United States

Grand Rapids, MI

CC0 licensed photo by Topher

Grand Rapids is the second-largest city in Michigan. Located on the Grand River 25 miles east of Lake Michigan, Grand Rapids is a fast-growing city and the economic and cultural hub of West Michigan. There’s some excellent running in Grand Rapids, centered around the river and numerous large parks.

In central Grand Rapids, there are several miles of trails along the Grand River, up to Riverside Park. One of the best places to run  in Grand Rapids is Millennium Park, which features a wonderful variety of paved paths for running, including two lake loops. For an easy, longer run, choose a section of the 92-mile Fredrick Meijer White Pine Trail — especially the 9.8 miles between Grand Rapids & Rockford. In East Grand Rapids, enjoy the 4-mile loop around Reeds Lake and adjacent running track. Luton Park in Rockford is a popular trail running spot, as are Cascade Park and the Egypt Valley Trails in Ada.

Note that winters in Grand Rapids are the real deal. It can be very snowy & icy.

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Some of our favorite runs in Grand Rapids, MI

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Grand Rapids features warm summers and long, cold & snowy winters. In summers, temperatures are typically in the low to mid 80sF (28C), though night cool off somewhat. Autumn is gorgeous. In winter, daytime temperatures are near freezing, with nights around 18F (-8C). There are nearly 80 inches (200cm) of snow annually.

climatemps.com

Staying downtown on the east bank of the river, and west of Fuller Ave. provides good access to the best centrally located running options in Grand Rapids.

RUNNING STORES

Gazelle Sports is a great running store, with several locations including downtown. They also sponsor several running events and have good listings of group runs.

The Runnery. Long-time running store north of town.

Striders. In Grandville. Group runs Wednesdays 6om & Saturdays 8am.

GROUP RUNS

This page at Gazelle Sports lists several group running options in the Grand Rapids area.

Grand Rapids running club. Very active club, lots of group runs & events.

 

Some fun local running events in GR, from Gazelle. https://gazellesports.com/pages/events