Everyone is flocking to the more well-known parks during the government mandated stay at home…read moreorder, as we can still leave our homes to go outside and hike, exercise, bike, walk, etc. However, it's not always easy to maintain social distance at a packed park! The City of Grand Rapids is recommending you try another park if the parking lot is half full or more in order to safely social distance. My boyfriend and I checked out Aman Park the other night right before sunset as the park closes at sundown. There are a few separate parking areas leading into the park, but the one closest to the yellow gate is the closest to the trailhead. There are several different loops, but we chose the shortest one as we didn't want to be wandering around in an unknown area after dark. The whole area is wooded and I felt very secluded in nature, which was nice. We only saw one other family walking around the trails while we were there, making social distancing easy. The terrain was pretty flat and easy for me to walk. The trails are marked which makes it nice to navigate. I would highly recommend checking out this park if you'd like to be in nature while maintaining social distance.

This is my Absolute favorite place to hike. It has all different trail ones that are flat with…read moreslight incline and ones that are almost a total drop down. Me personally I love the ones with steep incline and areas where you actually have to climb. I would totally recommend this places for any types of hikers. Just pick the right path.

Hagar Park is a great old growth forest with trails, old and "new" playground. Many shelters…read moreavailable for rent and picnic tables everywhere for a fun/ low key get together. I love biking or walking through the trails. I love how this park backs up to a neighborhood and feels quiet yet is still residential. There is a huge wooden play ground that overlooks a grass and rock replica of the USA complete with hills representing mountain ranges. You can walk the perimeter of it for a close up view, but the best vantage point is from the top of the hill. Many things to play on and do at Hagar Park. Pack yourself a picnic and enjoy the facilities during these warmer summer months.

We have a family reunion here most summers, reserving Maples Shelter. It is a gazebo styled covered…read morepicnic area with a concrete floor. There are several picnic tables, AC power outlets to plug in crock-pots, etc., and a counter to lay out food to serve. There is a drinking fountain just outside the shelter. Parking is close and the adjacent grassy area is great for yard games. It is also reasonably close to the massive wooden play structure and modern restrooms.

Recently went to Richmond Park for a birthday party in their picnic pavilion. I don't think I'd…read moreever been to this park before, and it's really nice. It's huge, with a big pond, two playgrounds, tennis courts, pool, basketball court, picnic tables, table tennis table, and more. I think people sled at this park in the winter, too! The pavilion was really nice, with attached bathrooms, a prep area, fridge, tables, and chairs. The space was a good size for the party of 30 people or so. The parking lot is a short walk from the pavilion. I liked the patio area overlooking the pond, and all the kids at the party loved the playgrounds! There was a grassy area outside where we set up cornhole. It's $45 per hour to rent the pavilion, with a minimum of 2 hours. Not bad! I'm so glad we got to experience this park and would definitely come back to relax and go for a walk!

I love this park. A great hill makes it's fun to explore and easy to get away from other people to…read morebe alone.

I love this park! Lots of options for different age groups. Two things: wish there was some sort of…read morefence more so around the water area so little kiddos can't make there way over to the parking lot! Wish the splash pad would stay open longer (closes Labor Day weekend)! We still get some pretty nice, hot days in September.

Rosewood Park is the bomb. The splash pad isn't the biggest but it is enough to keep you cool…read more There is area to have a picnic with installed grills and shade ( gotta love the shade) and the play ground equipment is well maintained and entertaining too. They have a small snack bar for drinks and ice cream which is nice. The thing I love is the Frisbee golf course. This isn't terribly far from my house so it is nice to have a different park to play at now. The tees are open and not high par but still a nice toss. Well done Jenison parks and recreation!!

Decent view at one of the highest point in GR. It would be better if city trim some of the bushes…read moreoff at the edge to provide more opening to look at downtown. Not remove the plants, just trim the tops a little bit. I don't know if it is the same park but if you walk down to the end of the street, pass all the new built houses. You will arrive at another lookout.

Sure, Grand Rapids may be small, but it oozes charm. If you didn't think you could get some cool…read moreviews from the city on top of a hill, think again!! We were looking for a park to take some photos in and kind of accidentally found Lookout Park. Although it's small and in a neighborhood, it had some of the nicest views of the city that I'd seen! The neighborhood it's in is very beautiful as well, so it's the perfect place to take a stroll.

This review is more specifically for Millenium Park, which borders Grandville, Walker & Grand…read moreRapids. This is one of my favorite summer spots to take my girls. You have to pay to use the beach area & sprayground, put the playground area is huge and free. The beach area can get very crowded on weekends during the summer, so I stick to going mid-morning during the week, packing a lunch to enjoy there & then heading home for naptime. The grounds are very well maintained and there are very nice picnic shelters you can use. There is also a sand volleyball court and a walking/bike riding trails along a series of small man-made lakes. Last summer I didn't know that you could purchase an annual family pass for $40 until the summer was half over. I'll be going that route this year--we live only 10 minutes from the park and it's a welcome change of scenery for my kids, so I'm sure we'll be going almost one a week or every other week during the summer.

A great place for a bike ride or to take a dip at the beach. The splash park is also a great…read moreaddition. The entry fee for the beach and splash park is very reasonable.

Nothing quite like watching the salmon jump up the fish ladder. If you're in the area during…read morespawning season, this is a must stop. It isn't the best area of GR, but during peak season it's filled with families just like yours hoping to see the salmon, and a handful of fisherman. We had no issues! PD was also frequenting the area, their presence alone kept things pretty square. 10/10 recommend stopping by, and enjoying the view and fish in the fall!

Michigan is having a very severe drought right now so Grand River water level is very low. It still…read morehave nice view and people still try to fish here. It is also call "snagger corner "because do all kinds of illegal things here. There is a sign said no fishing near the ladder. Fish ladder design by Joseph Kinnebrew help fish go upstream, all the way up to Lansing.I did see a couple fish on the bottom The park also connect to the Riverwalk and you can wall all the way around sixth street dam.

I like to come here to watch sunsets and spend time with family. There's a nice nature trail…read moreconnected to the park and it's lovely. 4th of July Fireworks are wonderful here. Also if you're hungry there's lots of awesome local eateries up the street.

Visited here while experiencing the COVID stay home, stay safe order in Michigan. It was a lovely…read moresunny day, and after being cooped up all week working, it was so nice to have lunch by the water! It's not far from home, so I'm looking forward to going back even after this craziness has subsided.

We have our monthly group walks and love the quiet and beautiful walk. Easy walk but definitely a…read more must see

I recently visited Johnson Park for disc golf - well, Nate and our friend disc golfed, I just…read more"hiked" the course with them. It was a super sunny and hot spring day, so the park was pretty busy with a lot of people looking to enjoy the sunshine. The parking lot got full after we arrived - not sure if there is overflow parking available. I can't really speak to the difficulty of the course for playing, but it is super hilly and made for a sweaty hike around for a couple of hours for me. There's not a ton of shade as many of the holes are out in a massive field. The areas in the woods are shadier but seems like it would be pretty easy to lose a disc in there. It's not very accessible - some of the holes in the woods are accessed by stairs with no ramping available. The park itself is huge and sprawling, with the majority of people playing disc golf. The course signage was good for 2/3 of the course - a few of the later holes didn't have the "next hole" sign directing you where to go. There are apps you can use that help with this. There is another park of Johnson Park that includes picnic areas, an open shelter, the historic shelter for events, ball diamonds, restrooms, playgrounds, and a winter sledding hill. There are trails to walk in this area as well.

The goal of today was to find an inland park because of the wind. This is a county park. I thought…read moreit was a boat launch at first. Lots of boat drops and some people fishing. You can smell the dairy farm, the dead fish and the muddy water but it's still a private place to take in mother nature, grill and chill on a Sunday. Public service announcement: they do have a port-a-potty. If you are going to use an out house be thankful when there is toilet paper but remember to shake the piece of toilet paper when you pull it off before you use it in case there is a spider attached to it, always close the toilet bowl lid when you are done and the entrance door so animals don't come in. If they have hand sanitizer you have hit the jackpot. Be thankful! Enjoy the day and mother nature