The highway then turns eastward to Belding, and it ends six miles (10 km) north of Ionia at M-66.

M-44 is known in Grand Rapids as the "East Beltline" and intersects with its related highway, Connector M-44, in Plainfield Township.

M-44 and M-37 run together on East Beltline Avenue north from this intersection, which is also the location of the Woodland Mall in Kentwood.

[6] North of the interchange, M-44 passes the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park and the campus of Cornerstone University.

East of here, the environs transition to rural farmland and the highway crosses the Kent–Ionia county line between Grattan and Cooks Corners, where it meets M-91 west of Belding.

The highway continues east through town, where it crosses the Flat River, and ends at M-66 north of Ionia.

[7][8] M-44 was extended concurrently along US 131 to end at the intersection of the East Beltline and 28th Street near Grand Rapids.

North of 5 Mile Road, Plainfield Avenue takes on a more suburban residential character.