Find the top rated running trails in Bloomington, whether you're looking for an easy short running trail or a long running trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a running trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Indianapolis Cultural Trail is another fine trail and is well thought out and executed. It certainly is an important piece of infrastructure for the city. The trail is clearly identifiable with tinted concrete pavers, providing easy identification for users. It connects Indianapolis residents to cultural, social, artistic, and recreational venues and provides an alternative transportation network for the city. I definitely would like to come back to town and explore more of these amenities. The roughly square Cultural Trail connects to the Monon, the Pleasant Run, and the White River Wapahani Trails. There is an additional spur that leads to the Indianapolis Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL Indianpolis Colts. This is the start of quite a regional trail network. One that I'm sure that will be expanded in the future.
I can't say enough about this trail. My opinion is that this is what most urban rail trails aspire to be. We started in Westfield and rode south toward Indy. On this day we rode down to 49th Street to the Upland Broad Ripple Tasting Room and back. There were a number of things that impressed me about this trail. It crossed a combination of urban and suburban landscapes with just enough surrounding trees and greenery to make one feel that you were riding in a more rural setting. Lots of care has been taken with this trail as there are many quite a few bathrooms and water stations along the trail. Beautiful bridges and underpasses have been created at almost all intersections with a major thoroughfare which maintains the flow of your ride. The route is well signed, though some of map signs are starting to show their age. There are plenty of people biking and walking along the route, though on this Friday morning the trail did not feel crowded. It is also obvious that this trail is an economic engine for the communities along the trail as there were many restaurants, galleries, breweries, and shops. There is great community pride in this trail as evidenced by an abundance of local art works that can be seen and enjoyed along the trail.
There is no where to park at the trail head. Really? What a waste
Easy, flat grade trail. Narrow so passing can be made difficult at times. Enjoyable scenery along the canal with turn offs to explore the Newfields campus and Butler University. Utility construction has the southern portion of the trail closed after I-65. Construction is expected completed Spring 2019
Great trail but hard to find. Started on the Bedford side and even stopping to ask directions it was hard to locate. Also nowhere to park had to park on the street. For such a good trail you would think the city would do more to help out of owners locate it. If there was parking and signage would have given a 5.
We rode the trail from down-town Indianapolis north to Westfield. You have to piece together the path from the intersection with Midland Trace up to the soccer fields (it is basically an oversized sidewalk that follows the roadway). We jumped on lightly traveled country roads at the soccer fields and picked up the trail into Sheridan. The portion into Sheridan was lovely and shaded. Can't wait for them to finish the portion that connects the two sections. It will be a great ride.
Tried to take the southern section of the trail north from Raymond Street. The path is incomplete at it's southern end with no clear marking of where the trail picks up after it ends at street intersections. Got about a mile up the trail and a small bridge was blocked with snow fence and a sign saying the trail was closed for cleanup. Nobody in sight, the fence was broken down in areas so it has been up at least a few days if not longer. Very disappointed as the area we rode on was very nice and quiet. It will be a while before I attempt this trail again as it was just not worth the hassle.
When I travel to Indianapolis on business, I typically ride this trail because it's easy to access from downtown hotels. This is my third time riding it and it seems to get worse each time I make the effort.
Today, the Washington Street Bridge was closed due to some zoo event so the part of the trail south of downtown was inaccessible. No problem, I thought. I'd just go north and catch the canal towpath at 30th Street and ride to Broad Ripple. Unfortunately, the trail was also closed north of 30th Street due to some sort of public works project.
In between, there are terrible road crossings at 10th and 16th. When I say terrible, I mean they are among the worst urban road crossings I've ever seen. There's nothing at all intuitive about the crossing at 10th. You have to know where to pick up the trail on the other side, and it requires riding along the road on a narrow, hemmed in path. It's awful. 16th is downright dangerous as traffic approaching from the west is basically blind to the trail. There's a flashing light warning motorists here, but few slow down. Exercise extreme caution crossing 16th Street.
There are some bright spots. The suspension bridge over Fall Creek is nice as is the catwalk just to the south of old Bush Stadium. The newer section south of the zoo is nice when the river is low, but when it floods it takes the city awhile to remove debris. The short cycletrack on 30th connecting to the canal towpath would also be nice but the city puts warning signs right in the bike lanes and the debris on the road here will cut a tire if you're not careful.
So I'm sorry, but I cannot recommend this trail. It has potential, but it is simply not enough to throw down some asphalt and stencil some bicycles on the pavement. What makes a trail great is the thought that goes into the design and the day to day execution. This trail is a long way from reaching its potential. Sorry, Indy.
Just rode this trail yesterday, but got stuck in the local coffee shop for 1.5 hours waiting for a strong storm cell to pass through. We almost gave up and headed home but the rain finally stopped and away we went. starting from the "U" street access there was parking but I think the parking area belongs to the business close by. Its a gravel area and I don't feel the business minds a few cars parked at the far end of their property. Although the trail has its ups and downs the overall flow is downhill from the "U" street starting point making the return trip a bit more aerobic. The trail was covered with forest debris and 6 downed trees due to the storm that just passed through. My son developed a slow leak in his rear tire at about the turn around point (10.2 miles out) so I topped off his tire pressure hoping it would hold out for the return. No such luck, with about 7 miles to go he went totally flat. we ended up fixing his tire right next to a guys house (the trail crossed over his front driveway). The owner came out to check on us. Great guy, retired, and offered his air compressor to fill the new tube. We were on our way in 10 minutes. I would recommend no smaller than 35mm width tires. we used our mountain bikes with larger tires and due to storm debris, I'm glad we did. When we got back to the car my sons front tire was nearly flat. What ever he hit, he got both tires. We decided to stop at a local restaurant called "Pappas". Very popular with the local Bedford residents. Its not fancy but the fried chicken was excellent and the wait staff was great. We enjoyed the trail and will ride it again. The three star rating is due to no water on the trail so bring plenty and a less than perfect parking situation. There are two porta-potties. One at the trailhead and one more about 4.5 miles out
We rode this yesterday for the first time. Beautiful...lots of shade, nice scenery, well maintained. It is now almost completed to 6 miles, so you can make a good 12 mile ride. They have almost completed the two segments. We walked our biked across the road that divided the two halves, over some gravel, but just a very short distance. The only down side is that there are no restrooms, only 2 benches for a rest stop in Brownsburg, and the parking at the trail head in Brownsburg only accommodates a few cars. But it was a beautiful experience...so many trees, quiet, not too crowded, you cross over a small river and creek. Overall a very good ride.
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