The crushed limestone surface is as cushy as it gets. You will dodge large animal burrows, horse pucky, and washouts. You will smell living animals, and dead ones. Farmers will keep an eye on you, and so will the cows.

It is true that some road crossings have deep gouges graded across your path. From first hand knowledge, this is done by anti-trail residents. They feel the land should have gone to adjacent property owners, when the railroad pulled out. This is not much of a hurdle to bike riders, and nothing to be concerned about.

Brainard is around 300 feet higher than Valparaiso, and the trail is generally uphill in that direction. There is parking at both towns, a trail head with water at Brainard, and a rest stop at Loma.

Good work out, with interesting views, and the rough trail keeps you alert.

My husband and I used the Oak Creek Trail for the first time this past 4th of July weekend (Sun., July 5th). We took out our Terra Trikes, which have 3 mountain bike type tires. It was a perfect length of trail for us, and we loved the countryside. From Valparaiso to Brainard was 26 miles round trip. We even saw a gorgeous buck running through the fields.

Even though it was a scenic ride, most of the trail was compromised with ruts from washout, and the intersections to the gravel roads were so bad we had to get off our bikes and walk them across the deep crevices to get back to the otherside of the trail. The weeds in most spots were at least a foot high in the middle of the trail, making it difficult to maneuver. Fortunately, we only sustained one flat from the burrs. The weeds in the middle of the trail hid the holes that were dug by animals (which is understandable). In some sections, the weeds/bushes that were mowed along side the trail, instead of being blown into the ditches, the weeds/bushes were blown onto the trail, getting stuck in our spokes and gears.

We know that the upkeep of trails is costly and time consuming, but it did make it a little more difficult to maneuver.

Now to my main concern, that of an "elderly man" about a 1/2 mile out from Brainard that was on the trail in what you could say was a very small, very revealing bikini type underwear. He was not carrying anything (shirt or other shorts) only a water bottle. It was disgusting, but more upsetting was the fact that there were a number of families out there bike riding with their children, and would eventually come across this man. I know you can't do anything about it, but I just had to let someone know. (You would think a man of his age, would know of proper running attire on a family trail.)

Thanks for having a scenic trail available for us to ride on, and we do understand that the trail needs some upkeep, and weather conditions can change a trail without warning.

I would recommend this trail for those that have bikes with mountain bike tires, but not for someone like us who have a 3-wheel bike, as they are too wide to avoid the weeds, or those with road bike tires, etc.

Thanks for listening to me. I look forward to riding it again with our regular mountain bikes.

Carol

"Nice ride, a variety of terrain and a great restaurant on Main Street in Brainard!"