Riverside Park is located in Robinson Township at the very end of N. Cedar Drive.  With nearly one mile of frontage along the south bank of the Grand River, this 64 acre park is the perfect place for picnicking, boating or fishing. The park includes a boat launch (fee required), picnic shelter, large pond with a barrier free fishing dock and over 1,000 feet of grassy picnic area along the riverbank. Fishing is allowed along the riverbank and from the edge of the pond.  There are some nice trails to hike out to the end of the peninsula, but be careful of the poison ivy.  It’s abundant!  Right now there are actually some goats in an area, penned in.  Apparently they EAT poison ivy!  Who knew?

Robinson Forest located in Robinson Township is an open space.  Dogs can run, people can hunt or you just hike around and explore.  This property is located on the corner of 104th and Sleeper

Jubb Bayou is an open space located in Nunica that has a path cut through the wild flowers and meadow down to the Grand River.  Very quiet and serene.  The barn located on the property is a great venue for senior / family pictures!

Connor Bayou is located around the corner from Johnson Street Forest, off 128th and North Cedar Drive.  This Park overlooks the bayou as well as offering about a mile of Grand River frontage.  There is a kayak launch for easy access to the river.  There’s also a beautiful log cabin that is available for rent.  We found some big leaves here!!!

Johnson Street Forest is located in Robinson Twp in Grand Haven.  Off 128th street on Johnson.  There are about 50 acres of unmarked trails.  You can have your dog off or on leash here.  Hunting is also allowed during the season to be aware of that when out with your dog.

Crockery Creek is located off Leonard Street (on Wren) in Nunica.  It has a couple of natural walking/hiking/cross country skiing loops (1.5 miles and .5 miles) among the 331-acre natural area.  It also has frontage of the Grand River and Crockery Creek.  These diverse communities provide habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna including bald eagles, sandhill cranes, red-headed woodpeckers and river otters. In addition to resident wildlife, the area provides staging areas for many migratory birds.  The existing farm house and barn are from a Centennial Farm and are currently closed to the public.

I visited Pine Bend last week on my own. Pine Bend is located in West Olive and the trails link up with those at Hemlock Crossing. Stumbled upon some kayakers on Pigeon Creek as I was headed over the bridge at Hemlock Crossing.  It’s a good way to visit both parks. Very nice wooded trails offering a mix of hills and straightaways. I was trail running solo but managed to get about 3.5 miles in.  It was a HOT one!

Pigeon Creek Park located in West Olive offers trails for mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding and cross country skiing in the winter. We took the bikes out for a few spins around. I’d say the biking is perfect for beginner to medium skill level. There are some nice straightaways and a few good hills. Not too terribly rooty, but steer clear of the horseback riding trails unless you want 100% sand.

Located just north of Consumers in West Olive, Olive Shores has stairs, if that’s your workout MO. The cost to use the park for the day is $7 per vehicle. They offer a beautiful beach and very nice restrooms. This is also where filming took place for Tom Hank’s movie “The Road To Perdition’. We did the stairs and short trail system a couple of times to burn a few calories…