Find the top rated birding trails in Benton Harbor, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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I've lived in Holland for over 30 years (just joined RTC today), and I can tell you that the Holland trail system is NOT all it's cracked up to be. It is a multi-use pathway, not a rail-trail, and has many driveways, road crossings, and other places to pay very close attention to. Lots (LOTS) of walkers, joggers, baby strollers, and similar obstacles abound. While some of it is scenic and enjoyable, much of it is just through town, etc. and nothing special as far as sights to see in most spots. If you're planning a trip to the area just for this, I'd suggest a different idea - go further east and hit Fred Meijer or White Pine, etc. The roads in Ottawa and Allegan counties are fine to ride on in most spots if you don't want to use the trail system.
Road the trail today and had a great experience. If part of it was once bumpy, it has been repaired. Most of the trail is new and all of it is terrific to ride. Beautiful scenery, bathrooms along the way, easy to park and get on. We rode all 10 miles and will come back again and again.
Was in town for a MX race in Michigan. Had never been on this trail, we stopped in Goshen Friday and started there. Trail was nice, a few slight hills along the way. Many rest stops and bathrooms as well. The Krider Gardens along the way are very pretty. Trail was quite busy with bikers, many Amish were riding back and forth as well. Would like to do the whole trail from Elkhart to the end, another time.
We like the trail since now you can ride from Central Park , Mishawaka to US12 Niles, Michigan . Mile markers would be nice on the trail.The short street riding bike lanes need to be clean weekly. Additional spur trails lead you into Notre Dame Campus and St Marys .
I bicycled the Calumet Trail this morning. While I found the trail section from Mineral Springs Road to SR 49 in better condition than it was prior to the pipeline project in 2017, it still is in dire need of upkeep. There were washouts, sections that clearly had water flowing over it, ruts, and very chunky gravel. These conditions made for a less than ideal ride.
In it’s current condition, this bike trail continues to remain an embarrassment to our County Park system.
This is the closest trail to my home, but as I much prefer paved trails, I find myself driving an hour north to the White Pine and Musketawa trails, south to the Pumpkinvine, and east to Falling Waters. The Kal-Haven is a chore, but would be wonderful if paved.
It is a great trail to ride for solitude and just looking at nature. I found cranberry bogs along my first ride. However, you have to be prepared for some tough riding in certain places. SE of Covert and before Hartford the trail can become very wet (as you approach the Paw Paw River drainage.) Wet in the spring up to 3-4 inches in some areas (these are few.) In the dry heat of the summer, the trail is dry. DNR occasionally comes through and mows down the grass. I ride this area frequently from the Memorial Day through Labor Day and find it a great trail for folks looking for a challenge beyond asphalt or crushed stone. At some stretches, there are weeds up to your waist. Yep, there are weeds. BUGS TOO! So, if you want a nice leisurely ride, this is not your trail. If you want to see SW Michigan's nature and all it has to offer....Then, load up your bike and pack. Enjoy your day!
The trails aren’t marked, there is trash everywhere. It feels like walking through someone’s back yard. Parking is crap! The trails are crap! The trash is ridiculous.
Reading so many negative reviews before I started to ride this trail had me expecting much worse conditions than I actually encountered. I rode from 12th avenue in South Haven to the Hartford trailhead, which took about 2.5 hours. I am not young (57) or in particularly good shape (200+ pounds), but I was able to ride virtually all of the trail. There were two large flooded areas, with one I was able to ride on the side and get through cleanly, on the other I had to walk on large sticks/saplings that people have put there for that purpose. Yes, there's some mud and sand, but I was able to pedal through all of it. There were a couple of trees down, and some that had been cut out recently, so no issues with trees at all. No issues with tall grass either, because I rode on a particularly cold April 6th. The temperature was right around freezing and the trail was mostly firm. Many of the reviews mentioned tall grass, but there was none at all when I rode.
A few times it did seem like I was riding in somebody's back yard, and I did have a small dog chase me at one point. I just talked to it and kept riding at the same speed and it lost interest. A few blueberry farmers were out, surprisingly, I guess they were pruning. One reviewer said that they stopped and ate blueberries, which I suspect is not allowed. There was a lot of signage telling people to stay on the trail.
I was very bundled up, and rode continuously, but even so, the 30-degree temperature was too much for me to think about riding all the way back. I stayed inside the Hartford public library (bike rack!) until my ride could come and get me. If I had had to ride back on my own, there were large sections where paved roads ran beside the trail, so using those would have made the return trip easier.
I did this ride on a 29-inch mountain bike, and you definitely would not want to try this on a road bike. It was a workout, which was what I wanted, as I try to get into shape for the riding season. The scenery was somewhat interesting, pretty much what you would expect to see in terms of vegetation, lots of trees with no leaves. Many people's back yards contained a surprising amount of probably-no-longer-useful items, so that provided some interesting scenery as well.
The paved section from South Haven to the Van Buren state park would be a nice ride for road bikes. I saw a skateboarder riding on the trail near 12th avenue in South Haven.
I think my ride yesterday was more fun, though much more challenging, than my ride of the Kal-Haven trail a few years ago.
As part of an awareness event I was doing in Elkhart County, I completed the entire Pumpkinvine Nature Trail in my wheelchair in one day. As has been noted, this is a remarkably beautiful trail that nicely captures Elkhart County including Elkhart, Goshen, Middlebury, and Shipshewana.
The local Amish community, which has a high population here, frequently uses the trail on their bikes. While I've heard from some locals that they're stand-offish, I found them to be absolutely delightful.
The trail is mostly rural, though Elkhart and Goshen are decently populated areas and the trail itself is so popular that you will likely run into some people along the way.
As a wheelchair user, I made it from beginning to end without too much problem. There's about a 1.75 mile section north of Goshen that goes from asphalt to packed limestone and involves some country road travel. It's definitely passable in a wheelchair, but a little more challenging.
You could easily make a weekend of the trail - start in Elkhart and end up in Shipshewana where there's some great country shopping and a couple nice Amish-style hotels.
If I were to recommend an Indiana trail, Pumpkinvine would be near the top of the list. However, be aware that Elkhart County is impacted by lake effects during the winter. This trail is probably best to enjoy during spring/summer and early fall.
Trail has great view of the St. Joseph river the whole way with old stone walls lining part of the path. Only problem is it’s prone to flooding so you might have to make a slight detour on your route.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
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