Кала-Хавен жолы: Каламазу мен Саут-Хейвен арасындағы табиғат жолы

33.5 mile park trail between Kalamazoo, Michigan to South Haven, Michigan

The Kal Haven Trail, formally known as the Kal Haven Trail Sesquicentennial State Park, is a rail trail in the US that originally ran 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.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Pure Michigan designated the Kal Haven trail as one of the "Pure Michigan" trails because it "provide[s] access to high quality scenic views. The Kal Haven trail is a former railroad bed that has been converted to trail using Limestone/slag surface.

In 1870 the Kalamazoo South Haven 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. One of the main concerns is the responsibility for patrolling and controlling the trail to respect the private property owners rights bordering the small 100 foot wide park. After a public meeting, the public reaction was reported to be about 50–50 with most objections coming from land owners that owned land nearby. After years of dangling the trail before the citizens of between South Haven and Kalamazoo, the Kal Haven Trail Association was formed and a public meeting was scheduled. The hope of the Kal Haven was labeled 'Dormant Monster' in 1984 with the trail being called an ill conceived plan that would have 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 were 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, Bloomingdale Township voted against the trail in 1984. The Kal Haven Trail Association was met with opposition by Property Owners United, a Citizens group that was against the trails creation. In November 1984, a public meeting was held that had over 100 people attending to discuss 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. The Columbia Township board voted in November 1984 opposing the proposed trail. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) worked with the Michigan Department of Transportation (M DOT) on the development of the trail. 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 holdings which included the Kal Haven Rail bed. In 1987, the 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. In November 1987, Property Owners United wrote a letter to the editor of 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 (thievery, vandalism, illicit sex, drug use, etc. ), cost would be "astronomical", incompatibility of the proposals (how can hikers, bikers, horses, and snowmobiles all use the same path), loss of tax money being paid by Penn Central for property tax, declining property value, and alleged violation of the Public Act No. 116 of 1974 of preserving farm land. On January 13, 1988, a ceremony was held at the Bloomingdale Depot Museum where the State of Michigan handed 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 Friends of the Kal Haven Trail presented a golden spike symbolizing the completion of the sale to the DNR chief administrative officer.

In 1987, a historic "humpback" wooden bridge in Pine grove township was slated to be taken down and removed from County Road 653. Local residents started a protest after the contract was awarded for demolition of 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 group Pine Grove Association was asked if they had any objection to relocating the bridge; not hearing back, the DNR began reconstruction in September.

The trail was projected to open in May, but the opining was delayed because Property Owners United sought a court injunction to stop the opening of the trail. On May 3, 1989, the group filed 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 trail to open August 15, 1989. However, because of state budget problems, the money proposed from this fund was moved to the state's 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 1985, the Michigan Land Trust Board passed the trail proposal. The cost of the land was now up to $700,000 with a total project cost estimated to cost $1.15 million. The Michigan Land Trust Board received about 1,000 postcards sent from the group Property Owners United. 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. In the summer of 2022, it was announced that Michigan Department of Natural Resources had been awarded a $5 million grant to do resurface 17 miles of the trail. The project will resurface from the trail head in South Haven to Bloomingdale. The money is coming from the Building Michigan Together Plan, signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2022. The Build Michigan Together Plan is a $4.8 billion federal funding to invest in roads, water, high speed internet.

There are two primitive campgrounds that can be used at an additional cost. One, near Gobles, has water and restrooms. The other, near South Haven, has restrooms but no water. Van Buren County offered a shuttle service through Van Buren Public Transit from South Haven to Kalamazoo and can accommodate up to four bikes and their riders. As of August 2015 this service was no longer offered. The Kalamazoo Trail Head to South Haven Trail Head contain major deer fly populations. 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 Michigan D. N. R.

Waypoints for the Kal Haven Trail. ↑ in the Distance column points to the other waypoint that the distance is between. Location Services Distance (approx.) Coordinates South Haven, Michigan Parking Waypoint 2 Drinking Fountain, Parking, Restroom ↑ 3.9 mile (6 km) Grand Junction, Michigan Drinking Fountain, Parking, Restroom ↑ 5.8 mile (9 km) Bloomingdale, Michigan Drinking Fountain, Parking, Restroom ↑ 6.2 mile (10 km) Waypoint 5 Restroom ↑ 1.9 mile (3 km) Waypoint 6 Drinking Fountain, Restroom ↑ 3.4 mile (5 km) Kendall, Michigan Restroom ↑ 2 mile (3 km) Waypoint 8 Drinking Fountain, Restroom ↑ 2.9 mile (5 km) Waypoint 9 Drinking Fountain, Restroom ↑ 3.3 mile (5 km) Kalamazoo, Michigan Drinking Fountain, Parking, Restroom ↑ 3.7 mile (6 km)

The group formed in the early days to advocate for the creation of the trail are still in support of the Kal Haven and other Van Buren trails. The group's stated Mission is "Our mission is to provide support for expansion and maintenance of the Trails and continued programming, thereby attracting more people to take advantage of this regional resource."