Kal-Haven Trail
The Kal-Haven Trail, formally known as the Kal-Haven Trail Sesquicentennial State Park, is a rail trail that originally ran 33.5 miles between South Haven, Michigan, to a point just west of the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan, where there is a trailhead. In 2008 the trail was extended east from the trailhead to downtown Kalamazoo as part of the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail.
Description
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Pure Michigan designated the Kal-Haven trail as one of the "Pure Michigan" trails because it "provide access to high quality scenic views.The Kal-Haven trail is a former railroad bed that ahs been converted to trail using Limestone/slag surface.
Location
Most of the trail is in Van Buren County and that county operates it between the trailhead and South Haven, including the parts within Kalamazoo County. The Van Buren-controlled portion previously required a trail pass, but as of 2011, the usage fee was dropped.The Kal-Haven Trail runs along the former route of the Kalamazoo and South Haven Railroad, as does a section of the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail. It traverses wooded areas, farmland and small towns. It is primarily used by hikers and bicyclists in the summer, and by snowmobilers in the winter. The trail is surfaced with crushed limestone. Horseback riding is allowed on an 11-mile section adjacent to the trail. The starting point for riding is at 67th street and Baseline road.
Currently, the trail passes through the following locations, from east to west:
History
In 1870 the Kalamazoo-South Haven Railroad operated by the Penn Central railroad was built to transport mostly lumber. The railroad operated between Kalamazoo and South Haven for just over 100 years spanning from 1870-1973 when the line was abandoned.The Kal-Haven Trail State Park was slated to be dedicated October of 1976, the trail was to run along the abandoned Penn Central Railroad route from Kalamazoo to South Haven. The 1976 opening dedication was not to happen. The trail was to be pilot project, that was modeled of other trails that had been done in Wisconsin and Illinois.
The first proposal for the Kal-Haven trail was not welcomed by all local government officials. A supervisor of Alamo township claimed to have a "bad premonition" of the proposed project. One of the main concern is the responsibility for patrolling and controlling the trail to respect the private property owners rights boarding the small 100 foot wide park. A public meeting was held in August of 1976 to discuss the pros and cons of the proposed park, issues to be discussed where concerns over possible problems like law enforcement, litter, and trespassing onto private property. After a public meeting the public reaction was reported to be about 50-50 with most objection coming from land owners that owned land near by.
After years of dangling the trail before the citizens of between South Haven and Kalamazoo the Kal-Haven Trail Association was formed and scheduled public meeting. The hope of the Kal-Haven was labled 'Dormant Monster' in 1984 with the trail being called ill-conceived plan that would included "such evils as rampant theft, vandalism, littering and drug and alcohol abuse." However, these views were in the minority at the time and a poll taken at the time found that 80% of people taken the poll to be in support but the vocal minority had disproportionate influence in opposition. In what looked to be another nail in the coffin of the proposed Kal-Haven trail was Bloomingdale Township voted against the trail in 1984.
The Kal-Haven Trail Association was meet with opposition by the Property Owners United group a Citizens group that was against the trails creation in November of 1984 a public meeting was held that had over 100 people attending to discus the trail. At the meeting one local resident expressed concerns that they had already experienced an invasion of privacy by people already using the abandoned rail line. Pine Grove Township passed a resolution against the trail stating " state has made no declaration or commitments to assure safety and tranquility of property owners, and has made no assurances for safety and welfare of users of the park."
Columbia Township board voted in November of 1984 opposing the proposed trail.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources worked with the Michigan Department of Transportation on the development of the trail. To build the trail MDOT had to acquire the abandoned rail bed which was 498 acres of land spread over 200 different parcels of real estate. The park was build as the first "linear park" in Michigan. To acquire the land from Penn Central would take approval from the Federal Bankruptcy court because in 1970 the company went into bankruptcy and eight years later the court was still dealing with liquidating Penn Central's assets including real estate holding which included the Kal-Haven Rail bed. In 1987, Natural Resource Commission voted to buy the 36 1/2 miles from the Penn Central Corp for $428,750 with the Penn Central Board of Directors giving an unofficial approval.
The group Property Owners United in November of 1987 wrote a letter to the editor of the The Herald-Palladium laying out 11 areas of concern. invasion of privacy, wasteful use of tax money for the benefit of a few, crime on the trail cost would be "astronomical" incompatibility of the proposals, lost of tax money being paid by Penn Central for property tax, declining property value, alleged violation of the Public Act No. 116 of 1974 of preserving farm land.
On January 13th 1988. a ceremony was held at the Bloomingdale Depot Museum where the State of Michigan hand a check for $428,750 to a representative of Penn Central Corp. The site was chosen as it was the midway point in the trail, and the Friend of the Kal-Haven Trail presented a golden spike symbolizing the completion of the sale to the DNR chief administrative officer.
The DNR added four additional parcels of land to totaling 35 more acres to the trail, all of the parcels were tax revered land in Van Buren County.
Bridge Ownership Dispute
In 1987 a historic "humpback" wooden bridge in Pine grove township was slated to be taken down and removed from County Road 653. When local residents stated a protest after the control was awarded to demolition the bridge. The cost to replace the bridge was going to be only $40,000 but the cost to repair would have been $100,000. The historic humpback bridge was built in the 1800's which was built to have CR-653 cross the Penn Central Rail line. The bridge was closed because the deck was unsafe to carry traffic. 425 citizens signed a petition asking that the bridge be spared. The county was going to pay $1,500 to have the bridge demolished, but voted to pay an additional $4,500 to have the bridge disassembled. A group was formed called Save the Bridge Fund.During the building of the Kal-Haven trail the DNR contacted that Van Buren County Road Commission to ask about the bridge and hearing no objection started to almost completely reconstruct the old bridge for use on the trail. The group Pine Grove Association was asked if they had any objection to relocating the bridge no hearing back the DNR began reconstruction in September. It was determined after the group asked the DNR to stop work that the association and not the county owned the bridge. The association had objection to the bridge begin moved out of Pine Grove. One main objection the group had was DNR's plan to change the bridge of a width of 22 feet down to just 14 feet. The County Road commission took the stance that the rights to the timer were award to the contract who took the bridge apart. They contact then sold the bridge to the association. For a short period of time the partially rebuilt bridge was known as the bridge to now where while the dispute was ongoing.
Opening of the Kal-Haven Trail
The trail was projected to open in May, but the opining was delayed because a group of property owners sought a court injunction to stop the opening of the trail. On May 3, 1989 the group file their lawsuit against the DNR. During settlement talks between the DNR and property owners fencing was agreed to and delay of the grand opening till labor day the injunction was lifted for the trailer to open August 15, 1989. The project that was suppose to be open in 1976 and had spent years being debated was opened in 1989 without any fanfare of ceremony. This opening marks the first linear park opening in the state of Michigan.Funding
The cost to acquire all the land in 1976 was estimated at $300,000 and to build the original 8-foot-wide asphalt pathway was an estimated $1,330,00. The Federal Government agreed to pay half the cost of the Kal-Haven trail via grant for $1,012,500 with matching funds provided by the state of Michigan.In 1981, Michigan State Senator Edgar Fredricks proposed a bill earmarking $8.2 million for the trail, the money earmarked came from a $22 million paid to the state from Penn Central as back taxes owed. However, because of state budget problem the money proposed from this fund was moved to the states general fund and many people assumed the trail was done for.
The cost for the acquiring the land and developing it in 1984 was estimated to cost $2.7 million with about $30,000 needed annually to operate and maintain the trail for public use. The Michigan Land Trust Board was created from oil and gas lease revenues from wells on state lands and only used to buy lands which are environmentally sensitive or provided "significant" recreational opportunities. In January of 1985 the Michigan Land Trust Board passed the trail proposal. The cost of the land was not up to $700,000 with a total project cost estimated to cost $1.15 million. The Michigan Land Trust Board received about 1,000 post card sent from the group Property Owners United.
A $100,000 grant was approved by Gov. James Blanchard to employ 27 Michigan Youth Corps workers to clearing the 36 1/2 miles of abandoned right-of-way.
A $250,000 grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund was awarded for grading and surfacing work on the trail.
The trail is owned by the state of Michigan but, due to state budget cutbacks, in 2004 operation was taken over by Van Buren County, including the portion in Kalamazoo County. A trail pass system was re-instituted to pay for trail maintenance, but was dropped again in 2011.
For the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail, in November 2004 the State of Michigan completed a tunnel underneath the U.S. Highway 131 freeway, which was the major impediment to extending the trail to downtown Kalamazoo. The city of Kalamazoo approved a $1 million project to extend the trail southeast under U.S. 131 along Ravine Road to Westnedge Avenue in downtown Kalamazoo. Most of the extension was built along the former roadbed of the Kalamazoo and South Haven Railroad.
Amenities
There are two primitive campgrounds that can be used at an additional cost. One, near Gobles, has water and a toilet. The other near South Haven has a toilet but no water.Van Buren County offered a shuttle service through from South Haven to Kalamazoo and can accommodate up to four bikes and their riders. As of 8/14/2015 this service was no longer offered.
The Kalamazoo Trail Head to South Haven Trail Head contain major deer fly populations. You pass through small towns, one notably is Gobles, Michigan. Throughout this trail are many cautionary signs, such as Stop Sign and stop ahead.
Several miles south of the western terminus is another trail—the Van Buren Trail State Park. This is also an old railroad bed, ending in Hartford, Michigan. The trail is unimproved and the largest group of users are snowmobilers and horse and buggy riders. This is also operated by Van Buren County. The trail pass is valid for both.
Waypoints
s for the Kal-Haven Trail.↑ in the Distance column points to the other waypoint that the distance is between.
| Location | Services | Distance | Coordinates |
| South Haven, Michigan | Parking | ||
| Waypoint 2 | Drinking Fountain, Parking, Restroom | ↑ | |
| Grand Junction, Michigan | Drinking Fountain, Parking, Restroom | ↑ | |
| Bloomingdale, Michigan | Drinking Fountain, Parking, Restroom | ↑ | |
| Waypoint 5 | Restroom | ↑ | |
| Waypoint 6 | Drinking Fountain, Restroom | ↑ | |
| Kendall, Michigan | Restroom | ↑ | |
| Waypoint 8 | Drinking Fountain, Restroom | ↑ | |
| Waypoint 9 | Drinking Fountain, Restroom | ↑ | |
| Kalamazoo, Michigan | Drinking Fountain, Parking, Restroom | ↑ |