 The path was built using funds from the Michigan Department of Transportation Alternative Program, and it was designed as part of a collection of bike trails to connect the Lake Michigan shoreline with Grand Rapids and across the Grand River.The trail was dedicated on October 17, 2015, as the "Sgt.Henry E. Plant Memorial Grand River Bridge Non-Motorized Pathway", named for Ottawa County's first Medal of Honor recipient, Henry E. Plant, a veteran of the American Civil War.