Explore the best rated trails in Madison, IN, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Ohio River Greenway and Big Four Bridge . With more than 12 trails covering 97 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Since the completion of this trail. You can ride from the Big Four Bridge to the Amphitheater in New Albany with only a couple of street crossings. 7 miles one way. You can take the 6th Street ramp up into New Albany to find many restaurants and the Saturday Farmers Market. Very enjoyable ride.
We had rode the trail from the River Park Marina to Swanee . The trail was in need of some repairs but the views of the river and downtown was very appealing. However, after the McAlpine lock and dam, the trail became questionable. We encountered numerous camps, piles of trash, motor bikes / ATVs on the trail and very questionable surroundings, we turned around. I would suggest on to avoid this path pf the trail close to Swanee park
I find it can be really hard to find a good trail for inline skating, but this one is one of my absolute favorites! If I want to push myself for a workout, I could usually finish the loop in an hour. Of course there are some tricky spots like when crossing the roads or the giant hills at the beginning and end, but this still remains as one of my top trails for roller blading. It’s a great workout, is nice and long, and has beautiful changing scenery throughout the entire trail.
I rode the entirety of the Parklands of Floyds Fork section on a very sunny spring day. I have ridden trails in many states and this was one of the best trails I've ever experienced. It is very well maintained, has breathtaking scenery and has multiple trailheads many of which have some of the cleanest bathrooms I've ever seen on a trail.
I started at the Beckley Creek trailhead which made the first few miles very hilly. As a mostly rail-trail rider this trail has many hills, curves and switchbacks. I very much enjoyed the challenge this provided but some of the hills will surprise you. I also found the trail mostly easy to navigate but the first few miles my wife and I made a few wrong turns until we found the Loop. I ended at the Broad Run Park trailhead which was much less hilly so starting there would make the beginning of your ride much easier.
After the first few miles which also seemed to be the busiest the trail starts to flatten out and become more rural. The scenery changes from playgrounds to fields of wildflowers, farms and wooded areas. There was never a dull moment in the scenery or the trail itself as it does require you to pay attention due to the hills and curves.
The trail is perfectly paved and there are trailheads every few miles. Most trailheads had shelters and bathrooms which gives plenty of options to start and end your ride. Residents of Louisville are very lucky to have this gem of a trail right outside of their city.
Earlier this year, my parents stumbled upon part of this trail and were eager to introduce it to me when I was in town for the holiday. As a new professional in the railroading industry, I was excited to enjoy one of the Rails-to-Trails in person after hearing high praise from my colleagues. The area is very well maintained with clear signage, greenery, and historical markers. Since my parents (who are in their 70s) did not feel comfortable traversing the steep incline that leads to the Hospital, we instead opted for the Crooked Creek West Trail and Deer Path. These were much more accessible due to being mostly flatter terrain and led us to the abandoned Crooked Creek Phantom Bridge of Madison, Indiana. I would love to see more historical information on display to enrich the experience. It was very cool to see parts of the rail stamped with the original mill marks of Carnegie Steel from the 1905 installation!
Pro Tip: Start at the waterfront downtown for easy parking and a better, more scenic starting point that follows the waterway.
On a chilly morning in late October with a temperature hovering at forty degrees, I ventured out onto the Louisville Loop's Parklands of Floyds Fork portion of trails. The Parklands is made up of five sections in a rural setting, and I rode four of them out and back.
BECKLEY CREEK PARK
First of all, this section is surprisingly hilly at the start and toward the end. Even the bridges over the creek were steep! Thank goodness for my Swytch pedal assist! It's especially picturesque with beautiful creek and woodlands views. The calls of birds will accompany you throughout this section.
(Unfortunately, the connecting trail to Pope Lick Park was closed as of October 23 due to construction, so back up the trail, pack up the bike, and drive to the next trailhead.)
POPE LICK PARK & THE STRAND
If you're averse to hills, then these are the sections for you. If you're also into sensational creek views and crossing over bridges, you'll be in heaven.. These two sections also contain beautiful scenery of wooded hills, farmland with field of corn, and a few charming country homes. Keep your eyes peeled for turtles. I saw about a dozen of them sunning themselves on a log extending into the creek. Rust colored fuzzy caterpillars with a black collar and black rear tip were also all over the trail. By far, these portions of the trail were the busiest with bicyclists and walkers.
TURKEY RUN PARK
Again, if you're not into hills, this is not a good section for you. With my pedal assist it was not an issue, and it was especially fun going through the woods and seeing the multitude of squirrels with nuts in their mouths scampering across the path and up trees. Of course the silo at the top of the hill is one of the stars of this section and is most definitely worth the climb to the top. From there you can see the trail head down through Turkey Park to the north, and the trail also heading down to the south and Broad Run Park (which I didn't have time to do).
CONCLUSION
All in all, I did 31 miles in this superlative park. The trail is superb: wide, smooth, and curvy which adds to the fun and interest! The park has real restrooms that are clean and have sinks. No porta-potties for The Parklands! This park system is obviously much beloved by the community. There were many happy, friendly folks utilizing it on a weekday. It's evident that a great deal of thought and planning went into this treasure! It's a model of what a park should be. The rest of the country should come and study it. It is most certainly a destination bike ride. I came all the way from California to ride this, and I have no regrets! What a gem of a park and trail system!
(This was the 49th state I've ridden my bike in. Thanks for making it a great one, Louisville! On to Hawaii!)
The downtown section west from the Big 4 Bridge was awful. Poorly maintained and a lot of sketchy areas. Do yourself a favor and ride across the Big 4 Bridge into Indiana and ride the trail west from there. Nice trail and some nice views of the river.
We continued our ride at the Pope Lick trailhead (right after the Taylorsville closure) and rode south 10 miles to the Brown-Forman Silo center. The first 7 miles were relatively flat and the last 3 very hilly. Most of the trail sections we rode were in the sun which may make this a little warm in the summer. However, it was very evident that Louisville spared no expense on this section of the trail.
We road the Parklands of Floyd’s Fork trail which is the section east of downtown Louisville. It was an amazing ride with diverse scenery. We’ve ridden quite a few trails and this ranks right up there with any of the hall of fame trails we ridden. We started at the most north trailhead in Beckley Park. We road 5 miles south to the Taylorsville road closure. It was very hilly with steep grade warnings and we felt very lucky to be on hybrid bikes!
This trail is lots of fun. I did the Southern section by starting at Noblitt Park and winding along the Flat Rock river and through Mill Race park. You end up at the Western edge of Columbus. The Northern section was even better. I started at the airport next to the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum and the newly installed C-119 ‘Flying Boxcar’ troop and cargo transport. First you navigate through a commercial section that leads to a short time on low-travelled city streets. Then you rejoin the well paved path that winds South along Haw Creek and the Greenbelt golf course. Very serene ride through a cityscape with a wonderful mixture of nature and neighborhoods.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!