![]() PS: Please, don't steal the blueberries ~ as tempting as they are. You can also visit the Friends of the Kal-Haven Trail on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or at our website, or directly by email to and we'll be more than happy to help you out. If you have any questions or concerns about the VBT you can call the State Park office at (269) 637-2788. Really, don't miss the VBT because of some 'bad' reviews! It's a wonderful excursion on any day if you're prepared for its rough and ready nature. But if you've got fat tires or you're on foot or horseback or a sled do not miss a visit to this little-used and under-appreciated wander through the rural Michigan countryside. but, those things are years in the future (unless you've got $15 million laying around you'd like to donate?) In the meantime, don't let the 'bad' reviews fool you for, as noted, the trail is an undeveloped asset today. A Heritage Trail program that is not unlike the award winning project on the Kal-Haven Trail. Future plans call for a complete resurfacing that can handle pedestrians, bicycles, horses and snowmobiles. And there's more! But you do need to look. As the trail crosses the Paw Paw river you're passing through Pokegon Tribal lands and along the way the remnants of Michigan's past peak through the brush and extensive wetlands that make the trail both a challenge and an adventure. But man, once you get below Covert, the area opens up to thousands of acres of blueberry farms, horse and cattle farms and cranberry bogs. as you leave the paved section at 16th Avenue south of South Haven and continue down what looks like a powerline ROW, the VBT is rought and rocky, muddy and ditched and yeah, it's a mess. Engineering has been done to that effect and a development project is in the works but still years away. One of the biggest problems people encounter on the VBT is that they're not prepared for riding on what's essentially an undeveloped railroad bed and may believe that since it's a state park it has been developed. Hello all, I'm the director of the Friends of the Kal-Haven Trail and we oversee the Van Buren Trail. The trail is 0.1 mile to the west on Lovejoy Avenue on the south side of the street. Go west on Aylworth Avenue to Kalamazoo Street and then south on Kalamazoo to Lovejoy Avenue. To start in South Haven, take Lagrange Street to Aylworth Avenue (next to South Haven High School, across from McDonald's). The trailhead has a grass-covered parking lot with portable toilets. Take a left onto Prospect Street and proceed for 2 blocks. Head north 2 blocks past the first stoplight. To start in Hartford, from Interstate 94, take the Hartford Exit. It offers a paved, off-road route to the 400-acre Van Buren State Park, where you will find more trails and access to the Lake Michigan shoreline.įuture plans call for a trailhead at the South Haven end of the trail and for a connection to the Kal-Haven Trail. ![]() At 16th Avenue, just south of South Haven, you will see a connection to the Van Buren Trail Spur, which opened in November 2015. This part of Michigan is noted for its wine and fruit. The last 8 miles from Covert the trail passes through woods, open fields and commercial fields of blueberries (growing on treelike bushes) and grapes. ![]() You have to navigate rural State Route M-140 at this point, with no real busy traffic. A convenience store in town has the only refreshments and restroom facilities on this rural trail. The scent of pine lingers as you emerge from the woodlands and enter fields of blueberry bushes and vineyards.Īt mile 8 the small town of Covert is located one block south of the trail. Cruising northwest to South Haven you pass beneath tall pines, maples and various hardwood trees. ![]() Heading north from the grass-covered parking lot in Hartford, which has portable toilets, you glide quietly over bridge spanning the Paw Paw River. The combined result is a trail suited to hearty mountain bikers, birders and naturalists. While you might see deer, rabbit, fox and eagles, this is an undeveloped trail that has rough ballast stones, long sections of sand and grassy two-track. ![]() Wildlife abounds on this rural 14 miles between Hartford and South Haven. Head for Van Buren Trail State Park and take a walk (or ride) on the wild side. ![]()
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