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Print Friendly MapThe Fred Meijer Kenowa Trail begins in the rural community of Jamestown southwest of Grand Rapids and travels nearly 10 miles west, primarily along existing roads, to Zeeland Township. Passing by one park and three schools, the trail currently ends near the Macatawa Greenway Trail with a bridge over the Macatawa River. Most of the trail is 10-foot-wide asphalt.
Spring Grove Park on Greenly Street between 16th Avenue and 24th Avenue in Jamestown is a great mid-point parking location.
We're from the Grand Rapids area and decided to try this trail this past weekend. Like most trails, signage is non-existent. I download all maps and keep these within sight on my bike. This is crucial for this trail especially. At one point, Greenly and 24th street, there is actually a trail that goes north, but the Kenowa trail goes south on 24th street. It would be very confusing if you didn't have a map and gps. There are a couple spots that you have to ride on the road. We have lights on our bikes for safety but I would much rather ride on a trail than the road. Because we are from the GR area, we wanted to start at the trailhead in Jamestown. Unfortunately there is NO public parking nearby. It's the in the middle of a very rural area so we ended up parking down the road at a church. Two or three parking spots at the trailhead (both ends) would be nice. In whole, the trail itself is ok. It's a little hilly, so a great workout but not for kids or families. Also, we like to break up the ride with a small lunch before we turn around and return back. We decided to head into Zeeland to do lunch but I wouldn't suggest it. There was no good way to get under 131 and into town. We road on the side of the road, mostly in the soft dirt due to the construction. We probably won't do this trail again, mainly because of this. It was really too busy for bikes, especially during the construction, but I think even after, I wouldn't suggest it.
I started at a cute park where there was absolutely no signage and followed a trail for almost a mile until it ended at a sidewalk. I asked a neighbor if this was the trail and she said yes. I wound my way through a small town bumping over driveways until I decided to turn back. It's hilly, unmarked and bumpy.
This was a challenging ride on a windy day. There's no protection from the wind/sun. Nice trail just the same. We ended up at the mountain bike park at the end, which was nice.
Nice trail as far as I've seen. No signage as to where it goes. We ended up in Hudsonville and no more trail..backtracked and still couldn't find where the trail went. Ended up missing at least half of the trail. Why can't a little bit more money be used to mark the trail direction. The local people probably don't need it, but if not familiar with the area..good luck.
I discovered this trail quite by accident. The section between Vriesland and Adams St, that goes through the Upper Macatawa Wetlands, is spectacular. That's a little over four mile stretch. The ride between Hudsonville and Vriesland, is nice, but I rave about that western portion. This trail doesn't seem particularly heavily traveled, with the exception of the ride through the wetlands during prime hours.
I agree with another review who suggests this is not for families with young children. It has some hills which can be challenging for many riders.
There is also a good parking area at the wetlands, on 84th Ave just north of Adams. That is a county park.
The 2+ mile Macatawa Greenway Trail is now open and connects the west end of the Fred Meijer Kenowa Trail to the Adams Street Trail between 84th and 88th Avenues. The Adams Street Trail provides access to the Holland Area network of trails including a trail route all the way to Lake Michigan at Holland State Park. I'm hoping that Byron Township has plans to complete the last 2.5 miles of the Fred Meijer Kenowa Trail at the east end to connect to Kent Trails. This would provide a non-motorized pathway route from the metro Grand Rapids area to Lake Michigan.
From the perspective of a regular biker who doesn't mind a good work-out while riding, I gave this trail 4 stars because I personally enjoyed the ride over the entire length. Although some of the eastern sections of the trail are tree-lined, the western portion is pretty much all through open farmland. Since I grew up on a farm, I enjoyed watching farmers working in the fields as I rode. And I enjoyed passing through the rural towns of Jamestown and Vriesland. But I would caution the casual rider and especially families with young children to hand pick sections of the trail to ride for reasons that follow.
Prevailing west winds over the open fields can make for some tough pedaling at times. Of course, they can also make for easy pedaling when riding in the right direction. This is not a rail-trail and some of the grades also make you work hard. For the half mile section along 24th Avenue from Greenly to Riley, the route consists of concrete sidewalks on both sides of 24th. The sidewalks are not as wide as a typical trail so you would have to be extra careful when passing pedestrians or other bikers (or when being passed). Probably not a big deal though since the trail does not seem to be very heavily used. For the one mile section along 48th Avenue from Riley to Byron Road, the route consists of bike lanes that are part of the main roadway with auto speed limits at least 45 mph (can't remember the exact limit). This section is definitely not suited for young children and could be intimidating even for some adults.
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