Residents navigate muddy, submerged paths at Riverside Park as Grand River recedes from historic highs

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — While conditions have improved in recent days, floodwaters remain in parts of downtown Grand Rapids. Riverside Park is still affected by water that reached record heights just days ago.

The Grand River downtown dropped to just over 14 feet Friday — down from about 18 feet just four days ago. Inside woodtv.com: April flooding

Still, parts of Riverside Park are underwater, creating a challenge for bikers and walkers.

Ive had to make so many roundabouts and just to get through the park and downtown, said Kevin Owel, a visitor from Walker.

There is some parts where you cannot even walk because it is so flooded. Like down there, we had to turnaround. It gets a little muddy, but there is some clear paths, said Sasha Braxton, a park visitor from Grant.

Riverside Park was flooded as the Grand River rose on April 24, 2026.

A News 8 crew stopped by the park multiple times over the past week. Water levels were visibly higher over the weekend. The city says parks department crews will be evaluating what needs to be fixed or cleaned up in the coming days.

Structural damage discovered at Yankee Clipper Library Branch

The flooding has also hit other downtown locations. The Grand Rapids Public Library Yankee Clipper Branch will remain closed into the summer.

With a complicated cleanup ahead, the Grand Rapids Librarys Yankee Clipper Branch will remain closed into the summer.

According to an announcement on their website, structural damage as well as signs of mold in an area not open to the public have been discovered.

To give them the time they need, the GRPL extended the temporary closure into the summer, with a tentative reopening date of June 22, 2026.

The scale of the repairs requires a thorough assessment and repair process, GRPL tells 13 On Your Side.

A Maintenance team is working with vendors to complete and prepare for the following:

Assessment Testing: We are awaiting full reports from our vendor to finalize a budget and develop a remediation and treatment plan.

Treatment Restoration: The restoration process is expected to take several weeks. Remediation will include treatment for mold and structural damage will require demolition and construction. Staff and Public Safety: Because we are committed to maintaining a safe environment, the branch must remain closed until all repairs are complete and the space is fully cleared for use.

All of this means events scheduled at the Yankee Clipper Branch are canceled through the reopening date.

Holds that were ready but not yet picked up will not be unavailable, but the library will notify you if another copy becomes available.

If you placed an item on hold but was not ready before the closure, check in with the Main Library to arrange pickup or get the status of the hold.

The Grand Rapids Public Library will notify all patrons via email once the Yankee Clipper Branch reopens. 13 On Your Side will continue to track updates as well.

All other GRPL locations will be open during regularly scheduled hours.

Flooding across Michigan closed more than 60 recreation spots

The flooding in Grand Rapids is part of a broader issue across Michigan. Nearly half of Michigans counties are under states of emergencies as record snowfall melted and caused flooding across the state.

Around 60 state campgrounds, boat launches and trails were closed from flooding as of Thursday.

Officials warn of risks from contaminated waters.

A campground road you can swim in. An 18 mile detour for hikers on a long distance trail. A dammed up river temporarily closed to fishing.

The disastrous flooding that submerged parts of almost half the counties in Michigan after record snow melted has not only damaged peoples homes, interrupted driving routes and threatened to topple dams, it is also, just as temperatures are warming up, affected how people can enjoy the outdoors.

When you hear people talk about dams and flooding, they talk about 100 year flood levels, said Tom Bissett, assistant chief with the Parks and Recreation Division with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. We have exceeded those in several areas throughout the state, and unfortunately, it has impacted quite a few of the recreation areas and state parks.

Bridge Michigan counted dozens of campgrounds, dozens of boat launches and a handful of trail sections that were still flooded as of this week.

Reports continue to come in as sections get assessed and we assume many other areas are still under water or damaged by erosion, said Kenny Wawsczyk, the North Country Trail Associations regional trail coordinator for Michigan, Wednesday.

Nearly 30 state campgrounds were closed as of Thursday.

There is a state forest campground on Long Lake in Missaukee County where the road is so washed out that it is about 8 feet deep where the road used to be, Bissett told Bridge Wednesday.

The DNR has suspended reservations at state park campsites that are closed due to flooding. If you have a camping reservation in the near future at a campsite that will likely be underwater or inaccessible, Bissett said someone will reach out to you to let you know and issue a refund.

There is no need to reach out to your local state park and say, Hey, what is going on? Is my reservation going to be good? he said.

Campers can also check the DNRs running list of campgrounds, boat launches and other recreation sites closed due to flooding. There were around 60 items on the list as of Thursday.

Health risks from floodwaters

With water being the issue, you might think paddling or boating would be some of the few ways people can still enjoy the outdoors right now. But Bridge counted more than 30 state and non state run boat launches closed due to flooding. And some paddlers are hesitant to get out there right now.

Laura Deisig, a Michigan resident who lives near the Titabawassee River, is one of them.

The current has been so fast with too much debris in the water for me to try kayaking in the river yet, she said. I am also afraid of large debris hitting my kayak and flipping me. Ive decided to wait until it calms down a bit before I try it this season.

According to materials distributed by the Michigan Department of Human Health and Services, exposure to floodwaters might mean exposure to electrical currents from downed powerlines, household chemicals, animals that might bite and human and livestock waste that can put people at risk of intestinal illnesses caused by E. coli.

There is no doubt in my mind that there is E. coli present in the flood waters, said Joe Scheele, the Environmental Health Director for District Health Department 4 in Cheboygan, said.

Septic tanks, which hold human waste that can contain E. coli, can fail when flooded if they are old, cracked or not properly sealed. Plus, the county received reports of a septic tank lid floating by.

Scheele said that personally, he would not be kayaking or fishing in areas affected by floods, especially downstream of densely populated areas where there is more likely to be sewage leaks or chemicals from homes or businesses.

Assume that floodwaters are contaminated with all sorts of things until you can verify that they are not, he said.

Jaymie Perry is a paddle boarder who likes going out on rivers, particularly the Grand.

Between sewage spills, debris, and crazy currents, I am waiting until calmer waters. Despite using safety gear like a wet suit when I paddle cold water, I dont think this is worth the risk quite yet, he said.

Flooding also temporarily shut down Tippy Dam Recreation Area in Brethren, a popular spot for steelhead fishing, right in the middle of the steelhead season.

The dam area has since reopened, and Cortis said the water is not bad now. It kind of dropped down to normal. He said he even caught a couple steelhead while testing out the waters on Tuesday.

Captain Anthony Cortis leads guided fishing trips there for his company, Steelhead Nation Outfitters. He estimates he probably lost a couple thousand dollars by not being able to lead trips there for about a week and a half.

Bissett, with the DNR, said that most of the issues the department is dealing with are washouts that are expected to fix themselves as things dry up. But receding water may also bring some new problems to light.

The biggest thing we have to keep an eye on is infrastructure. If one of our cabins is underwater, we may have to do some repairs, we may have to dry some stuff out. We really dont have an assessment of all of the issues that will be coming up in such a big system, he said.

A lot of the flooding issues happened as a result of record snow and ice melting. There might be more of that to come.

There are roads in the McLane State Park area in Hancock that still have six feet of snow pack. So those conditions up in the Upper Peninsula still exist and so we may have not seen the peak of some of the snow melt that we will be dealing with, Bissett said.

In addition to the DNRs county by county list of flooding closures on state lands, below are a few non state recreation areas that were affected by flooding as of Wednesday:

The Manistee National Forest and Road Commission have closed High Bridge Road in Brethren due to a washout on the banks of the Manistee River along the east end of the bridge. The North Country Trail crosses there and was also closed, forcing an 18 mile road reroute for long distance hikers.

Erosion along the North Branch Boardman River near Boardman Township was causing a 0.3 mile reroute of the North Country Trail between Williamsburg and N Broomhead Road.

A section of the North Country Trail south of Lowell along the Grand River was underwater.

Some trails at the Grass River Natural Area in Bellaire were flooded and closed, including the newly open river access trail. The Sedge Meadow Trail, currently under construction and scheduled to open later this summer, was affected as well.