kal haven trail

Staciecr

The price was a bit high, but if you are going to use the trail.....it goes a long way for the up keep of it. Nice views. Very courteous people who use it. Well worth the time and money!

761rickh

This is a "rails-to-trails" conversion. The surface is hard packed (though not paved). It is 34 miles long, connecting South Haven with Kalamazoo. The trail is mainly wooded, but also passes by farms and travels though several small towns. We usually ride part way, stop for breakfast in Gobles, and then finish. It is not crowded except during "events" which really destroy your enjoyment: crowds and inexperienced rides who are all over the trail. Avoid the trail during events, and you'll fall in love with it. We have!

rgkuhl

We were planning on biking the trail from South Haven to Kalamazoo, but the colder weather changed our minds - so we chose to hike 12 miles instead. It was a nice walk. Looking forward to coming back in the spring to cycle the whole distance and back again.

NeillB196

This is a gravel trail, but it is packed with no large stones. I used a hybrid bike with no trouble. This is an old railroad bed so the grades are under 2%-nothing too dificult. Several places to stop along the way. Several places to get free water from hand pumps.Total distance from Kalamazoo to South Haven is 32 miles.

KentBH

My wife and I are avid outdoors people - we hike, bike, photograph, boat/kayak, and I fish. We generally plan our get-aways to include trails and in the central Midwest primarily bike trails (rails-to-trails). That's how we came to do the Kal-Haven and it was well worth the trip. It's not a challenging trail - elevation wise or steerage wise - it is simply a nice, well maintained, low impact trail through some beautiful woodland and farmland countryside. We only did ten miles out from South Haven and back (20 miles RT), but we do plan to go back to segment it further. There are numerous photo-shoot opportunities along the way and the much photographed covered bridge is only one such opportunity.We did the trail on a morning that started out at about 48 degrees. Much of the trail is shaded so if you go in the Fall, make sure your gear includes sufficient cool weather clothing. Also, becaause we did the trail after Labor Day and on a weekday, we nearly had it to ourselves. Weekend traffic could be pretty heavy, particularly during "leaf peeper" season.

802dawnc

I bike this trail each time I stay in South Haven. The trail takes you over a covered bridge, through the trees, past farms, residential areas and through little towns. The trail is not paved, although compact and easy to navigate, with a few sandy spots. On a windy day it can be quite challenging but the majority of the trail heading from South Haven is protected by the trees. Gorgeous in the fall!!

parfectgolf

Went from kalamzoo to south haven on the 13th and south haven to kalamazoo on the 14th of september 2014 . This is a nice trail. Well maintained crushed limestone. 33 miles each way. a Lot of places to stop and rest. Several bathrooms located throughout the trail. 80% shaded so its a little cold in the fall. Mile markers along the route. scenery was nice but nothing spectacular. Hey we didnt have to deal with cars except at cross streets so I am happy!If you turn south on 70 1/2 road and then right on Phoenex rd there is a holiday inn on the north side of the road if you do the trail in two days like we did. A few cities to stop and grab food or snacks.

316KathleenF

I was only walking on the South Haven portions of the trail. You can tell a lot of money was put into this trail with the boardwalks, pavillions, benches every 100 feel or so, but there are several areas that were cordoned off due to erosion. There are no lane markers to keep bikers and hikers away from each other or signage to instruct hikers to keep right to allow bikers to pass. This makes those areas of erosion even more unsafe. It's come a long way, but it still needs attention to ensure safety.

CathyE260

We did the complete trail from Kalamazoo to south haven. The trail drops 310 feet between the 2 cities. So start at Kalamazoo. It is about 34 miles. We averaged about 10 mph. The trail between Kalamazoo and Bloomingdale was just improved the trail condition after that is ok. There are no great cities along the way. Most everything is closed on Sunday. Best stop is south haven. Bring your own food and water you won't find much along the way. Lots of outhouses and well water stops along the way. The scenery is very consistent. Lots of shade. The bike shop in south haven rock and ride did offer to pick us up. South Haven is bike friendly and a great city.

OhioGhh

We arrived in South Haven right after a huge damaging storm. Two days later we rode the Kal Haven Trail and we were pleased by how quickly they cleaned up the numerous trees that had blocked the trail. The day between the storm and our ride was warm and sunny so the trail had dried out. On a previous trip we rode shortly after rain and found the surface to be tough to ride. This is a rural ride with lots of nice shade. Latrines and pumped water are available but don't count on food! We found a spot in Grand Junction but it closes at 2:00 and there were no restaurants in Bloomingdale. Knowing another storm was coming, we had not planned to go any further but anticipated grabbing lunch along the way. You can't miss the grocery store in Bloomingdale and they do have sandwiches in the deli area but I would suggest packing a nice lunch. I love a destination ride so the lack of restaurants is the only thing that keeps me from giving this attraction 5 stars. The trail itself gets very high marks! We are from Ohio, and like the folks from Wisconsin, it was very similar to some of our wonderful trails...but I wasn't expecting palm trees!

BradW332

We really enjoyed the trail. We rode from South Haven towards Kalamazoo. While not paved, except at the trailhead, it is very compact and flat so your hybrid will do well on the surface. Lots of trees so it was a very shady ride. We only did 11 miles and want to go back to complete the trail.

927JamesB927

We began our visit to South Haven by riding 8 miles on the Kal-Haven trail. The trailhead was packed with a riding event. Still we found a parking spot and didn't feel crowded on the trail. It's one of the prettiest rails to trails I've been on, running alongside the Black River and through thick canopy of hardwood forest. It was a sunny day but very shady and pleasant on the trail. We also stopped for a bit to walk along the riverside boardwalk. It was great to see so many out on the trail, serious cyclists, families, older couples, joggers, dog walkers. Great to see Michigan's wonderful trails in use. Can't wait to ride this one again.

jagoodbar

We drove to the parking area and began our hike on the Kal Haven Trail. The walk started off following the Black River and was very scenic. We walked a total of two miles before we turned around and walked back. This is a trail for walkers, joggers and bicyclists. If we return to South Haven, we will take this trail again.

884DavidP

We do a lot of bike riding in Wisconsin, we were hoping this would be different. It looked like I never left Wisconsin. The covered bridge was neat and the blueberry fields, but, that was the extent of the different scenes.

Jeannelb

We rode 10 miles out from S. Haven and back. It is a very flat, straight trail (rail trail), so not too exciting. The covered bridge was nice. The canopy provides shade most of the way.