Van Buren Trail State Park, also known as Trail State Park, is an unimproved

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

running along a former

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

right-of-way between

Hartford, Michigan Hartford is a city in Van Buren County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,688 at the 2010 census. The city is located within Hartford Township, but is politically independent. Geography According to the United States Census Bur ...

South Haven, Michigan South Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city is in Van Buren County, although a small portion extends into Allegan County. The population was 4,403 at the 2010 census. Because of its position on Lake Michigan, at the ...

in Van Buren County. It is long and is used by hikers, mountain bikers and horse trail riders in the summer and snowmobilers in the winter. Terrain is flat with farmland and trees. In 2004, Van Buren County took over operation of the state-owned trail after state budget problems. There was a trail pass system to pay for maintenance but that was resolved years ago and the trail is now free for Michigan residents with a Parks Passport. In 2015, The Michigan Department of Natural Resources paved the 4.5-mile stretch which connects Van Buren State Park to the South Haven Trail system The pavement is a 10-foot-wide asphalt surface. South Haven maintains the marked route that connects to a downtown trailhead, city businesses, beaches and Kal-Haven Trail State Park."Paved Van Buren trail extends from South Haven to Van Buren State Park, MLive, Rosemary Parker, Nov 6 2015"
/ref> In the fall of 2022 the Friends of the Kal-Haven Park installed directional and mile posts along the trail to better direct guests traveling from Hartford to South Haven via Covert. Its northern terminus is South Haven near

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. The

Kal-Haven Trail The Kal-Haven Trail, formally known as the Kal-Haven Trail Sesquicentennial State Park, is a rail trail in the USA that originally ran between South Haven, Michigan, to a point just west of the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan, where there is a trai ...

starts in South Haven northeast of downtown. The trail pass is valid for both trails.

References

External links

Van Buren Trail State Park

Michigan Department of Natural Resources The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor a ...

Kal-Haven Trail State Park
Michigan DNR
Van Buren Trail
Van Buren County Community Center
Van Buren Trail State Park

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) is an American nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works with communities to preserve unused rail corridors by transforming them into rail trails within the United States. RTC's purpose is to c ...

(Free registration required to view map) {{authority control Rail trails in Michigan State parks of Michigan Protected areas of Van Buren County, Michigan Protected areas established in 1994 1994 establishments in Michigan