Three trail projects in Portage are wrapping up in the weeks before the first real snow. The bigger change for anyone who walks, runs or bikes here year-round has nothing to do with new pavement, though. Winter shrinks the usable trail network down to the parts the city built for cold weather. Under Portage's own snow rules, trails get plowed last, after every public street. The heated restrooms that stay open from late fall through early spring sit mostly along one corridor. Put those two facts together and you know where your winter miles will happen.
What's new on the ground this fall
These are the three projects, in the order they finish.
Portage Creek Bicentennial Trail, Brown Avenue to Garden Lane. The city scheduled asphalt paving on this section for Tuesday, October 6, and expected the work to take one to two days. The Garden Lane end of this stretch is the park's Celery Flats south entrance at 7335 Garden Lane.
South Westnedge Avenue, Melody Avenue to South Shore Drive. Crews are building a 10-foot-wide concrete trail along the west side of the road, along with hydrant relocation and stormwater catch basin upgrades. The city's September 28 release puts completion in November 2026, weather and materials permitting. Crocket Avenue is closed at South Westnedge for now, and local traffic is directed to Parkland Terrace. An earlier city release said the trail is being built to connect to South Westnedge Park.
Portage Road, East Milham Avenue toward Fairfield Road. Work started October 12. The first phase extends the trail from East Milham Avenue to Yellow Brick Road, and the project also covers sidewalk improvements from Winters Drive to Fairfield Road. The city's release schedules completion by Sunday, November 15, barring weather problems, and the southbound curb lane is closed while crews work.
If those dates hold, the two brand-new segments will face snow before they ever see a summer weekend.
Where trails sit in the plow order
Portage clears snow from more than 223 miles of city streets. Its snow removal program ranks every surface by how heavily it's used, and the city's snowplowing notice lays out the order:
- Major streets, including South Westnedge Avenue, Oakland Drive, Milham Avenue, Kilgore Road, Shaver Road and Lovers Lane
- Primary feeder streets into neighborhoods, and access streets to schools
- Interior neighborhood streets
- Cleanup of cul-de-sacs and dead-end streets
- Select park trails
The same notice gives the timing. Plow drivers can usually finish Priority I and II streets in 4 to 8 hours. Priority III and IV streets usually take another 24 to 48 hours, and select park trails are cleared only after the public streets are done. That notice is from January 2024, so treat it as a guide to how the system works, not a promise for this season. Even so, the order sets realistic expectations. After a heavy overnight snow, your own cul-de-sac is ahead of the trail in the queue, and the trail could still be buried a day or two after your street is clear.
The notice says "select" park trails, so plowing doesn't cover the whole network. The city's 2025 bikeway and trailway map marks segments as "Plowed Recreational Trail," plain "Recreational Trail" or "Bikeway Lane," and flags the heated restroom locations. It's worth saving on your phone before the first storm, since the color coding shows which segments are actually on the plow route.
The heated restrooms trace one corridor
Plowing tells you when a trail might open up after a storm. Restrooms decide how long you can comfortably stay out. The city's Parks & Recreation FAQ lists six heated restrooms for late fall, winter and early spring:
| Heated restroom | Address | On the Bicentennial corridor? |
|---|---|---|
| Portage Creek Bicentennial Park North Trailhead | 424 East Kilgore Road | Yes, north end |
| Bicentennial Trail, Milham Entrance | 910 East Milham Avenue | Yes, main entrance |
| Celery Flats Pavilion | 7335 Garden Lane | Yes, south entrance |
| Eliason Nature Reserve | 1614 Osterhout Avenue | No |
| Lexington Green Park | 4750 Pittsford Street | No |
| Schrier Park | 850 West Osterhout Avenue | No |
Half the list sits on a single linear park. Portage Creek Bicentennial Park runs from the City Centre area north to the Kilgore Road city limit, with a 3.5-mile multi-use trail and more than 8 miles of hiking and biking trails in total. Its three parking areas are the Lovers Lane Trailhead at 424 E. Kilgore Road, the main entrance at 910 E. Milham Avenue and the Celery Flats south entrance at 7335 Garden Lane, and those are the same three spots that keep a heated restroom open in winter.
Practically, that makes the Bicentennial trail the one Portage route where you can park at either end or in the middle and always be near a warm building. The Brown Avenue to Garden Lane section the city scheduled for repaving in early October is on this corridor, and it ends at the Celery Flats pavilion, the southernmost of the three heated stops.
The other three heated restrooms serve a different kind of outing. Eliason Nature Reserve and Schrier Park are both on Osterhout Avenue in south Portage, and Lexington Green Park is on Pittsford Street. They work better as places to start a shorter winter walk than as stops along a long route.
Where the new segments fit in winter
The Westnedge and Portage Road pieces add miles that weren't there last winter. South Westnedge Park and the Portage Road corridor south of Milham aren't on the heated restroom list, though. The city hasn't said whether either new segment will join the plowed routes. The plowed-trail map linked above is the place to watch.
So this winter, the new segments are probably best for quick trips on clear days. They're useful for a walk to South Westnedge Park or a short loop off Portage Road. Longer cold-weather miles will still gravitate to the Bicentennial corridor. The north end of the Portage Road extension starts at East Milham Avenue, the same road as the Bicentennial park's main entrance at 910 E. Milham. Planning a route around Milham keeps a heated restroom within reach on either kind of outing.
When the trail is buried, the rink is refrigerated
For the day or two after a big storm, before trails come up in the plow order, Portage has a cold-weather option that doesn't rely on plows. The Ice Rink at Millennium Park, 280 Romence Road, is a large outdoor refrigerated rink with skate rental, sharpening, concessions, restrooms and lockers. The city's facility page lists these rates:
- Admission: $5
- Skate rental: $3
- Skate sharpening: $5, as staffing allows
- Skate card: $25, expires February 28, 2027, with each punch good for admission, rental or sharpening
Hot cocoa, cappuccino, soda and snacks are sold on site. Buckle-on skate attachments for shoes are available for children who can walk. For a sense of timing, last season the rink opened Friday, December 12, 2025, weather permitting. For current rink information, the city's number is (269) 324-9200.
Two dates that bring the season to Celery Flats
The Celery Flats pavilion is a winter landmark in its own right, and the city's holiday calendar centers there.
The first date is close. Portage Parks & Recreation's Parks Holiday Contest invites K–12 students to write a paragraph about their favorite Portage park, and entries are due at the Parks & Recreation office, 320 Library Lane, by Monday, November 2. Three winners will read their entries and join the mayor at the tree lighting. For a student who walks the Bicentennial trail every week, the subject is already picked.
The second is the Tree Lighting & Traditional Holiday Celebration at Celery Flats on Saturday, December 5, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Photo sessions with Santa and Mrs. Claus follow on December 11, 12 and 13 at the Celery Flats Amphitheatre and Hayloft Theatre. If you're heading to the tree lighting on foot, the Brown Avenue to Garden Lane section of the Bicentennial trail ends at the same Garden Lane entrance.
For coffee before or after, Water Street Coffee has a Portage café at 245 W. Centre Ave. Its posted hours are 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
How close a home sits to the Bicentennial corridor makes more of a difference in January than in June. If you're thinking about a move within Portage and want to know which streets connect easily to the trail and its heated stops, the team at Sold By Group can walk you through it. Schedule your free home consultation.
