HOT NEWS
- Help Bridge the Trails in Stevensville — Donate today to support the Hickory Creek pedestrian bridge. Learn more by clicking on Hickory Creek below I Thank you for all of those who came out to support the trail cleanup.
In Berrien County, the Lakeshore Trail will ultimately be a 15-mile multi-use walking/biking path that will connect Shoreham, the trail systems in St. Joseph and Benton Harbor to the Berrien County Line. We are working with partners to extend the Lakeshore Trail to the Van Buren State Park Trail in Covert Township which connects to South Haven and beyond.
The next phase will be an 8-mile extension north of Monte Road along M-63/Blue Star Highway to the County line.
8 Miles
0% Complete
$9.2 Million
0%
Benton Charter Township, Hagar Township, Covert Township
The Lakeshore Trail project will connect several parks and beaches along Lake Michigan to downtown Benton Harbor and St. Joseph.Â
Friends of Berrien County Trails is working with partners to extend the Lakeshore Trail 8 miles north along M-63 and Blue Star Highway from Monte Road to the Berrien County Line. This trail extension will be in Benton Charter Township and Hagar Township be along Michigan Department of Transportation M-63 right of way and Berrien County Blue Star Highway right of way. The trail will connect significant destinations such as the Whirlpool Headquarters campus, Hagar Township Beach and Park, Hagar Roadside Park. Hagar Township is seeking grant funding from Michigan Department of Natural Resources to improve Hagar Township Beach and Park to serve as a trailhead with bathrooms.
For more information on the existing 2.5 miles of completed trail from Higman Park Road to the trailhead at Monte Road visit the Lakeshore Trail page.
The Lakeshore Trail is part of the Lakeshore Route. The Lakeshore Route will include the Marquette Greenway, Red Arrow Trail, John and Dede Howard Family Trail, Van Buren State Park Trail, Blue Star Trail through Berrien and Van Buren Counties. Our partner, West Michigan Trails is coordinating trail connections north along Lake Michigan up to Ludington. The ultimate goal is to have a continuous trail system along Lake Michigan from the Indiana/Michigan state line to Ludington and beyond.
This project is currently in the planning stages. Partners have been convening to discuss the route, barriers to implementation, estimated costs and potential funding opportunities. Abonmarche consultants have prepared a preliminary route and cost estimate. The Van Buren County Road Commission worked with Southwest Michigan Planning Commission (SWMPC) and Van Buren County on preliminary cost estimates for the trail from the Berrien County line to the Van Buren State Park Trail and SWMPC submitted a proposal to USDOT for engineering funding for the Berrien County and Van Buren County sections, but the grant was not awarded.
The partners will be releasing a request for proposals for engineering in 2026 for both the Berrien and Van Buren County sections. Along with the proposed engineering work there will be public engagement opportunities to solicit input from stakeholders.
A detailed cost estimate has not yet been developed for this project but based on current average construction costs of $1 million per mile, the project is expected to cost at least $8 million to construct and another $1.2 million in engineering, design and construction administration.
The partners with assistance of the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission plan to apply to federal, state and private funding opportunities. Often projects of this regional significance can leverage 80% grants. Local fundraising will be critical to leverage the federal and state dollars to implement this project.
