By Christina Collie
This is the seventh in a series about parks and recreational areas to explore in Flint and surrounding areas within 20 miles, presented in no particular order.
Flint Riverfront and Riverbank Park
100 Saginaw Street
Flint, MI 48502
Hours: Dawn – Dusk
Have you ever seen photos of a place and instantly felt like you HAD to explore there? That was my experience with Flint’s downtown riverfront.
I had seen photos, taken at the park’s amphitheater during one of the many concerts or festivals held regularly over the summer, and instantly fell in love before I even moved to Flint. Finding it in person, however, proved to be harder than I thought it would be. There isn’t a designated parking area, and not being familiar with downtown yet, I wasn’t sure exactly how to get over there, or even exactly where it was located.
But when I moved to Flint (and finally figured out how to navigate downtown and where to park), the riverfront path became one of my favorite destinations for both walks and bike rides.
Riverbank Park is one of five Flint parks included as part of the coming 230-acre Genesee County State Park system, which starts in Swartz Creek and runs along the Flint River. The other included parks are: Chevy Commons, Veteran’s Park, Mott Recreation Area, and Happy Hollow Nature Area.
In addition to removing dams and adding riffles to make the river more user-friendly for kayaking and fishing, other updates expected to this newly-designated state park will include lighting, picnic areas, restrooms, ADA access, new pedestrian bridges, and play equipment for kids.
Riverbank Park serves as one of the city’s major event spaces, so while normally a host of summer events would be taking place here, construction has moved them elsewhere downtown. Here is a brief breakdown of events happening this summer that are normally held in Riverbank Park:
- 6/19 – Juneteenth ~ Details for one event are available on the Traditional Flint Juneteenth Celebration Facebook page, with their festivities are broken into two parts this year, but many other events will be hosted by other groups around the city as well.
- 7/26 -7/27 ~ The Flint Jazz Festival is normally held on the riverfront at the amphitheater, but will be held in Clio this year.
- 7/29 ~ Pride Fest, normally held at the riverfront, is also being moved for construction. It will still be in downtown Flint, but at the following locations: Brush Park, the UM Pavilion, Flat Lot, and Brush Alley.
Riverbank Park was designed by renowned landscape architect Lawrence Halprin and completed in the 80s. Today, it’s exciting to see the updates to beautify and restore so many miles of riverfront to make it more user-friendly for residents and visitors. According to the Genesee County Parks website, the “Flint Riverfront Restoration Project” will look at ways to update the original design challenges and make the paths and parks more accessible.
While the riverfront is under construction, you will encounter stretches of the approximate three-mile trail that are closed to the public. However, even with the impediments, it’s fairly easy to navigate around the construction in most situations. The trail connects to other parks and trails, like the previously covered Chevy Commons, and Iron Belle Trail, making it perfect for biking or rollerblading. (It’s also perfect for walks with two-legged or four-legged best friends.)
Overall Ratings:
- Pedestrian + family friendliness: 10 out of 10
- Bicycle: 10 out of 10
- Kayaking: Available, though I haven’t tried it here, so can’t rate it.
- Dog walking: 10 out of 10
Happy Exploring!
