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Made In Walker
The Made In Walker Podcast connects you to the people, stories, and ideas shaping our community. From local innovators to everyday change makers, we are diving deep into what makes Walker Michigan a great place to live, work, and grow.
Be sure to "like" and subscribe to Made in Walker so you never miss an episode.
To contact us about this podcast please send an email to Podcast@Walker.City.
Made In Walker
Trails That Connect A Region
Imagine rolling from your neighborhood straight onto fresh singletrack without loading a car. That’s the promise at Johnson Park, where we’re building a new regional trailhead on the Grand River Greenway with six to eight miles of purpose-built mountain bike trails, a four-season restroom, expanded parking, and welcoming gathering spaces. We’re joined by Kent County Parks and the West Michigan Mountain Bike Association to unpack how smart design, committed partners, and an energized community are turning dirt into access, connection, and measurable economic lift.
We dig into the design choices that make these trails work for everyone: an inner green loop with wider tread for adaptive riders, beginners, and families, plus optional progressive lines for riders who want to build skills. With Spectrum Trail Design leading construction, the system balances flow, challenge, and sustainability so new riders feel safe and experts stay engaged. Best of all, the layout connects directly to the Greenway, letting riders pedal from Grand Rapids, Walker, or Granville, ride the park, and head home—no car required.
Trails also mean business. We look at national case studies and local forecasts that show visiting riders spend hundreds per trip on food, lodging, and gear. By placing high-quality, inclusive singletrack next to urban amenities, Johnson Park is poised to become a destination that supports small businesses and strengthens the talent story for employers. We outline the funding stack—per-foot build costs, a DNR grant for amenities, and an active campaign with the Kent County Parks Foundation to extend from six to eight miles—along with a summer 2026 target to bring the full experience online. Want to track progress, volunteer, or donate? We share exactly where to go for updates and trail days so you can be part of the build.
If this kind of connected, inclusive outdoor access matters to you, follow along, share the episode with a friend who rides, and leave a quick review so more neighbors discover the project. Your support helps us grow the miles—and the community that will ride them.
If you have comments about this podcast, or ideas for future episodes, please email us at PODCAST@WALKER.CITY
Welcome to Maiden Walker, a podcast that connects you to the people, the stories, and the ideas shaping our community. From local innovators to everyday change makers, we're diving deep into what makes Walker a great place to live, work, and grow. Here's your host, Nicole DiDonato.
SPEAKER_01:Well, you may have noticed many of our Kent County parks getting major upgrades over the last year and a half. And in Walker, work is already underway on building miles of new trails at Johnson Park that'll appeal to all ages and abilities. And here to talk about those upgrades, we have Dan Freyer, who is president of the West Michigan Mountain Bike Association, and Ben Swayze, who is the director of Kent County Parks. Gentlemen, thank you so much for being here today. Thanks for having us. Appreciate it. Yeah. So starting really high level here, uh talking about the parks plan and all the improvements that are going on. How was Johnson Park chosen for these upgrades?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so in order to talk about that, I probably have to take a step back a little bit. So one of the big initiatives going on, not only in Kent County, but in Ottawa County right now is the Grand River Greenway. Essentially, when it's built, it'll be 80 plus miles. It'll stretch all the way from Grand Haven uh to the eastern county border in Lowell and actually beyond. So it'll actually go all the way to Owasso as well. So 171 miles of trail. Um so when looking at how to strategically make improvements to our system, we're looking at parks along that. And Johnson Park's perfectly situated. So it's right at our western border. The greenway will come out of Ottawa County and go to that park. So we're really treating it as the western trailhead for the park. Um, you saw some improvements in 2023, 2024. The parking lot got expanded. Um, and now we're really excited about the mountain bike trail system. Um, in addition to that, we're also uh upgrading the restroom, creating a four-season restroom, um, replacing the playground, making some gathering places as well. So really excited about that. The other thing is the Greenway is not only a point-to-point destination, but the experience along the way. Um, we in our system have two um pretty popular mountain bike systems, one at Luton Park and one at Wallfield Park. Uh, but those are the parks where you have to put your bike on the back of your car, drive there, get off, ride. Johnson Park will be our first system where you'll be able to bike out of the core urban area, get to the park, ride it, experience it, ride back home all without ever having to set foot in a car.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that is so exciting. And Dan, you're actually building those trails right now at Johnson Park. What are some of the uh the experiences and the features that folks are going to be able to uh to experience once they get on those trails?
SPEAKER_03:So we are thrilled to be partnering with Kent County Parks on this project. Um, they are working with Spectrum Trail Design, which is arguably one of the best trail builders in the nation. They've supported us at our trail system at the Dragon, uh DTE in Chelsea, Merrill Trail, Brown County in Indiana. And when working with someone with their level of experience and expertise paired with a highly engaged partner with the parks and a park system that has everything from perfect dirt to varied topography to location to park amenities, this is a really exciting project.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, and um, it is gonna have adaptive trails. So no matter your ability, you'll be able to ride on these and talk about the topography of Johnson Park in general.
SPEAKER_03:So when we look at um opportunities for mountain bike trails, we really want something that's going to create an experience for everybody. And um in West Michigan, there are trail users all the way from beginners which want some gentle rolling terrain, not a lot of obstacles or tight turns, up to some pretty advanced riders. And when we look at the design of the trail at Johnson Park, we have an inner green loop that is going to have some of the gentler terrain, wider trail tread, and something that's gonna appeal to adaptive riders, families, beginners, youth riders. And then we're going to have elements of the trail system that are gonna have more advanced progressive features next to just traditional dirt trails. So for riders that want to test and progress, progress their skills, um, they're gonna be able to do that at Johnson Park.
SPEAKER_01:How exciting to see this come to life, I bet. And you know, talk about the impact it has just on the region, too. You've got uh, you know, a few cities that uh butt up to that Johnson Park, what that means for businesses that are looking to like relocate or families that want to move to the area. Why is that so important with these trade with these parks?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you know, it's been interesting. So one of the lead organizations for the Greenway in general has been Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc., um, and they're very involved in not only the work that's going on in downtown Grand Rapids, but projects that are going on in Lowell, projects that are going on in Walker. Um, and they really understand the economic impact that this type of investment can have on those communities. Um, there was some of us that are involved in the project that got a chance to uh meet with Gary Vernon, um, who is the godfather of the mountain bike trail system in Betonville, Arkansas, um, and just hear about the economic impact that has gone on there. Um, mountain bikers come, they spend money, they uh uh they drink beer sometimes, uh, they eat food, uh, they get hotel rooms. Um, so the economic impact uh can adds up really fast. So a lot of our partners in the Greenway project and the mountain bike trail projects that might not necessarily ride mountain bikes under can understand the impact that it'll have on their communities.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, definitely. You have downtown uh Grantville that is so close nearby as well. So it just makes it so uh accessible for people.
SPEAKER_03:When you look at national case studies, visits that are coming two hours or more. There's individuals that are spending anywhere from$400 to$1,200 per visit. And when we think about creating a regionally significant trail system at Johnson Park, six to eight miles, all of the progressive features, the varied user experience, and something for all ability levels, we're really truly focused on not just filling the parking lot at Johnson Park for the for the Grand Rapids, Walker, Granville area. We're also looking to draw visitors from hours away that want to make the trip to ride, let their friends know and come. And that's what's going to make the bigger, broader impact to some of those local spots.
unknown:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Because you've mentioned that a couple of the other trails too. You've probably hopped in a vehicle and traveled just for mountain biking. And, you know, talk about just that subculture of folks who love to be out in nature on the trails, whether they're walking, running, or riding too.
SPEAKER_03:I'm a little bit biased that mountain bike trails are one of the lower cost park amenities that very quickly, easily, efficiently give access to some of those, to that outdoor recreation. And it it is something truly for everyone. The other piece about mountain bike trails as the nonprofit group that maintains them is we're also building community, looking at all of the events from the Yankee Springs time trial to all of our youth-focused programs throughout Grand Rapids and the volunteer work itself. When we put on a community-focused trail day and draw anywhere from 15 to 75 volunteers to work on and maintain, and we've already had a couple out at Johnson Park, those folks are part of a bigger community, not just of riders, but of people that really value, care for, love these spaces. Um, and Johnson Park is gonna offer that and more.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, yeah. It's so much great space to begin with, and then adding all of these is just going to be even, you know, putting it over the top as well. So what kind of goes into building trails like this?
SPEAKER_03:When we start first with a spa that for feasibility of a trail, right? Is it something that we're gonna create, something that's gonna draw trail users that is going to be sustainable, something that can be maintained and be used? And then going and engaging with land managers to see if there's an opportunity. With land manager approval to pursue, we start to explore potential funding options for the project, and then a pretty comprehensive concept planning process where for this project we partnered with the International Mountain Bike Association to develop the concept plan, and they looked at everything from soil type to topography to community connections. That is a plan that we're then able to use for both fundraising effort, community engagement, and then is it just works and snowballs from there to working with a partner, you know, to get professional contractors to bid, or in some cases have something that's done with with volunteers. So um a complicated process. Johnson Park, we've been engaged with Kent County since 2002. Some of our more popular trail systems at Merrill, the Dragon, Luton Park, those were more than a decade of community engagement to make that happen. And so when we think about those trails, and in total, we have 17 in the Grand Rapids area, over a hundred miles of trail, all of those trail systems required a pretty high level of community engagement, fundraising, and volunteer effort to make them happen. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And from a community engagement and a standpoint, what um, you know, when this was kind of being talked about and discussed and even brought to the public, what was that type of um uh response from people?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so we uh every five years we put together a master plan for the the parks department. And if you look at it consistently over the past couple decades, um things like uh natural hiking, mountain biking experiences are really what they're looking for in the Kent County system. So, you know, we do all of the surveys and the charrettes and the mapping and going out to events, and um there's just there's a longstanding um system that shows that these are the type of improvements that our residents want here.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah, very much. And when it does come to these uh trail building and the the uh fundraising and such, what are some of the volunteer opportunities that are maybe still available for people uh before these trails open?
SPEAKER_03:So we will be working towards um working alongside the builder and Kent County Parks and getting smaller groups out there to work on finish work, clearing debris. We have a handful of volunteers that are leading the way with some chainsaw work to keep the equipment operators moving. Um, we already have just shy of four miles of trail roughed in um working towards the project of six and then pending fundraising campaign, hopefully to extend the trail to eight. Um we will have several trail maintenance days that we'll be posting on our socials to get people out. And there's already excitement. Like if I posted one today, I could get volunteers out there in the middle of winter to put tools on the spot.
SPEAKER_01:That's how excited they are.
SPEAKER_02:On top of that, we have a volunteer services program as well. So um our volunteers don't do the trail building, but uh when you um create openings in in the system like this, you there's a lot of chance for invasive species to to move around. And so we have a pretty robust volunteer services program that go out and do all of the other things uh besides build the trail itself.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, wow. And then as far as cost-wise too, because this is a you know a lot of heavy lifting. What are we looking at there and any other fundraising opportunities people can take advantage of?
SPEAKER_03:So professional construction of mountain bike trail is significant, um, anywhere from twelve plus dollars per linear foot. So the six mile trail system, um, original quotes around$500,000. So um still, I think one of the more popular and lower cost park amenities compared to pickleball courts and splash pads and dog parts, et cetera. But it's something that a lot of a lot of trail users take for granted and don't really see just how significant of an expense this is. We do have fundraising campaign that's active because we six miles is good to go. But um when we got the builder on site, we was able to find an opportunity to add an additional two miles based on the topography and space at Johnson Park. So we do have a campaign going as of this morning. We are a quarter of the way. So we're working to raise an additional$100,000, and um, that is in partnership with Kent County Parks Foundation. Um, you can find on our socials links to to give to make that jump from six to eight miles is gonna be something that's pretty significant for trail users.
SPEAKER_01:All right. And what is the timeline we are looking at as well?
SPEAKER_03:So for with about less than four miles of trail roughed in, we still have an eye on the target of a finished date of summer 2026. Um and we're adding a little bit of a cushion, um, feeling confident that we're gonna be able to make this fundraising campaign happen and have it be eight miles.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and at the same time, um, we're working on the other amenities as well. So uh we finally just put together the final funding piece, which was a$400,000 grant from the Department of Natural Resources that the County Board of Commissioners will be accepting on Thursday. Uh so that will help us with the restroom project as well as the replacement of the playground and the different gathering spaces around the trailhead as well. So our hope is that they'll all coalesce around the same uh opening, but I have a feeling we're gonna have a hard time keeping the mountain bikers off the trail while we're finishing up some of the other stuff.
SPEAKER_01:Understandable. And um, for folks who want to follow along in the progress, what is the best way to do so?
SPEAKER_03:Wmpa.org um and drop down at trails. That's where we're updating for Johnson Park with the fundraising campaign, project updates, and volunteer opportunities.
SPEAKER_01:All right, perfect. And for just the regular park um improvement projects going on in Kent County.
SPEAKER_02:Yep. So uh our website is Kent CountyParks.gov. Um we update that regularly, and you can follow us on our all of our socials as well. Awesome.
SPEAKER_01:Ben and Dan, thank you so much and giving us a little bit of insight on this exciting project. We appreciate you both.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:And thank you for tuning in as well.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Maiden Walker Podcast. If you have comments or questions about this podcast, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, we'd love to hear from you. Please drop us an email at podcast at walker.city. Maiden Walker is the official podcast of the city of Walker, Michigan. You can find Maiden Walker wherever you get your podcasts.
