The Fruit Belt Rail Trail is open and ready to explore!
The Fruit Belt Rail Trail (FBRT) is now complete and open to the public, with a community ribbon cutting planned for Sunday, July 19, at 6 p.m. at the Flesher Field trailhead. After the ceremony, attendees are invited to explore the trail and then gather at the Flesher Field gazebo for Music in the Park.
This two-mile linear trail offers a comfortable route for walking, running, and biking. Both the Sixth Street and Flesher Field trailhead parking lots are paved and open, improving access for trail users. Along the corridor, crews have finished landscaping and final grading along the trail shoulders, applied a native wildflower seed mix to help stabilize soils and support pollinator and wildlife habitat, and installed black walnut benches, safety fencing, and wayfinding signs to enhance comfort, safety, and navigation.
Funding for the FBRT was supported in part by the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, which invests revenue from nonrenewable resources into lasting public assets like parks and trails through grants to state and local governments.
A bit of history: The corridor that would become the Fruit Belt Line began as part of the Michigan Central Railroad, whose tracks once passed through Oshtemo before the route was shifted to what is now the Amtrak corridor. In the early 1900s, Samuel Dunkley acquired the former line, and by 1907 it connected Kalamazoo to South Haven, where steamships carried passengers and fruit across Lake Michigan to Chicago.
Today, 14 miles of this historic corridor are enjoyed as Michigan DNR’s Van Buren Trail, and communities along the remaining route are working to create a continuous trail. This Fruit Belt Rail Trail segment is the first to be built in Kalamazoo County, an important milestone toward a connected regional trail network. Once complete and linked with the Kal-Haven Trail, the two trails will form a unique 70-mile loop of regional and statewide significance.
Please enjoy the trail and stay tuned for more updates!