The Genesee Valley Trail is a paved, multi-use pathway that helps to link suburban areas in Flint Township with the downtown core of the city of Flint, giving cyclists and pedestrians a convenient means of commuting into the city or just getting outside for some quality recreation. The bulk of the trail follows a defunct corridor of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, which once serviced the factories and industries along the Flint River that propelled the city's growth. Now, the tree-lined corridor provides trail users with a direct and easy path into the city, where you can connect to the backbone of the area's trail network, the Flint River Trail.
The trail begins in the southwest at the Genesee Valley Center mall and follows the side of the road north until it turns to enter the shaded former railroad route. The trail diverts from the corridor to head north to Corunna Road, where a bridge allows you to safely cross over the interstate highway, and then rejoins the corridor a bit further east down the road. The city has installed plentiful signage to aid at road crossings, but trail users should still exercise plenty of caution as the trail does cross two fairly busy streets on its way into Flint.
The eastern end of the trail winds through the recently restored Chevy Commons Park, which was transformed from a concrete industrial wasteland into a beautiful riverside green space. This final section of the trail is also known as the Chevy Commons Trail. The trail crosses over the river and comes to an end at Carriage Town Plaza (313 W Water St, Flint) where it connects to the Flint River Trail. A great community resource for non-motorized transportation and exercise, the Genesee Valley Trail provides an excellent example of adapting the area's industrial, auto-centric past into a newer, multi-modal use.
Parking is available at the southwestern end of the trail at the Genesee Valley Center mall, located at the intersection of Linden Road and Miller Road. Parking is also available at the eastern end of the trail in Flint at the lot for Chevy Commons off of South Chevrolet Avenue.
This is a nice, paved trail that is perfect for biking, running, or walking. The signs made the trail easy to follow. I’m glad I found this trail for a nice run while I was in town for the weekend. I felt safe on this trail, though it was bright and clear out.
A great trail that connects with several other trails in the Flint Area. Love how there are various sections of different scenery that allows for variety. Close to various shops, stores, restaurants, and the mall, in case one needs to buy a forgotten item. Used by walkers, runners and locals throughout the year.
The trail has recently been extended and now continues through Chevy Commons into the city. A very nice trail that goes behind but also hides the urbanized parts of Flint. Very flat and smooth and fairly well maintained.
Rode this trail on inline skates with ease! This is a nice trail that manages to escape the commercial sections of Flint.
I parked at Kettering University which has video surveillance and rode all the way to where the trail currently ends at the Genesee Valley Mall. From Kettering, the trail passes through some residential areas before briefly traveling along the busy Corunna Road stretch. But then the trail makes a turn into a quiet wooded area where it would not seem like a mall is nearby! I saw quite a few people were biking and running the trail including several Crim Fitness groups.
The busy crossings at Court St. and Corunna Rd. both have push-to-cross buttons to stop cars for trail users. The other relatively busy crossings at Ballenger Hwy. and Lennon Rd. have "buffer curbs" so trail users can cross half of the road and safely stand in the middle before crossing the second half.
This trail connects to the Flint River Trail and the ongoing huge MI Iron Belle trail. If you head North East on the Flint River trail, you can get to downtown flint including the University of Michigan and then continue all the way into the Genesee Recreational Area.
This is a nice short walking/biking trail. It is paved with benches along the way. The trail is also pretty friendly, there is even a waste bag dispenser as well as trash cans. There are road crossings along the way so the trail can be broke up into smaller walks. The trail is open from Dawn to dusk.
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