Black River Preserve

The Black River preserve in Southhaven Michigan is a southwest Michigan land Conservancy property. It is a combination of marsh, river views, forest and Prairie. The trails are mostly packed dirt with some nice boardwalks and bridges places. The trails here are clearly marked all together you can probably get between four and 5 miles here although today I just did three I spent very little time on the white trail, Yellow trail and only did part of the blue trail. This is a dog on leash friendly Preserve, and kid friendly. There is a nice sized parking area here, there are no facilities so plan accordingly. The trails are well maintained and there’s a decent amount of hills to make it a little bit more of a challenge. Right now it is dry but when it rains their peers to be a lot of clay here and it can be very slick. Map is at the end of the pictures. Don’t be discouraged by the Southhaven address and think that it will be really busy all the time due to tourists, this is out in the country. One word of warning there is a local gun club across the river and so at times especially on weekends there’s a lot of gunfire going on. Today I heard none.

Nice preserve with lots of small side trails to take. It seemed like the area was well taken care of and that there was ongoing conservation projects happening.

Really nice trailer for family and kids with gentle ups and downhills and definitely easy.
Maps with color-coded trails are available along the way making it much easier to navigate around.
There are benches along the way for little breaks.
We even saw a deer zooming by which was a bonus.

Really nice area with a variety of habitats and choice of trails which have maps at each intersection. I was a little early for the Wildflowers but this preserve has the potential to have many species.

Small, but very fun preserve to walk about! We love the clear signages that are color-coded and nailed to the trees!

Super nice hiking 10 minutes from town. There are a variety of paths through woods, along ravines and river with many small bridges and walkways. We saw deer and birds along the way.

Awesome place to be alone and just be with nature.

Black River Preserve is an amazing place for a short or long nature walk/hike. There are many trails that offer so many beautiful views.

The wife, kids, and myself try to go at least once a week, weather permitting. The kids get so excited every time we go!

If you haven't been you should check it out at least once!

This whole area was gorgeous! Really well maintained trails (though the parts by the river were really muddy because it had just rained when we went). We did a variety of easy and moderate trails that were very easy to follow with maps at every intersection!

A great set of well maintained hikes. Consider leaving a donation. Great for dogs on a leash.

Great hiking! Beautiful mixed terrain. Several maps posted and trails are marked clearly. Some short hiking loops and some longer that you can string together in different ways. Good for kids, no facilities. Props to the land conservancy for making this available for public use.

One bridge was out on the marsh trail (blue).

Great, well-marked hiking trails. A map at every intersection plus a downloadable map for your phone which pinpoints exactly where you are in case you get turned around. All the trails are circular and all end up crossing each other and all start & end at the parking area. I didn't walk all the trails, but the 3 I did walk were pretty navigable and well-maintained.

Lovely park, even in winter! Trails are marked very well, no problem following the coloured paths with lots of maps spread around. Beautiful views of the Black River and it's sandy banks. An easy walk for the whole family.

Great trails. Marked really well.

Well marked trails with trail map posted at some intersections. The trails along the river are full of poison ivy. Across the river is a gun range, so just be aware of that. This is a great little preserve. Enjoy

Such a fun and quaint space. If you’re a nature lover, you’ll enjoy walking these trails!!

Very pretty and well marked so you won't get lost.

Awesome outdoor area. Approximately 3 to 4 miles of trails. Many drain tiles feed into the black river here. Note that the bugs can be intense here in the summer.

Great place for hiking in the snow. Trails are well marked! Parking lot might not always be plowed so unless you have a big truck, think before you take off.

Peaceful wooded scenery with part of one trail following the river. Great selection of trails to walk for exercise from easy walking to moderate hills. Well marked to help you stay on the right path.