CROTON DAM - FREEPORT, MI
Newaygo and Kent Counties, MI
72.6 mi total 7.0 certified 0.0 connecting 9.9 marked 62.7 bare
The North Country National Scenic Trail goes through four distinct phases: western prairie, northern boreal forest, midwestern farmland, and eastern foothills. At Croton Dam, the route begins to change from the second phase to the third. The change is gradual, but as the long-distance hiker proceeds through Newaygo and Kent Counties south of Croton, land cover gradually drops from about 80 percent forest to 30-50 percent. At Croton, though, land ownership patterns change dramatically; there are scattered patches of public land, and scattered steppingstones of off-road trail, but most of the land is in private ownership, and the trail route is mostly a roadwalk.
The countryside that the long-distance hiker will pass through is basically open farmland with some patches of woods, except when passing through several cities like Battle Creek and Hillsdale; Grand Rapids, the second-largest city in Michigan, is studiously avoided. Towns are more frequent, and there are plenty of opportunities for resupply, lodging, and restaurants. There are few opportunities for camping, except on private land, where permission should always be asked before setting up camp. INFORMATION AND MAPS: Information for this region is sparse. Maps are another story; the maps given here should be adequate for most needs, but good county road maps will be useful to some. For visitor-type information about Kent County, contact Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention and Visitor Bureau, 140 Monroe Center NW, Suite 300, Grand Rapids, MI 49503-2832 (616) 459-8287, or (800) 678-9859, or FAX at (616) 459-7291, or e-mail grcvb@mcimail.com, or hit their home page at http://www.grcvb.org.
A number of possible routes for off-road trail through Kent County have been proposed over the years. After a year of work, in 1995 the NPS completed a trail plan for Kent County, identifying a potential off-road route circling through the eastern half of the county. Longer than some of the alternatives, it is at least more scenic, but little actual work has been done as most of the identified route is on private land, although it's hoped that pieces of it may be in place in the next year or two; it's identified on the accompanying maps by a dotted line. The suggested roadwalk route given here follows the Kent County Plan fairly closely, except where noted. As much of the route for the next couple of hundred miles is roadwalk, hikers should be continually aware of the problems of safety when walking roads.
0.0 [0.0] CROTON DAM TRAILHEAD - KIMBLE COUNTY PARK
Croton Dam is on a side road, a roadwalk from this point. Both the dam site and the County Park offer long-term parking, but no camping; a private campground and canoe rental is located just west of the county park. From this point, the route goes southeast along Croton Drive, and crosses the bridge over the Muskegon River. The village of Croton is on the east side of the river, north of Croton Drive.
CROTON, MI 49337 Convenience store.
0.6 [0.6] TURN SOUTHEAST ON ELM AVE.
Elm Ave., paved, soon bends to the south; after 2.0 miles, reach 80th St.
3.6 [2.0] TURN WEST ON 80TH ST.
80th Street leads west; after 0.6 miles, it bends to the southwest, and 0.4 miles further intersects with M-82.
4.6 [1.0] TURN WEST ON M-82
The suggested route follows highway M-82 west for 1.3 miles, until reaching gravel Oak Ave.
5.9 [1.3] TURN SOUTH ON OAK AVE.
For the next mile south, the roadwalk continues on US Forest Service land; camping is permitted, at least 200 feet off the road. For the next half mile, until reaching 96th Street, it's public land only on the west side of the gravel road.
7.4 [1.5] TURN WEST ON 96TH ST.
The roadwalk continues west on 96th Street for half a mile, reaching gravel Thornapple Ave. The land to the north is still USFS property, with camping permitted 200 feet off the road; it's the last opportunity to camp on public land for many miles.
7.9 [0.5] TURN SOUTH ON THORNAPPLE AVE.
8.4 [0.5] TURN EAST ON FOX DRIVE
After half a mile, paved Fox Drive turns south and becomes Oak Avenue. The roadwalk continues south for the next 2.2 miles, where the Oak Ave. jogs east slightly on 120th Street, then continues south for another three miles.
14.1 [5.7] TURN EAST ON MOORE STREET (22 MILE ROAD)
The route follows Moore Street, also known as 22 Mile Road, along the county line between Kent and Newaygo Counties, east for 0.1 mile until reaching the trailhead for the trail in the Rogue River State Game Area. There is a small parking area, just to the east of the Rogue River bridge.
14.2 [0.1] TURN SOUTH ON TRAIL
The Rogue River State Game Area is the first of five state game areas that the trail passes through or will pass through. Managed by the Michigan DNR Wildlife Division, they are operated more for wildlife management than recreation, and trails have not been a primary use. All trail maintenance in these game areas is done by volunteers. In general, camping is not permitted in these game areas April through October. In Rogue River, the trail follows the east bank of the river southward for about 0.4 miles, then turns eastward to cross a feeder stream, then continues southward along the bluff overlooking the river for another 1.5 miles, crosses 20-mile Road, and continues southward, still along the river bluff. after about 0.8 miles, the trail turns east to Red Pine Drive, uses the bridge to cross Spring Creek, then heads southwest away from the road, crossing it again after 0.9 miles and paralleling it southward to 18 mile Road. The trail crosses 18-mile road, and continues southward for another half a mile, then turns east, crosses Red Pine drive, and continues eastward another .7 miles to the trailhead on Division Ave.
20.2 [6.0] TURN EAST ON SOLON RD.
The trail route jogs south slightly from the Division Road trailhead, to follow paved Solon Road as a roadwalk east for 4.5 miles to Edgarton Ave. The Kent County Plan will carry the trail further east on state land, then jog south before turning back to the northeast.
24.7 [4.5] TURN SOUTH ON EDGARTON AVE.
At Edgarton Ave, the route turns south (going straight comes to a dead-end at the four-lane} on the paved road, and follows it south half a mile to Highway M46.
25.2 [0.5] TURN EAST ON M46
In less than half a mile heading east on M46 the route crosses through the Highway 131 intersection - a four lane, here, rather than the two lanes that it was the last time the long-distance hiker crossed it, miles to the north. East of the intersection is the highway service area, with convenience stores and motels. The city of Cedar Springs proper is a mile ahead.
CEDAR SPRINGS, MI 49319 (Pop. 1807) Convenience stores, motels restaurant, at highway service area; grocery, et. al., in town.
25.7 [0.5] TURN SOUTH ON WHITE CREEK AVE.
The proposed Kent County Plan route goes directly through Cedar Springs; the suggested route turns south on White Creek Ave., just east of the M131 highway service area, and continues for a mile to 16-Mile Road. A private campground is located 0.4 mi. south of M46 on this road: Lakeside Camp Park, 13677 White Creek Ave, Cedar Springs, MI 49319. Mostly an RV park, it has 162 sites, $16.00 per night, flush toilets, beach, small camp store, rec. room, coin laundry, V/MC. A mile and a half to the north of M46 is Duke Creek Campground, also mostly an RV park, with 88 sites, flush toilets, heated pool, rec. room, small camp store, coin laundry.
26.7 [1.0] TURN EAST ON 16-MILE ROAD
The route continues east as a roadwalk.
30.7 [4.0] TURN SOUTH ON MYERS LAKE AVE.
31.7 [1.0] TURN EAST ON 15-MILE RD.
32.7 [1.0] TURN NORTH ON PINE LAKE AVE.
33.2 [0.5] TURN EAST ON BENHAM RD.
34.7 [1.5] TURN SOUTH ON RAMSDELL DR.
38.2 [3.5] TURN EAST ON 12-MILE RD.
39.2 [1.0] TURN SOUTH ON NUGENT RD.
39.7 [0.5] TURN EAST ON TOWER RD.
40.5 [0.8] TURN SOUTH ON WABASIS AVE.
Across the road from where Tower Road comes out on Wabasis Ave. is the entrance to Wabasis County Park. A campground with laundry facilities is located there. The roadwalk continues south from Tower Road and the Wabasis Park entrance 3.7 miles to M-44.
44.2 [3.7] TURN EAST ON M44
44.4 [0.2] TURN SOUTH ON FARMBROOK RD.
45.1 [0.7] TURN EAST ON 7-MILE RD.
46.1 [1.0] TURN SOUTH ON CORRIGAN AVE.
47.1 [1.0] TURN EAST ON 6-MILE RD.
47.4 [0.3] TURN SOUTH ON BRYNE AVE.
49.4 [2.0] TURN EAST ON 5-MILE RD.
50.1 [0.7] TURN SOUTH ON LINCOLN LAKE AVE.
The roadwalk continues to the south on this paved road, passing through the hamlet of Alton after one mile.
51.1 [1.0] TURN EAST ON 3-MILE ROAD
The roadwalk continues east 0.7 mile on 3-Mile Road.
51.8 [0.7] TURN SOUTH ON BIGGS AVE.
The roadwalk continues south 2.5 miles on gravel Biggs Ave.
54.3 [2.5] TURN EAST ON COVERED BRIDGE RD.
The roadwalk turns east on Covered Bridge road, and passes through Fellasburg County Park, and crosses a recently-restored historic covered bridge, one of only three such in Michigan. First built of white pine in 1871, the bridge is 100 feet long, with a 14-foot wide roadway. It was built for $1,500, restored in 1945 for $3,000, and restored again in 1995 for $225,000 (prices do go up!). The route continues through Fellasburg Park, which adjoins Lowell State Game area, and about .4 to the east reaches Montcalm Ave.
55.4 [1.1] TURN SOUTH ON MONTCALM AVE.
The roadwalk route continues south on gravel Montcalm Ave. for about 0.5 miles, until a trailhead for the new trail in the Lowell State Game Area is reached.
54.9 [2.5] TURN WEST ON MARKED TRAIL
The trail in Lowell SGA is the first built under the Kent County Plan. From the trailhead -- which may be hard to find, as it has been repeatedly vandalized, as have trail markers - the trail heads west to an overlook of the Muskegon River, then turns and wanders south, crossing M-91 after about 0.7 mile; about 1.1 mile further, it crosses Grindle Drive, and continues south for about 0.4 mile, where it turns west to join Grindle Drive for a short distance. Where the road turns south, the trail continues to the west, but soon bends south, then back to the east, rejoining Grindle Drive at the south trailhead. As in Rogue River State Game Area, no camping is permitted from April through October.
57.8 [2.9] TURN SOUTH ON GRINDLE DRIVE
Grindle Drive continues south for a quarter mile, then west a quarter mile to Division Ave., in the outskirts of Lowell.
LOWELL, MI 49331 (Pop. 3,983) Grocery store, restaurant, pharmacy, convenience store, hardware store.
NCTA HEADQUARTERS: The NCTA headquarters is now located in Lowell, just one-half block from the trail. Turn east on Main St, just south of the Robert E. Lee paddlewheeler, to reach the office. At this point you are about 18 miles from Grand Rapids, which is the biggest city the trail passes near since Traverse City, and has a very good selection of specialist outfitter shops, as well as a great selection of the more conventional services (grocery stores, restaurants, medical services, cobblers, etc), far too large to list here. A call to the NCTA office at 866-hikeNCT or 616-897-5987 during business hours weekdays may be a way to arrange for a ride into the city and help with shopping; if the small headquarters staff can't provide transportation for the long-distance hiker, they'll probably know of someone in the West Michigan Chapter of the NCTA, located in Grand Rapids, who can. They'll also be able to give information on where to find some rare, but desperately needed item. Visitors to the office, at 229 E. Main St, are highly appreciated during normal business hours 9-5 Monday-Friday. Many of the maps and information needed to follow the trail are maintained at the office, and if you're not an NCTA member, you should be; the office staff will be glad to sign you up.
59.5 [1.8] TURN SOUTH ON DIVISION AVE.
The route continues south through the outskirts of Lowell on Division Ave. A quarter mile south, it crosses state highway M-21; half a mile to the west is downtown. Back in Lowell, at the corner of M-21 and Division Street, the route continues south, crossing the Grand River. At the south end of the bridge is Grand River Avenue.
60.2 [0.7] JOIN GRAND RIVER AVE.
The roadwalk route continues south on Grand River Avenue; after a quarter mile, it turns to the southwest, and continues about 0.6 mile to Segwun Ave. (From downtown Lowell, it's easier to follow Hudson Street south until it turns into Segwun Ave. at the edge of town.)
61.0 [0.8] TURN SOUTH ON SEGWUN AVE.
The roadwalk continues south on Segwun Ave., on the route shown on the Michigan Mapset. The Kent County Plan route is to the east, but a roadwalk is circuitous. After about 1.1 miles, Segwun Ave. jogs to the west for about .3 mile, then continues south another 3.5 miles to 60th Street.
65.9 [4.9] TURN WEST ON 60TH AVE.
The roadwalk jogs west about 0.2 miles until reaching Wingeier Ave.
66.1 [0.2] TURN SOUTH ON WINGEIER AVE.
The roadwalk continues south. After four miles, 92nd Ave. SE is crossed. Half a mile to the east on 92nd Ave. is Tyler Creek Recreation Area, a private campground, located at 13495 92nd Ave. SE, Alto, MI 49302. It has 213 sites, is mostly an RV park, has 3 rental chalet cabins, is open April - October, has a snack bar, flush toilets, golf course and putting green, pool, rec room, a small camp store, and coin laundry (616) 868-0252. From the 92nd Ave SE corner on Wingeier Ave., the roadwalk continues south for another mile before reaching 100th St.
71.1 [5.0] TURN WEST ON 100TH ST.
The roadwalk jogs west for half a mile on 100th St., reaching Baker Ave.
71.6 [0.5] TURN SOUTH ON BAKER AVE.
The roadwalk continues south for one mile, reaching the Barry County Line at 108th Ave.
72.6 [1.0] BARRY COUNTY LINE.
Freeport, MI, is 2 miles to the east. Description of this segment ends at this point.
FREEPORT, MI 49235 (Pop. 501) Limited services.