Explore the best rated trails in Peru, IN. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Sweetser Switch Trail and Lafayette Linear Park. With more than 29 trails covering 4000 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.
In the last week of October 2022, while heading to N. VA. to attend a hobby
show, I decided to bring along the bike to sample some bike trails along the way.
First stop was Richmond IN, southern terminus of the Cardinal Greenway,
another Rail-Trail Hall of Fame trail [My 4th]. It reminded Me of the Tanglefoot
Trail a bit, due to the rural region, only instead of cotton & soybeans, the crop
is corn. Quite a bit of harvesting going on. Saw lots of Fall foliage as well; a
bonus of riding there during this time of year. [Peak "Leaf Peeping" season].
Oct 24 I rode the stretch from Richmond to Losantville & back [50 miles].
Oct 25 I rode from Losantville to Muncie & back [36 miles]. I ran into some
construction near the Depot Trailhead in Muncie, so cut the ride short there,
as rain also threatened. (A detour was possible, but unsigned; too bad.)
Overall I really enjoyed this trail; very light grades made for an easy peddle.
The route parallels US 35 so trailhead access is easy, with plenty of rest stops,
though only a few have water available, so bring a good supply to start. Will return
to do the northern portion next year.
There's about 0.7 of a mile south of town that is great. The rest of the "trails" are just city surface streets declared to be "trails" with no signage to point you in the right direction. Nothing compared to the trail systems available in Goshen up the road.
Inline skated from Grand Park north to the end of the trail - the path is wide, smooth, and not crowded. Then turned around and skated through Carmel, down to 86th. it gets crowded near Carmel, but the path is in great condition all the way.
Beautiful smooth ride. Visit the Carnegie Library. The ladies love biking visitors. Check out the historic Rosenberger Building also.
Today we rode North from Grand Park in Westfield to Sheridan, IN and it was outstanding. Great pavement, smooth and wide all the way, it bumps up a bit 1/4 mile from the end of the line but not too bad really. Some really nice scenery and some old phone poles tucked in amongst the trees. Shade almost all the way too. A total treat.
The trail passes through what the locals call Winona Village which is a small peninsula with a shop lined canal and many picturesque houses. Definitely worth exploring. There's a side trail that takes you up to Grace College. It's a mile long and goes through secluded woods with trail side sculptures. That's a mile long so adds 2 miles. You can circle the lake (i suggest going clock wise so you are always making right turns and don't have to cross traffic). The college detour and circling the lake gives you a 10 mile loop. Detour into downtown for another 2 miles. There are many nice houses along main and center streets. The courthouse and surrounding square is very picturesque.
We ride the Midland frequently, it has been updated through Westfield and now takes you East to connecting trails in Noblesville at State Road 32 & Hague Rd and to the Monon Trail Westerly with options to ride as far as Meijer Supermarket too. By joining the Monon you can ride as far as Sheridan, IN. This trail is in very good condition and has lots of shade and small wildlife .
The trail passes through what the locals call Winona Village which is a small peninsula with a shop lined canal and many picturesque houses. Definitely worth exploring. There's a side trail that takes you up to Goshen College. It's a mile long and goes through secluded woods with trail side sculptures. That's a mile long so adds 2 miles. You can circle the lake (i suggest going clock wise so you are always making right turns and don't have to cross traffic). The college detour and circling the lake gives you a 10 mile loop. Detour into downtown for another 2 miles. There are many nice houses along main and center streets. The courthouse and surrounding square is very picturesque.
This is not a trail but a random series of plain narrow sidewalks and roads. There are 3 nice bits: on the east side of syracuse lake there's a narrow paved section (not wide enough to pass) , a short flowery stretch north of lake Wawasee near the gulf course and the best bit a boardwalk called the Conklin Bay Trail on the sw side of Lake Wawasee. Unfortunately these bits are less then 10% of the trail.
I don't know what the criteria is for putting trails on TrailLink. There are no markers showing where the trail is. There is nothing natural telling you where to go. There is nothing traily about it. No clue why this is on trail link.
That being said, we ended up doing a figure eight around lake syracuse and lake wawasee which we really enjoyed. That ended up being about 21 miles. State Road 13 is really busy with fast traffic so we avoided that as much as possible. There's a full service bathroom at Lakeview Park across from the Syracuse Community Center.
Peaceful ride starting at a small town and leading out past railways and farms and over streams. Three busy road crossings, interesting historical and NASA-based planetary sign markers along the route, and a trail mostly to yourself. Would ride again.
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