Grand Rapids’ rebuilt Canal Park is open on the Grand River, with a new playground, kayak launch and heated pavilion ahead of a spring grand opening

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Canal Park on the Grand River is open again, and families are already using it. The reworked riverfront park has reopened after more than a year of construction, FOX 17 reported, with the city’s official grand opening set for spring.

What is new. The redesigned park has a playground, 14-foot-wide sidewalks, room for a kayak launch and a heated pavilion along the river. Experience Grand Rapids, the area’s tourism bureau, describes the playground as a universally accessible, river-themed play area, and the launch as barrier-free for canoes and kayaks, with river overlooks.

The old layout had less green space and on-street parking along the edge of the park. The city traded that for lawn and wider walks, and it worked with the Anishinaabek on the design, said Kristen Pfauth, a project manager with the City of Grand Rapids. “The reimagination of this was to work with the Anishinaabek tribe and have them be involved with basically re-engaging people with the river,” she told FOX 17.

The neighbors. Businesses in the River North area rode out the construction. Edwin Collazo, owner of City Built Brewing across the street, told the station there were points when he was not sure the brewery would survive the season. “The fact that we made it is a miracle,” he said. “This is just the gateway to more patrons, more foot traffic, more activity.”

Neighbor Cathy Peckham said it was her second straight day walking through. “It’s beautiful, and we’ve got beautiful weather still in October,” she said.

Part of a bigger river plan. Canal Park is one piece of the Grand River Greenway, a growing chain of parks and trails meant to run 85 miles from Lowell to Grand Haven. Experience Grand Rapids says more than $150 million is being invested in the greenway over the next two years.

If you go this weekend. The park is open now, so there is no need to wait for the spring ceremony. It makes an easy, free stop for families on a Halloween-weekend walk along the river, with the playground for the kids and City Built Brewing across the street for the grown-ups. If you are bringing a kayak, check the river level and the forecast before you launch.

The city has not yet announced a date for the spring ceremony.

Sources:
FOX 17 West Michigan, “New and improved Canal Park opens along the Grand River, drawing families, kayakers and foot traffic,” October 2026 (reopening, features, spring grand opening, Pfauth, Collazo and Peckham quotes), https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/grand-rapids/new-and-improved-canal-park-opens-along-the-grand-river-drawing-families-kayakers-and-foot-traffic
Experience Grand Rapids, “Grand Rapids Development” (accessible river-themed playscape, barrier-free canoe/kayak launch, Grand River Greenway 85-mile route, more than $150 million over two years), https://www.experiencegr.com/plan-and-stay/about-grand-rapids/development/
Photo: Gpwitteveen, “Canal Street Park.jpg,” uploaded Jan. 14, 2019, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), cropped and color-adjusted; derivative shared under the same license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canal_Street_Park.jpg

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Tags: Grand Rapids · Canal Park · Grand River · Parks · Things to Do · River North · Grand River Greenway