On Tuesday morning, September 29, 2026, a ribbon cutting near the corner of Silver Lake Road and Jennings Road opened Phase Two of the LAFF Pathway, now called the ChoiceOne Bank Trail. The trail runs about two miles from Triangle Park in the City of Linden to the edge of Fenton. With it, downtown Linden is no longer where the LAFF Pathway ends. It is now the midpoint of a route that starts at Haviland Beach Drive in Argentine Township and finishes on Fenton's sidewalks.
Until this week, the pathway had nowhere to go east of town. LAFF's own project page described the gap plainly: there was "no safe way for pedestrians, bicyclists and walkers to move between the two cities." Phase One reached the Linden sidewalk system in 2020 and stopped there. Phase Two picks up across downtown and keeps going.
Two Phases, Two Sides of Silver Lake Road
The full route is easiest to understand as two trail segments with downtown Linden's sidewalks between them. LAFF puts the Argentine-to-Fenton trip at 5½ miles, combining trails and sidewalks.
| Segment | Starts | Ends | Length | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase One | Lobdell Road at Haviland Beach Drive, Argentine Township | Linden sidewalk system at Chestnut Way | 2 miles | October 2020 |
| Downtown Linden | Chestnut Way | Triangle Park, East Broad Street | City sidewalks | Existing |
| Phase Two, ChoiceOne Bank Trail | Triangle Park, Linden | Jennings Road, Fenton | 1.88 miles | September 2026 |
Phase One is a 10-foot-wide asphalt trail. It heads north on Lobdell Road from Haviland Beach Drive, passes through the Linden Schools campus, then turns east along the north side of Silver Lake Road into town. Phase Two runs on the south side of Silver Lake Road, along the north shore of Silver Lake, and uses wooden boardwalk sections to carry the path over low-lying ground near the water.
Published lengths for Phase Two vary a little. The City of Fenton's construction notice says 1.88 miles. Lasco Press and county materials round it to about two, and MLive reported 2.2. The city's construction figure is the most precise of the three.
Triangle Park Is Now a Trailhead
Phase Two starts where East Broad Street meets Triangle Park. Linden's parks plan, presented in a May 21, 2026 agenda packet, describes the Triangle Park trailhead with:
- an 8-foot concrete sidewalk
- picnic tables and an information kiosk
- off-street curbed parking with ADA and van-accessible signs
- bike racks
The plan doesn't give a parking-space count, and it lists the trailhead under its 2023 capital schedule as "Under Construction." Before planning a group outing around it, check that every listed amenity is actually in place. On the Argentine end, LAFF points users to a trailhead lot near the Linden Schools campus entrance off Lobdell Road and describes it as having ample parking.
Those two lots let you pick a direction. Start at Lobdell and the walk ends downtown. Start at Triangle Park and the walk ends in Fenton. Either way, downtown Linden is a stop along the route.
The Bridge Street Stretch Between the Phases
The sidewalks between Chestnut Way and Triangle Park pass close to the Bridge Street businesses that have opened over the past two years. That makes the downtown section of the route a reasonable place for a coffee stop or a turnaround.
- Evers & Ollie, 120 N. Bridge St. Opened in February 2025. The Tri-County Times' August 2025 write-up described locally roasted coffee, paninis, bagels, sandwiches, and baked goods from a local baker, plus a grab-and-go fridge with salads and protein balls. At that time the shop ran $4 lattes on Wednesdays and BOGO bagels on Sundays, so confirm before planning a Sunday loop around it. Its Evers & Collide boutique sells candles, soap, and other Michigan-made goods.
- Jack's Record Stache, 123 N. Bridge Street. The record shop moved to downtown Linden after closing its Flint location in December 2024, according to MLive.
- Houndstooth & Harlequin, 918 North Bridge Street. The city held a ribbon cutting for its opening on November 20, 2025.
Downtown has also had some public work done close to the route. The Linden DDA finished its Millpond Walkway Revitalization in 2025, with a new stamped-concrete walkway and upgraded electrical. The Linden Mill's $5.6 million rehabilitation began in October 2025. The plan puts the library on the first floor, the museum on the fourth, community space in the basement, and commercial lease space on the third. As of the city's May 2026 project update, crews were still exposing and stabilizing the building's original stone foundations. Trail users passing the Mill this fall are watching early structural work, not a finished building.
Where the Trail Meets Fenton
At Jennings Road, the ChoiceOne Bank Trail connects to the City of Fenton's existing sidewalks. LAFF says the route links to businesses in both downtowns and to businesses along Silver Lake Parkway via existing wide sidewalks. It also notes that the US-23 overpass on Silver Lake Road, inside the City of Fenton, has a sidewalk and room for a full trail.
The closest named destination on the Fenton end is Silver Lake Park at 16000 Jennings Road, off Silver Parkway. The city lists a beach, fields, nature trails, and picnic areas there. Silver Lake Park doesn't allow dogs, so anyone walking a dog from Linden should plan to turn around before going into the park.
Parking is the main open question at this end. We couldn't find a permanent public trailhead lot at Jennings Road in any published source. For the ribbon cutting, MLive told attendees to park at the Kroger lot and walk over on the sidewalk, but that was guidance for one event, not a standing trailhead arrangement. For now, the published parking options are Triangle Park and the Lobdell Road lot, both on the Linden side.
Rules of the Road So Far
LAFF hasn't published trail-specific hours, a winter maintenance plan, or a dog policy. The rules that do exist come from the City of Fenton, so they apply on the Fenton end of the route. Fenton adopted Ordinance No. 730 at its May 26, 2026 meeting. It covers bicycles, electric bicycles, scooters, mopeds, and similar devices. Among its requirements:
- Riders must not endanger or unreasonably obstruct other people.
- Riders must yield to pedestrians.
- Riders out at night need a front light and a rear reflector.
In a September 24, 2026 notice, Fenton separately said electric motorcycles may not be ridden on sidewalks, bike paths, or nonmotorized trails, and it treats them as a separate category from electric bicycles. The notice adds that they may be ridden on private property with the owner's permission and, in some cases, on designated trails where permitted. That matters on a route where the trail turns into city sidewalk at Jennings Road.
A Decade for Two Miles, and What Comes Next
The Linden-to-Fenton connection dates back to 2016. LAFF's account of the funding includes a $441,500 Genesee County TAP grant arranged in 2018, $60,000 in local government and SLPR matching grants, and $52,800 in LAFF's own matching funds. The group's projected total cost for Phase Two was $2.8 million, to be funded by federal and state grants plus local public and private donations. Z Contractors of Shelby Township started work in November 2025 and built the boardwalk along Silver Lake first, over the winter. Paving followed in spring and summer. ChoiceOne Bank, whose name is on the trail, described its role as a collaboration with LAFF.
The bigger funding picture changed this year. In June 2026, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation committed up to $25 million over five years for nonmotorized trails and sidewalks across Flint and Genesee County. At Tuesday's ribbon cutting, Mott president and CEO Ridgway White said his goal is for every Genesee County community to be connected by trails within five years. That money is countywide and not tied to any one LAFF segment.
LAFF lists two future projects. One is on Owen Road, from Linden County Park to Silver Lake Parkway. The other is on Fenton Road, from Thompson Road south to the City of Fenton. Neither has a published schedule, and LAFF doesn't call either one Phase Three. The Owen Road segment would link Linden County Park to the same Silver Lake Parkway businesses that Phase Two already reaches by sidewalk. For now, the finished route starts on Lobdell Road and ends at Jennings Road, with downtown Linden in the middle.
If the new trail has you rethinking which side of Silver Lake Road, or which part of Linden, fits the way you want to spend your weekends, Shane Adams and our team know the Linden and Fenton lake communities well. We're happy to talk through how this route connects different streets and shorelines. Contact Us.
