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.
GMPT is a enjoyable but short trail that's full of tight twists and turns to the point riding a bike might be a bit iffy.
You might want to walk this one but I do 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!
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.
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