Find the top rated birding trails in Carmel, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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A new favorite! We rode from the Carmel trailhead north to Sheridan and back. The trail was beautifully, freshly blacktopped in the Carmel area - but also very heavily trafficked (granted, it was a beautiful day and Labor Day weekend). Once we got a bit further north, the trail was still smoothly paved, but we had it largely to ourselves. The trail is well-shaded for much but not all of the stretch north to Sheridan.
So to be clear, we loved the trail. From here on, I'll focus on providing info you might find useful.
Be advised, the Monon in this stretch is not always very well marked. It's especially sketchily marked in the Westfield area, where we ended up making an accidental detour west on 186th Street. The problem is compounded by the fact that there are sidewalks and paved trails all around you in that area that to all appearances could be the Monon.
FWIW, going north from 186th you should be starting at the intersection of 186th and Wheeler Rd, which changes names to Tomlinson Rd north of the intersection. From 186th north, it's basically a straight shot and there's really no question about whether you're on the Monon.
The trail becomes gradually less suburban and more rural the farther north you go from 186th, and you end by riding past barns and cornfields in the Sheridan area.
At Sheridan the trail ends at an American Legion hall at 236th St. There are two or three gas stations a short ways east on 236th where you can get drinks/food and use the restroom, but you'll have to ride on-road to get to them unless you backtrack a bit on the trail and cut through the adjacent Biddle Memorial Park.
We'd like to go back and run the stretch from Carmel to downtown Indy, but we'll probably wait for a weekday when we hopefully can avoid some of the traffic on the trail.
The two posts to stop motorized vehicles and to slow down u before streets are too close together. They should be staggered like at other Hendricks county parks. I ride a trike and had to pull in mirrors and slow to a crawl. Overall a very nice trail.
I started by the baseball field and it looked like a nice path but the trail ends and you just run thru the residential area.
From Rochester down to Peru is relatively level . Lots of whining on here about dangerous road crossings but it isn't like they surprise you. Just slow down or stop especially if the vegetation is tall. No problem. The section from Peru to Kokomo is definitely much more shaded and isolated. Not much water supply on this trail so make sure to fill up in Peru. I had no issues with bugs in August.
Very nice wooded trail. There is a gap between the first .8 miles and the second leg which is 2.6 miles long. It appears that some have bridged the gap by walking along the railroad tracks.
So as a birthday gift to myself, I drove up to the north end starting point of the trail.
One noticeable difference from the part of the trail down by Kokomo is that the there are mile markers at the northern part.
Now as noted in another review, the afternoon that I ran the trail, the flies were terrible..
The portion in Kokomo is much more shaded.
As noted in my previous review, the northern part is paved, flat and level.
It would be a bit of a drive from Kokomo, I was staying in Wabash, but if in the area, and want to get in a couple miles, either spot will do.
Enjoy.
Beautiful scenery! Peaceful & Quiet. The newer paved sections are awesome! It definately needs some attention to areas that are older. Even the gravely portions aren’t as bumpy as the older paved sections. Great afternoon ride. The parking area in Lebanon is well marked and even has tools if necessary.
Today was my first jog on the south end of the trail which I enjoyed. The small amount of trail that I ran by was well-kept and even blacked out some graffiti. That showed me that the trail is maintained which I appreciate. I drive a semi for a living which sometimes brings me to Kokomo. The hours in a semi are often quite long, so I try to get in a run when I’m stuck at a stop. This trail fit me well.
Eaten alive by deer flies. Road crossings are EXTREMELY dangerous
This is another example of a 4.5 rating.
This is a very nice paved, flat, level path.
I parked near the bridge that crosses over route 35 and headed north.
The path runs through a rather rural/country area with a good bit of trees/shade.
So as always, if in the area and want to get a couple miles in, give this a run.
It looks like a good trail for an enjoyable and possible long bike ride as well.
Maybe if I'm ever back in the area....
I live in Indy and I traverse 6.2 miles of the Monon as my daily commute (on days I ride to work). So this trail is an old acquaintance of mine. This review is intended to give a bigger-picture idea of what the Monon has to offer. The trail is about 27 miles, from the Northern exurb of Sheridan all the way down to 10th street on the near East side of Indianapolis. It is, for the most part, your typical rail trail: straight as an arrow, point A to point B . The trail exists in two counties; Marion county is the urban center of Indianapolis, and Hamilton county, which is the most affluent county in the metro area. The conditions of the trail reflect this reality. The Marion county section was scheduled to begin resurfacing and widening in 2020, but then 2020 happened. The only improvement to be accomplished in the Marion county section over the course of 2020 was the completion of a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over busy 38th street, which was VERY needed. Near the southern terminus, there is currently (July 2021) massive highway construction that has impacted the Monon. One hopes the resurfacing will be done following all of that.
What I want to point out here, though, is that the Monon trail is actually just the most travelled of a network of fine bicycle trails that fan out over the city. The Monon bisects the Fall Creek trail, which travels from the near west side all the way east out to Fort Harrison state part, along fall creek. This is a great trail with long uninterrupted portions of riding. The southern terminus of the Monon is just a short jog over from one of the ends of the downtown Cultural Trail. You can ride the Cultural trail southwest across the downtown to link up with the Wapahani trail, which goes southward out of town along the White River. Another terminus of the cultural trail in Fountain Square is a short ride from the Pleasant Run trail, another creek-following trail that runs east out to the cool old neighborhood of Irvington. The Fall Creek trail now intersects, at its current western terminus, with the Canal Towpath trail, which is my personal favorite trail, though it is maybe the shortest of these. Up in Hamilton county, there are more trails spurring off of the Monon than you can shake a stick at, as they lead into the many suburban neighborhoods up there.
So, if you are looking at the Monon as a possible destination trail, please take time to consider it in its full context. We have a fun little city here. You can ride your bike along a combination of these trails to get to just about any of the fun parts of town. Our little group of bike riding friends regularly put in 30-50 mile rides all over the place, with very little street riding.
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