The Kalamazoo River Valley Trail is a popular trail system in Kalamazoo and Parchment. The trail offers scenic views of the Kalamazoo River and downtown Kalamazoo, and connects to the Kal-Haven Trail State Park at 10th Street. It's used for biking, jogging, and walking.
Trail Segments
The trail is a combination of wide paved paths, bike routes, and sidewalks:- The segment from D Avenue (north of Parchment) to Harrison Street in downtown Kalamazoo has wide asphalt trails; there are crosswalks with stoplights at Mosel Avenue/Riverview Drive and Paterson Street/Riverview Drive. This segment is hilly and is 7.6 miles long. It provides access to Kalamazoo Nature Center and Parchment.
- Along Harrison Street, the trail is sidewalk and crosses railroad tracks before becoming a paved trail again, going east to the bridges to Rose Park and Mayor's Riverfront Park. The Kalamazoo River Valley Trail is a wide paved path through Mayor's Riverfront Park in Kalamazoo. This segment is approximately .7 miles long.
- The downtown route from Harrison Street, goes west on Harrison Court, which is an alley behind the Checkers restaurant. The Kalamazoo River Valley Trail then splits with cyclists using street bike routes and walkers/joggers using sidewalks along Water Street and Eleanor Street. Cyclists will need to ride on the outside of the vehicle lanes. At Westnedge Avenue, trail users will need to use the sidewalks along Westnedge Avenue to reach the paved trail on the north side of Kalamazoo Avenue/M-43. This segment is .8 miles long. Nearby attractions include Bell's Brewery, Arcadia Creek Festival Place, and other places in downtown Kalamazoo.
- From Westnedge Avenue to Douglas Avenue, the Kalamazoo Valley River Trail is a wide asphalt path. At Douglas Avenue, trail users need to use the bike lanes along Ravine Road (for less than a mile) to the paved trail that starts on the south side of Ravine Road. The paved trail goes west to the Kal-Haven Trail State Park trailhead on the west side of 10th Street. This segment is 4.8 miles long.
Approximate Distances
- From D Avenue to the Kal-Haven Trail State Park trailhead, it is 13.2 miles.
- From D Avenue to the end of Mayor's Riverfront Park, the trail is approximately 8.5 miles long.
- From the Kal-Haven Trail State Park trailhead to Mayor's Riverfront Park, it is approximately 6.6 miles.
Nearby Bike Routes
- In the Parchment area, the trail, provides access to shoulder bike routes along Mosel Avenue and Mt. Olivet Road. Also, Westnedge Avenue between D Avenue and G Avenue has paved shoulders that cyclists can use.
- On the west side of Kalamazoo, the trail connects to bike routes along Nichols Road and Douglas Avenue.
- Near downtown, a bike route starts from Mayor's Riverfront Park that goes to Portage. The bike route snakes its way along several city streets to Lovers Lane in Portage. You can access the Portage Creek Trail at the southwest corner of Kilgore Road and Lovers Lane.
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