What exactly happens to old landfills? If you're in the Southwest Michigan community of Riverside, you choose what might be its best use - turn it into a kayak launch.

Set to open later this year, the Riverside Kayak Park will transform a former landfill into a launching point for the Paw Paw River. Located between Benton Harbor and Coloma in Berrien County, the Kayak Park will be easy to find off I-196 at Exit 4.

The Herald-Palladium reports,

Developing the site into a park was part of the township’s larger park plan that was developed in 2016.

“This kayak launch will be a destination for paddlers from the Watervliet-Coloma area and should provide an increase in tourism and revenue for the area Hagar Township merchants,” [township supervisor Izzy] DiMaggio said.

The upper level will include a picnic pavilion, picnic tables, grills, vault restrooms, asphalt paved ingress and egress off Coloma Road with lockable gates, paved parking and overhead lighting.

The lower level will feature an asphalt paved driveway, with a lockable gate at the top, which will lead down to a driveway loop with parking. The park will feature an 85-foot elevated boardwalk over the wetland, leading to floating dock and floating kayak launch on the Paw Paw River, with overhead security lighting.

Before you go, take a virtual trip on the Paw Paw River. This video shows a vantage point a little further east from Riverside with a put-in point at Watervliet. The Paw Paw meanders 68 miles between Benton Harbor and Paw Paw and is one of Michigan's Water Trails.

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