Riverside Park

History:

Also reffered to as Comstock Riverside Park

Classified as a Large Urban Park (designed to meet community-based recreational needs and preservation of unique landscapes and open space), Riverside is the largest park in the Grand Rapids parks system, aside from Aman Park (331 acres) which is outside the city limits. The park has bike and walking paths along the river, lagoons for fishing and nature study, boat launching ramps, ball diamonds, frisbee golf courses, and is host to many community festivals and events.

Acquired: Forty acres donated with remainder secured through purchases in 1917, 1919, 1926, 1927, 1940. Intitial Cost: $136,141 - twenty acres acquired from Veterans' Facility by act of Legislature.  Source: "The Story of Grand Rapids"

History: A $17,000 dredge worked for five years to raise the elevation of swampy Riverside Park by three feet.  The park opened in 1929, and in 1930 Scrip Labor workers created and landscaped ponds, a road, and a tourest camp, which closed in 1946 due to underuse.  The historic North Park Bridge now stands at Riverside, and a recreation trail meets up with the White Pine Trail.