Rail-Trail
State: IN Length: 10.50 miles Surface: Asphalt, Dirt
The Cardinal Greenway in Marion is the northern section of quite a long rail-trail system that connects Marion, Muncie, Losantville and Richmond, Indiana. One of this pleasant trail's best attributes is that it links many neighborhoods and provides a non-motorized transportation corridor through the town. Another attribute of this trail is its starting point in Marion, a town that takes great pride in its "coolnesss"—and for good reason: Marion was the birthplace of James Dean, who starred in film classics, such as "East of Eden" and "Rebel Without a Cause," before his death at age 24. Depending on your definition of "cool," another famous Marionite—Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield, the lasagna-loving comic strip cat—still remains local, with a studio in Muncie. (If this cat is up your alley, be sure to head to the 3-mile Sweetser Switch Trail, just north of Marion. At that trailhead, next to a retired train car, a 4-foot Garfield statue makes for a perfect photo-op to commemorate your trail trip.) From the trailhead in Marion, where there is an information kiosk and ample parking, you continue to another trailhead at Hogin Park, on the far side of a small tunnel. That trailhead features parking, picnic tables, covered shelters and basketball courts. After Hogin Park, you will cross the first of nine bridges in rapid succession, all of which add a unique flavor to this trail. Once the trail winds its way into Jonesboro, at approximately 6.5 miles, you will cross US 35; the trailhead is on the left. A slight uphill takes you to a bridge that overlooks the Mississinewa River. Students who attend school on the far side of the bridge often use this bridge to get there. After the school, it
State: IN Length: 4.80 miles Surface: Asphalt, Dirt, Grass, Sand
The trail is slightly uneven in places but is very flat and extremly fast. I would recommend this trail for anyone looking for a training run that is challenging and to work on speed and foot strength.
State: IN Length: 4 miles Surface: Asphalt
The DeKalb County Trail was constructed in 1976 and is called Indiana's first rail-trail. It runs between Morning Star Rd. at the Greenhurst Country Club in Auburn and Cedar Street along Wayne Street at the southern limits of Waterloo. The trail parallels County Road 427 (west side) between the two towns, coursing through farmland and scattered homes.
State: IN Length: 8.50 miles Surface:
From Eel River Trail :
The Friends of the Eel River Trail is a non-profit citizen group. Our initial goal is to convert the historic Eel River Railroad Line extending from Columbia City to South Whitley, Indiana into a trail for the safe, recreational enjoyment and health of everyone. The planned trail envisions educational opportunities and positive economic impact on Whitley County.
State: MI Length: 2 miles Surface:
About a quarter of Litchfield's Firemans Park Trail, or approximately one-half mile, lies on an abandoned rail line. At one point, the trail passes through Fireman's Park, which has primitive restrooms, playground equipment, and fishing piers. The rest of the trail meanders through city owned property, in some places adjacent to the St. Joe River. The trail's terrain varies between wetlands, ponds, closed and recovering municipal lagoons, residential areas, and older growth woodlands. At the southern end of the trail there is a small lake. There are several benches along the way.
State: OH Length: 7 miles Surface: Asphalt
Paved trail, flat terrain, winds through conservation, agriculture and residential areas, expansion planned, restuarants along the trail, passes sections of Grand Lake St. Marys State Park This trail is perfect for getting off of State Route 219 while riding around Grand Lake St. Marys.
State: IN Length: 4.80 miles Surface: Asphalt
The MapleHeart Trail travels nearly 5 miles from the city of Elkhart south to the outskirts of Goshen. A planned extension will continue the trail another 3 miles into downtown Goshen and connect it to the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail. The trail parallels County Road 45 and the Norfolk & Southern Railroad through residential and commercial areas. Mid-trail, you'll arrive at Ox Bow County Park, named for the u-shaped bend in the Elkhart River. Enjoy the natural plant and wildlife habitats here, as well as the wide range of recreational amenities offered, including athletic fields, horseshoe pits, a disc golf course, playgrounds, an archery range and a canoe launch.
State: OH Length: 10 miles Surface: Crushed Stone, Dirt, Grass, Gravel
The 40-mile hiking and biking trail along the Miami & Erie Canal Towpath was created through the Ohio Trails Act. The trail is broken into five segments ranging from 3 miles to 14 miles between the towns of Delphos and Fort Loramie. Each segment has different historical features from the old canal, including locks and aqueducts. In addition to the Delphos to Spencerville segment, you'll find the following segments on TrailLink: The Spencerville to St. Marys segment
The St. Marys to New Breman segment
The New Breman to Minster segment
The Minster to Ft. Loramie segment For more detailed information on each segment, download the trail guide. Check out the other links for more information and maps.
State: OH Length: 3 miles Surface: Dirt
The 40-mile hiking and biking trail along the Miami & Erie Canal Towpath was created through the Ohio Trails Act. The trail is broken into five segments ranging from 3 miles to 14 miles between the towns of Delphos and Fort Loramie. Each segment has different historical features from the old canal, including locks and aqueducts. In addition to the Minster to Fort Loramie segment, you'll find the following segments on TrailLink: The Delphos to Spencerville segment
The Spencerville to St. Marys segment
The New Breman to Minster segment For more detailed information on each segment, download the trail guide. Check out the other links for more information and maps.
State: OH Length: 14 miles Surface: Crushed Stone, Dirt, Grass, Gravel
The 40-mile hiking and biking trail along the Miami & Erie Canal Towpath was created through the Ohio Trails Act. The trail is broken into five segments ranging from 3 miles to 14 miles between the towns of Delphos and Fort Loramie. Each segment has different historical features from the old canal, including locks and aqueducts. In addition to the Spencerville to St. Marys segment, you'll find the following segments on TrailLink: The Delphos to Spencerville segment
State: OH Length: 9 miles Surface: Crushed Stone, Dirt, Grass, Gravel
The 40-mile hiking and biking trail along the Miami & Erie Canal Towpath was created through the Ohio Trails Act. The trail is broken into five segments ranging from 3 miles to 14 miles between the towns of Delphos and Fort Loramie. Each segment has different historical features from the old canal, including locks and aqueducts. In addition to the St. Marys to Breman segment, you'll find the following segments on TrailLink: The Delphos to Spencerville segment
State: OH Length: 40 miles Surface: Crushed Stone, Dirt, Grass, Gravel
The Miami & Erie Canal was built between 1825 and 1845, an engineering marvel stretching from Cincinnati to Toledo. This canal was heavily used until competition from the railroad caused the decline of the canal system. The Miami & Erie Canal was last used commercially in 1929. The Miami & Erie Canal Trail passes through many quaint towns and villages. Numerous locks, spillways and historic buildings remain from the canal era, and much of the local history has been preserved in the many museums located along the corridor. The trail connects three state parks, local parks, community trails and historical sites. Sections of the trail are part of the Buckeye Trail and North Country National Scenic Trail. Sections of the Miami & Erie Canal Trail include: The Delphos to Spencerville segmentThe Spencerville to St. Marys segmentThe St. Marys to New Breman segment The New Breman to Minster segment The Minster to Ft. Loramie segment
State: IN Length: 2.75 miles Surface: Asphalt, Crushed Stone
The Millrace Trail meanders through wooded parkland on the west side of downtown Goshen, a walkable town itself with historical buildings and nice shops. The scenic trail follows the hydraulic canal between Shoup Parsons Woods and the north end of Shanklin Park. Along the way you'll cross several bridges over the canal. At Shoup Parsons you can learn your trees with the aid of interpretive trail. Between Millrace and Shanklin parks, you can pick up the Shanklin-Mullet Trail by the creek and take it a short distance northwest to Mullet Park.
State: IN Length: 0.75 miles Surface: Asphalt
Although short (less than a mile), the Paradise Spring Riverwalk is worth a trip. Located in eastern Wabash, the scenic rail-trail winds through Paradise Spring Historical Park and includes an overlook of the Wabash River. Along the way, you'll see many rustic buildings from the area's first settlers and can learn the significance of the site and the natural surroundings on the signs scattered throughout the park.
State: IN Length: 2.60 miles Surface: Asphalt
From Ft. Wayne Parks :
In November of 2007, the City of Fort Wayne received a federal Transportation Enhancement award of $967,167 to help fund the construction of a 2.6 mile trail extension of the Rivergreenway from Lawton Park to Fernhill Avenue with a trail spur to Franke Park and the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. The 12 foot wide asphalt trail will be constructed on the former Fort Wayne, Jackson & Saginaw (later called the New York Central) railroad corridor from Fourth Street to Fernhill Avenue. The trail spur to Franke Park and the Children's Zoo will be ten feet wide and will run along the south side of Franke Park Drive from the railroad corridor. The future trail is called the Pufferbelly Trail. The name is derived from the historic nickname for a steam locomotive, which is "pufferbelly." The ultimate goal of the new trail is to provide for more connectivity in northwest Fort Wayne, as well as to offer Fort Wayne residents a safe, alternative transportation route for bicyclists and pedestrians. The Pufferbelly Trail will provide connections to five northwest neighborhoods, Centlivre Apartments, the Children's Zoo, Franke Park, Vesey Park, Franke Park Elementary School, Science Central, Imagine MASTer Academy and Northside High School. In addition, the residents in the five neighborhoods and Centlivre Apartments along the Pufferbelly Trail will be connected to the 23-mile Rivergreenway network. The Pufferbelly Trail is one segment of a State Visionary Trail that will ultimately be 80-miles long, running from Pokagon State Park in Angola to Ouabache Sate Park in Bluffton. The total cost of the trail project is estimated at $1,450,000. Trail construction should begin in 2012.
State: IN Length: 5.20 miles Surface: Asphalt, Crushed Stone
When complete, the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail will cover 16 miles (with small segments on-road) between Goshen and Shipshewana. An additional 9 miles of trail will link Goshen with Elkhart via the MapleHeart Trail. The railroad line between Goshen and Middlebury was a popular passenger route at the turn of the 20th century, and its numerous curves and turns led to its nickname after the rambling pumpkin vine. The trail links urban areas, small towns and agricultural communities throughout one of Indiana's largest Amish communities. The 5-mile trail starts in downtown Goshen, a small Midwestern town, close to the existing active rail line. In the first 0.25 mile you will encounter interpretive signs explaining the railroading history of the area you are traveling through. A restored railroad viaduct carries you across a small creek and into a quaint neighborhood. A second bridge, equally well preserved, is a short distance ahead. After the trail crosses State Route 4 at a crosswalk it immediately rolls into a wooded area on its way to Abshire Park, which makes for a nice rest area. A playground and restroom facilities, as well as an outdoor skating rink, sledding hill and warming hut, provide ample activities in every season. When the trail crosses Route 4 again, the surface changes to hard-packed crushed limestone for 1.75 miles to CR 28. The remaining miles are beautiful, enveloped in a thick forest of maple and oak trees. Colorful wildflowers bloom along the trail in spring. There is a short (1.7 miles) segment on road northeast of the northern terminus (at CR 33) after which you can pick up the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail Middlebury section.
State: IN Length: 7.60 miles Surface: Asphalt
When complete, the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail will cover 16 miles (with 1.5 miles on-road) between Goshen and Shipshewana. An additional 9 miles of trail will link Goshen with Elkhart via the MapleHart Trail. The Middlebury segment consists of one section that is nearly 7 miles long, between Wayne Street in Middlebury and CR 850 W. in Shipshewana. From here you can take CR 250 N. into Shipshewana. The trail has a 160-foot wooden trestle across the Little Elkhart River and also goes past Krider World's Fair Garden park. Another 1.2-mile segment runs between CR 35 and CR 37 south of Middlebury (completion in June 2012). The railroad line between Goshen and Middlebury was a popular passenger route at the turn of the 20th century, and its numerous curves and turns led to its nickname after the rambling pumpkin vine. The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail links urban areas, small towns and agricultural communities throughout one of Indiana's largest Amish communities. Roughly 2 miles southwest of the southern terminus, you can pick up the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail Goshen section.
State: IN Length: 23 miles Surface: Asphalt, Concrete
While not a rail-trail, the Rivergreenway is a 23-mile linear park within the cities of Fort Wayne and New Haven in Allen County, Indiana. The trail is located along the banks of the St. Marys, St. Joseph, and Maumee Rivers. This natural corridor provides an opportunity for recreation, fitness and conservation while getting away from it all but still being linked close to everything. It is also utilized as a means of alternative transportation. In the coming years, this trail network will be connected, via the Wabash-Erie Canal Towpath Trail, with a series of trails in southwest Fort Wayne, providing recreation enthusiasts with a 40-mile east/west corridor across the County. Also planned is a rail--trail in northwestern Allen County which will also link up with the Rivergreenway.
State: IN Length: 1 miles Surface: Crushed Stone
The Shanklin-Mullet Trail, named for the two parks through which it runs, follows the Elkhart River through dense woodlands on the western side of Goshen. Mullet Park is a peaceful 15-acre open space, while the much larger Shanklin Park is a hub of recreational activity, offering baseball diamonds, a swimming pool, canoe launch, playground and garden. Near the southern end of the trail, you can hop on the Millrace Trail, a scenic pathway along a hydraulic canal.
State: IN Length: 1.30 miles Surface: Asphalt
The St. Joseph River Greenway begins on the southern outskirts of the small town of St. Joe, not far from Indiana/Ohio border. The paved, but short, rail-trail (just over a mile) runs through scenic wooded and rural landscapes. Worth a visit is the Civil War monument in the cemetery adjacent to the northern end of the trail.
State: OH Length: 63 miles Surface: Asphalt, Cinder, Crushed Stone, Dirt, Grass
The Wabash Cannonball Trail in northwest Ohio is actually two trails in one: the north fork runs east–west for 46 miles and the south fork makes up the balance of this 63-mile trail. The trails converge in the eastern city of Maumee then jackknife away on their separate routes. Both trails begin at Jerome Road within sight of Fallen Timbers Shopping Center. Don't be confused by the sign labeled "Wabash Cannonball Trail North Fork"; just 0.25 mile west, the South Fork breaks off to the left while the North Fork continues straight. By following the bicycle and pedestrian bridge over State Route 24, you can visit the Fallen Timbers State Memorial (recognizing the 1794 battle that helped open the Northwest Territory) and Side Cut Metropark, an off-shoot of the Miami and Erie Canal. The first 9.5 miles of the North Fork are nicely paved. This section travels through Oak Openings Metropark. Several bridges cross small creeks, marshy wetlands and deeper ravines before the pavement ends and the smooth paved trail gives way to crushed stone, grass and dirt for the remainder of its length, with the exception of 2 paved miles in the town of Wauseon. Before you reach Wauseon, though, the trail follows an on-road section at County Road 11. For most users this is the unofficial end of the trail. To navigate around this closure, turn north on County Road 11 for 0.2 mile then west on County Road F for 2 miles before turning south on County Road 13 for another 0.2 mile. The trail appears again on the right. Back on the trail you come to the town of Wauseon. Rotary Park on the right-hand side of the trail offers parking, restrooms and plenty of shade. The South Fork is a beautiful trail about 17.5 miles long through western Lucas County. The first 10.5 miles are paved and a fun, flat and fast ride. The final 7 miles are similar to the unpaved section on the north fork. The crushed-stone section is best suited to walkers, equestrians and hybrid and fat-tired bikers
State: IN Length: 3.14 miles Surface: Asphalt
The scenic Winona Interurban Trail lies in the southeastern corner of Goshen near the Indiana/Michigan border. The paved pathway is part of the larger Maple City Greenway network that links neighborhoods, parks, schools and businesses throughout the city. In particular, the rail-trail's proximity to Waterford Elementary, Bethany High School and Goshen College make it a useful route for students. The trail offers an interesting mixture of new and old railroad culture. It was built on the right-of-way of an electric-powered interurban railroad constructed in the early 1900s and also parallels and crosses an active railroad. The Winona Railroad carried passengers to and from Winona Lake until 1938 and freight until the early 1950s.