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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We got on the trail at Coatsville. That was closer from Crawfordsville for us. There is about a 4 mile paved portion of the trail from 1 mile west of Coatsville and east to Amo. The rest is loose gravel. Not so good to ride on. We rode on it for 2 miles and turned back. For us we will not be riding this trail again. it is too long to travel to from Crawfordsville especially with a gravel trail. Neat looking old railroad station in AMO.
This trail is nice. However, it could use better signage. It’s easy to take a wrong turn and end up turned around. It’s also very narrow in a few areas making it hard to pass others. I’m not sure why but in 4-5 areas colored chalk covers the trail making it a mess if you’re not careful to avoid it.
The West one third or so through Terre Haute is mostly just wide sidewalks and is not well marked. But the East side is the great. Typical rail trail thru somewhat rural type scenery. Lots of benches, rest areas and even restrooms by football field at Rose Holcomb college.
We set out from Greencastle and the gravel surface there is sound but the bike path isn't on the railroad bed so it winds a bit with small ups and downs. Not for skinny tires! But it was lovely and ride-able on our mid-tire bikes. The section from Coatesville to Amo was asphalt that was smooth as glass. What a lovely treat! The whole distance was partly tree covered so the sun didn't bake us, but enough open places to enjoy the fields and flowers.
Had a really fun time. Great for walking your dogs. The nowhere to park thing sucks and there arent any water fountains like the kind they have at the B-line trail in Bloomington. But it has great sceneryb nice mile markers.
My wife and I parked at Blue Heron Park just off Rt-31 and rode eastward. The route is paved all the way, but it pays to be familiar with the route. We made a few wrong turns since there are very few signs directing us where to go. For example, the route goes through a cemetery. When we got to it, there was no indication which road in the cemetery to take. We eventually found the right way, but had to "hunt around" a bit. A map at the trailhead would have been helpful. A big plus is that much of the trail in Franklin is shaded. It's a bit more "open" when you travel farther east.
I have done about 75 trails in 28 states including the Minuteman in Boston, the Little Miami in Cincy, Riverfront in St. Louis and several trails in Chicago, etc and this trail is simply the best urban trail I have ever ridden or heard about. 26 miles with scenery from Indy light industrial to Broad Ripple hipster to Carmel upscale ( maybe the best five miles of the trail) to Hamilton county farm country, through two major parks and Carmel's truly unique downtown, there is something for everyone. But what stands out are the amenities along the trail, from restrooms, water stations and numerous places scattered in many locations to get something to eat or drink, most catering to the bicycle crowd. If you are a bicycle tourist, this is a must ride trail.
I really like this trail. It is newer and the pavement is mostly even. Railbed trails are far better overall surfaces, but that should not be held against this path. North of Washington St (US 40) the path runs on both sides of the divided highway! Along the length of this short trail, however, there is NO lighting for early morning or night commutes/ training rides and it gets DARK. This makes the trail more hazardous due to the zig zags near intersections and limited lighting nearby. The very fine silt dust that accumulates on the path from the nearby fields is also extremely slick. I fell on this path recently without warning due to silt+moisture and got a bad concussion. Overall, add some lighting and more miles to this and it could be a great run that connects to the B&O snd Vandalia Trails.
Beautiful trail, lots of wildlife.
Beautiful trail - plenty of access points. We were impressed by how well thought out the trails extras were. Porch swings, super clean bathrooms, even a bike repair station. There are quite a few required stops for busy roads but 9 out of 10 times the traffic stops for you.
We ride this trail quite often. The portion which passes the Art Museum and Butler are very nice. Once you get closer to Broadripple, the trail starts to get narrow and crosses many busy intersections. The really narrow section is the portion right before Broadripple where it is barely wide enough for a bike. Beware if there is someone coming towards you. Portions of the trail are currently closed due to construction of a flood wall. You have to ride the road from the Rocky Ripple area towards 56th and Illinois. Don't ride this trail after a rain unless you want to be covered in limestone grit and muck.
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