On March 12, 2024, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners approved an agreement that would provide $715,000 in funding from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) to assist with the completion of the Bass River Segment of the Idema Explorers Trail by the Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission (OCPRC). The Bass River Segment will connect over 7.4 miles and 1,995 acres of land, including a large stretch of the 1,665-acre Bass River State Recreation Area. This is the third grant provided by the MDNR to help fund this project (for $840,000 provided in total). Additional funding is anticipated to be received from the Ottawa County Parks Foundation’s Grand River Greenway Fund and other grants.  

This project is part of the regional Grand River Greenway initiative, which includes a planned route along the Grand River from the Lake Michigan shoreline in Grand Haven to Lowell in Kent County. Over the past several years, the OCPRC has worked to complete the connections of the 36.5-mile Idema Explorers Trail from Grand Haven to the border with Kent County in Georgetown Township. In 2021, the OCPRC and the Ottawa County Parks Foundation completed a $7.2 million fundraising campaign to assist with funding this project. 

First identified as a priority in 1989, the OCPRC has been working to protect and preserve the Grand River Greenway for several decades. The aim has been to acquire key blocks of natural and recreational lands along the Grand River and connect them through land and water trails. In comparison to other multi-use trails, the fundamental objective of the Grand River Greenway has been to develop or improve public access to these natural areas with trail connections. The Bass River Segment of the Idema Explorers Trail helps to fulfill this goal because its trails have considerable mileage away from roads and within park lands. 

The OCPRC’s interest in the Bass River site dates to the very beginning of the Commission and the development of the Grand River Greenway concept. The land that currently comprises the Bass River State Recreation Area was originally identified as a potential park property in 1975. Ottawa County, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), and the OCRPC— with the backing and support of local residents, township officials, state legislators, and regional non-profit groups—have invested significant time and resources over the past four decades to ensure the preservation of the property. In fact, the OCPRC was instrumental in both acquisitions by the State of Michigan to establish the Bass River State Recreation Area. The driving purpose for this involvement was the concept for the Grand River Greenway and for an eventual multi-use pathway along the Grand River.  

The Bass River Segment of the Idema Explorers Trail includes a 7.4-mile section from Riverside Park through Bass River to Eastmanville Bayou that is almost completely off-road and runs through almost all public parkland. This section would mark the longest continuous section of the Idema Explorers Trail. It features scenic waterfront views along the Grand River, Max Bayou, and Buddy Pond, and a crossing of the Bass River. The entire 7.4-mile Bass River Segment is estimated to cost $6,131,501 to construct. 

Over the past several years, the OCPRC has worked closely with the MDNR to finalize the Bass River Segment route and ensure that it minimizes conflicts with other users, including mountain bikers and equestrian trail riders. In fact, the current plan includes improvements that will benefit equestrians and are based on MDNR standards for co-locating multi-use pathways and equestrian trails along the same corridors.  

The expansion of the Idema Explorers Trail will significantly enhance access to Bass River and its natural features for many types of users including bicyclists, hikers, people with limited mobility, and/or using mobility aids such as wheelchairs and strollers. 

With existing trail connections from the M-231 Grand River bridge, users on both sides of the Grand River in western Ottawa County will be able to travel to Bass River once the first phase of the trail is completed: tentatively scheduled for construction in 2025. In the future, the Idema Explorers Trail will provide access to Allendale Township and nearby communities in eastern Ottawa County.