Ada's Holiday Lights Are Planned to Cross the Thornapple This Year

Last December, Ada's Winter Wonderland Walking Trail ran village-wide from Dec. 1 through Jan. 31. The Festival of Trees filled Legacy Park for the month. No bridge carried walkers over the Thornapple River at the west end of that park. Ada Township broke ground on the $2.5 million pedestrian bridge in January 2026, FOX 17 reported, and the township now lists it as open to the public.

This season, the bridge is planned to become the middle of the display. The 2026 Winter Wonderland plan, which went to the Downtown Development Authority board on Oct. 19, treats the lights as one walk. It starts at the Covered Bridge, crosses the river on the new bridge and passes through a lit gateway into the Festival of Trees. It also runs from Dec. 1, 2026, through Jan. 31, 2027. Under this plan, the holiday season becomes an evening walk you can take any night for two months. Tree-lighting night is the start of it.

The Bridge Had to Be Wired First

The Thornapple River Pedestrian Bridge is two 50-foot sections joined by a 170-foot centerpiece. Ada Township places it at the west end of Legacy Park. That park sits between the river and downtown Ada's shopping and dining district. From the deck you can see both Legacy Park and Covered Bridge Park, according to FOX 17.

The bridge was built without electrical power. In his memo to the DDA board, DDA Director Kevin Austin wrote that this made it "a unique challenge." Staff talked with two firms about whether the bridge could be lit at all. They recommended Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, a Grand Rapids company whose owners live in Ada. Its $5,684 quote covers eight strands of warm white lights along the full length of the walkway and the electrical work needed to power them.

The memo states two purposes for that line item. One is to carry the holiday walk past the Covered Bridge. The other is to make the bridge easier to see at night. The plan's overview says the additions are meant to "improve pedestrian lighting" and tie the Covered Bridge, the Pedestrian Bridge and downtown businesses into one connected scene. The holiday budget is paying for something the walkway will need on every dark evening this winter.

The Walk, in the Order the Plan Lays It Out

The DDA's October board packet describes each piece of the 2026 display. In walking order:

1. The Covered Bridge. Outdoor Lighting Perspectives' design lights the peak and the side facing Thornapple River Drive. Inside, it adds a lit X pattern on the ceiling, twinkling zigzag lights on the walls and a twinkling handrail wrap. Lighted wreaths are planned for both entrances.
2. The Heritage Oak near the Covered Bridge. A separate proposal in the Oct. 26 Township Board packet would hang lit star clusters in the branches and uplight the trunk. The quote covers this year only, and the proposal ties the tree to Ada's celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary.
3. Covered Bridge Park South. Garland-wrapped light posts continue into the south side of the park for the first time.
4. The Thornapple River Pedestrian Bridge. Eight strands of warm white light run its full length.
5. The gateway. Where the bridge ends and walkers enter downtown, three warm white LED rings from DeVries Christmas Decor form a walkthrough tunnel. Each ring is about 9.9 feet high and 11.5 feet wide.
6. Legacy Park and the Festival of Trees. Fifty sustainable trees line the pathway, each decorated by a local business, organization or community group. A 20-foot lit tree stands in the park.
7. Ada Drive. The plan calls for 26 wrapped trees between Headley Street and Fulton and 14 more between Bronson and Thornapple River Drive. Altogether, 158 garland-wrapped light posts are planned across the village.

The rings are leased for three years. After that, the township keeps the fixtures unless the lease is renewed. The Parks Department pays $1,500 a year toward the lease. The rings can stand together as one gateway or spread out along the route. The arrangement may change from year to year.

Where the New Money Goes

The cost figures show which parts of the walk are new. The downtown display by Surface Renew, the DDA's longtime lighting partner, keeps last year's general scope. Its quote went from $26,120.75 to $28,143.90, and most of that increase pays for the new garland in Covered Bridge Park South. The Covered Bridge display rose more, from $7,909 in 2025 to an adjusted $10,793, because of the new zigzag lighting on the interior walls.

The added money goes to the places you walk through: the inside of the Covered Bridge, the new bridge deck and the gateway. Village light posts and street trees cost about the same as last year. The DDA budgeted $40,000 for the 2026 display, and the proposed vendor costs total $49,333.90. After the Parks Department's share, staff recommended $46,578.75 in net DDA spending. In the same memo, Austin wrote that several other gateway designs were either too expensive or could not arrive in time for this season.

Why the Lights Stay Up Through January

The Festival of Trees ends Dec. 31. Winter Wonderland runs another month. The DDA's plans for January show why. Its September minutes describe a new event, Soups on Ada. Downtown restaurants would compete with to-go soups, starting in January, to bring in visitors and keep people walking downtown through the winter.

The lit route and the soup competition aim at the same goal from different directions. One gives people a reason to walk downtown after dark in January, and the other gives them something to buy while they are there. The DDA's October planning summary favors "event quality over quantity" and names placemaking as the area where the authority can make "significant impact quickly."

The Calendar Around the Walk

The lights set the season's backdrop. These dated events fall around them:

The Festival of Trees has been growing. FOX 17 counted 45 decorated trees in Legacy Park in December 2024. Both FOX 17 and WOOD TV8 reported 50 in 2025. The Ada Business Association lists 50 again for 2026. In past years the festival was something you visited inside Legacy Park. This year the gateway rings at the end of the bridge make it the last stop on the route.

Dec. 4 and 5 Bring the Biggest Crowds

Tinsel, Treats & Trolleys is the Ada Business Association's signature holiday event. The bridge lighting is at 5:15 p.m., and trolley rides through the village and Santa's arrival at Santa's Village begin at 5:30 p.m. The evening also includes a Candy Cane Forest, a DJ dance party, live reindeer at the Ada History Center and sled dogs at the library. The ABA says an event map and program will come out closer to the date. The DDA is the $10,000 title sponsor this year and is also planning a Heritage Tree acknowledgment for the evening.

The next morning, the Ada Fire Department's annual Santa Parade starts at 10 a.m. The route the township submitted to the Kent County Road Commission follows River Street to Headley Street, turns left on Ada Drive and right on Thornapple River Drive, then continues to the Ada Fire Station just south of East Fulton Street on Bronson Street. The parade ends at the station, where children can meet Santa. Expect those streets to close for about 40 minutes.

On a quieter evening, the walk takes longer than it did last year. The route now crosses the river and comes back. The DDA director is updating the downtown parking map to add the new Covered Bridge Park. Check that map before choosing which end of the route to park at.

Families with dancers have one more December date. The Grand Rapids Ballet School now runs an Ada campus at 495 Pettis Ave. SE, with youth classes starting at age 3. The company performs The Nutcracker at DeVos Performance Hall on Dec. 11 to 13 and 18 to 20.

Presentation is my whole approach to selling a home, so I notice when a town lights its streets this carefully. If you live near Ada Village and are thinking about listing this winter, the walk is a good time for us to talk about how your home will show after dark. Reach out to Kate Houseman to schedule a free consultation.