On the morning of July, 20, 2011, my wife and I attempted to ride this trail starting at the Hartford end. We consider ourselves average, casual cyclist. We both have mountain bikes. We were only able to go a little over two miles, before we had to turn back. Over the two plus miles, we were able to steer around many fallen branches and we were able to carry our bikes over two fallen trees. However, we did not try to get through the third fallen tree which was much bigger than the first two. Plus, we figured there would probably be more fallen trees ahead. After the first mile or so, the grass was much taller which made it rougher to ride, but doable, and there were patches of soft sand you needed to look out for. Oh ya, be sure to bring your bug spray.

The next day, July 21, 2011, we traveled to South Haven and rode the KalHaven Trail, which is extremely well maintained and a pleasure to ride. We would give that trail a four or five star.

If the Van Buren Trail were maintained a bit better, we believe it would have great potential.

If you are thinking of cycling this trail, you will need either a mountain bike or an all terrain bike, patience to deal with the unexpected, and stamina. This trail is not as popular as the KalHaven Trail although I do suspect it would be, if it were maintained at the same level. The scenery of southwestern Michigan, and the Lake Michigan shoreline, as well as the abundant flora and fauna, are pleasant, but the going is a bit rough. The trail sinks into several small boggy fens on the stretch between Hartford and Covert, and between the latter and South Haven, patches of soft sand pose an equal hazard. In addition, because of frequent stops and the necessity of walking the bike, you cannot depend on speed to create a resistance against the advance of mosquitoes.

It took me about three hours to do the entire trail from Hartford to South Haven.

I had one beautiful pause on the ride, coming across a blackberry bush with hundreds of honey bees (rare enough these days) flitting about the full bloom; their sound alone filling the empty woods.

When you reach South Haven, there is a small sign directing your way to the Kal Haven trail, via St. Joseph St., to your left as you exit the trail on Lovejoy. To your right is Kalamazoo St., which, if taken north, will lead you to downtown South Haven.

The trail might be easier going for cyclists in the autumn after the first couple of frosts deaden the vegetation.

I rode the entire length of the trail last weekend. I would say that 70% of the trail has a car tire path that you can ride in, the other 30% is grassy. I did it on a cross bike and it was a lot of work. You can not do this with a road bike. There is a section of 100 yards or so that is sand, I had to get off and walk. Otherwise it is a nice trail. I would like to see a little bit more attention paid to it.

"Don't waste your time with this trail unless your hunting or snowmobling. It is no way even close to a bike trail. It is unimproved since they removed the tracks over a decade ago. The trail is extremely over grown and in need of a little love. This could be a wonderful spur of the kal-haven trail but it atleast needs a crushed balast surface, if not blacktop. There is also the potential for the trail to continue past hartford(the east trail head) and go all the way to Paw Paw on the same abandoned railway (tracks still in place). Doubt this will ever happen in my lifetime."