eBiking the Kal Haven Trail - MI

The Kal-Haven trail is an excellent opportunity to experience history as you ride along its 34 mile, well-groomed trail. There are 31 panels along the route that give a glimpse into the history of the area through stories, maps, and archival pictures. There is a fresh produce farm along the way called Bumbleberry Farms that is a must stop. The owner, Beth, is a genuinely wonderful person, and you will definitely find something that you just can’t live without…in our case it was a package of blueberry coffee.
Fun stop: Mile marker num. 4
Bumbleberry Acres:
6785 Baseline Rd, South Haven, MI 49090
Hours: Closed MTWR Open: FSaSu 10-5
Trail Length:
Kal-Haven trail is 34 miles from South Haven terminus on the west and Kalamazoo terminus on the east.
Recommended Trailhead start:
We went from the South Haven trailhead on the western end because we wanted to have an evening walking the beach on Lake Michigan; however the western terminus at the 10th Street trailhead was really awesome too.
Trail map:
www.michigandn...
Facilities:
There are numerous facilities all along the trail including water pumps, bathrooms, picnic areas, fix-it stations, and even power in Gobels.
Bike Shops:
There are two substantial bike shops along the route. One in South Haven and one in Kalamazoo.
South Haven: Rock n’ Road Cycle
315 Broadway St, South Haven, MI 49090
Hours: Closed Wednesday; MTRF 11-5; Sat 10-3; Sun 11-2
Kalamazoo: KaZoo Swift
3415 Ravine Rd, Kalamazoo, MI 49006
Hours: Closed Monday; TWRF 10-6; Sat. 10-5; 12-3
Trail Condition:
The trail is mostly crushed limestone with a couple paved patches. There was an area, when we were there, that had been freshly poured limestone and it was too deep and treacherous; however, it will pack down with use and weather. Other than that area, the trail was easy to ride.
Food:
Well, we unfortunately ate at a restaurant that had terrible food, so we don’t have a recommendation for good food…but we can say to stay away from the Black River Tavern in South Haven. The staff that we encountered were rude and the food was terrible.
Best picnic spot:
Both the west and eastern terminus points make excellent spots to have a picnic. We actually ate in Bloomingdale because it looked nice and we were hungry, but there were quite a few homeless that approached us. We didn’t feel uncomfortable, but we didn’t feel comfortable either. It would have been more relaxed if we had just waited to eat upon our return to the South Haven Trailhead.
Lodging:
We stayed at the Country Inn & Suites in South Haven. It was excellent and a short, pretty drive to the trailhead. It had a clean room and hot breakfast with plenty of coffee and protein.
1741 Phoenix Street, South Haven, MI 49090
ebike regulations for trail:
Class 1 ebikes are allowed on the trail, and Class 2 are allowed with a permit (obtained from Parks Office in South Haven) or with mobility accommodations.
Class 1: ebikes that are pedal-assist, with no throttle, and have a maximum speed of 20MPH
Class 2: ebikes that also have a maximum speed of 20 mph, but are throttle-assisted
Resources used in creating this video:
Google Earth: earth.google.com/
South Haven Historical Society southhaven.org
eBike adaptations that worked for me:
SEAT:
I replaced the stock seat with a wide one from amazon with better shock absorption.
www.amazon.com...
MIRROR:
Life changing! I added a rearview mirror to my handlebar.
www.amazon.com...
STORAGE:
I added waterproof Panniers to carry extra batteries and my chargers.
www.amazon.com...
BATTERY/CHARGER:
I ride with 1 long and 2 regular range batteries, and two chargers. The batteries each take about 6 hours to charge. I typically get 20-25 miles out of each regular battery and about 30-40 out of my long range depending on terrain and outside temperature. Hills, rough terrain, and colder temps decrease the lifespan.
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[@dennislunsford5801]

Recently found your channel and subscribed immediately. Job well done my fellow wanderlust adventurer. Excellent video, audio, content, presentation and editing. Your channel and a couple of others were my inspiration to start my own channel. Posted my first video a couple of days ago. Have some questions. What video, audio, and editing tools do you use.? Also what app do you have to show real time route tracking? I and my wife live in Carmel IN and have access to some of the best trails in Indiana. We use the Sena helmets with intercom capability and they are a game changer. Appreciate any info or advice. Happy trails.

[@travlinfam]

Thank you for your kind words! We have so much fun biking and putting these memory capsules together. I started with Camtasia video editing, but then they switched to a subscription format so I switched to open source blender- for now- unless they start charging. Camera- I just bought the cheapest on Amazon- no bells and whistles. They have some pretty crazy cameras though! The mapping is through google earth - you need to site source them in description if you use it.

[@dianetourje1359]

Do you ever give counties/municipalities/cities feedback on the quality of their trails or maintenance suggestions?

[@travlinfam]

We’ve called in downed trees before! That is really the big one that can stop you in your tracks!

[@debbienolan611]

Do you have to stop and charge your bikes? I don’t think ours would make it that far.

[@travlinfam]

We actually have 3 batteries with us at all times. I ran out of power once…once… and oh my… that bike is heavy to pedal. I can’t do it. So, immediately after we purchased another regular range and one long range. The long range gets 30-35 miles, and the regular range gets 20-25.