Is this the same Black River as the one in the UP or the Thumb?
Van Buren County's Black River is the water behind South Haven's postcard: upstream of the harbor mouth and the lighthouse piers, the river runs quiet, tree-lined miles through the blueberry country — flatwater paddling, bank fishing, and small-boat water that most beach traffic never discovers. The DNR access on this stretch serves paddlers working the river's wooded corridor and anglers after the seasonal runs that push up from Lake Michigan.
The river's split personality is the local knowledge: the harbor end is marinas, charters, and Great Lakes energy; a mile upstream it's herons and quiet. Steelhead and salmon enter in their seasons, smallmouth and pike hold the middle water, and the river connects the whole South Haven experience — this page covers the river itself; the town guide covers the harbor scene. (Michigan has several Black Rivers — Cheboygan's, St. Clair's, Alcona's among them, each with its own page — county-check anything you read.)