The Blue Star Trail

Behind the numbers

To fund the Blue Star Trail, it takes the combined resources of public and private donors, corporations and government grants. Get the full story here.

Blue Star Trail news

The Blue Star Trail is a labor of love and a work in progress. And Friends of the Blue Star Trail, in partnership with local communities, are committed to working hard to help make the Blue Star Trail a reality. Find out what’s new here.

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Connecting trails and people

The maps below illustrate the proposed route for the Blue Star Trail and its connection to existing community trails, both to the North and from the South.

The Blue Star Trail is a Regional Connector

The Trail will be a paved 20‐mile off road non‐motorized shared use path running primarily along the Blue Star Highway connecting people and communities from South Haven to Saugatuck and beyond. The plan is to build contiguous sections of the Trail, going south from Saugatuck and north from South Haven.

MDOT considers the completion of the Blue Star Trail to be a high priority because it is a vital link which will connect communities in our region via existing Trails as shown above.
• East to Kalamazoo (Kal‐Haven Trail)
• South to Van Buren State Park (Van Buren Trail)
• North to Holland (Beeline Trail)

Planned Tri-Community Trail in the North

Source of Funds for Construction

Grants:
MDOT TAP Grant (conditionally approved) $1,344,000
DNR Grant (City of Saugatuck) (conditionally approved) $300,000
DNR Grant (Saugatuck TWP) (conditionally approved) $300,000

Local Match:
Friends of the Blue Star Trail $205,000
City of Saugatuck $50,000
Saugatuck Township $10,000
Estimated Cost of Construction $2,209,000

2nd Planned North Trail Segment

See red trail segment…this will extend the Trail south by 3 miles from Wiley Rd.
(also known as 130th Ave.) in Douglas to M-89 (also known as 124th Ave.),
which is the southern border of Saugatuck Township.

Planned Segment in the South from the Kal‐Haven Trail

This segment of Trail connects to downtown South Haven via the Kal‐Haven Trail (the southern terminus). It goes north and connects with the east/west trail running along Baseline Rd.

Friends have set aside funds for their expected local match.

Next Planned Segment in the South

Extend the Trail north by 4 miles from Baseline Rd. to the Casco Township Nature Preserve.