Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Lafayette, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
_162023_st.jpg)
_181349_st.jpg)
_145995_st.jpg)
_42840_st.jpg)
I use this trail once a week or so to ride from Zionsville to the Monon, as it is, to my knowledge, the only direct path connecting the two and for that, I am grateful.
That said, that particular stretch needs some serious love. There are various cutouts in the asphalt where maintenance/utility companies have dug but no one ever patched afterward. Some of the driveway and intersection ramps are brutal and navigating the roundabouts around Highway 31/Meridian can be rough, depending on the time of day. Once you clear the Monon heading east, though, the trail gets much smoother and is significantly more enjoyable, though. I’ve only ridden that stretch a few times, but is lovely. I hope we’ll see some improves on the Zionsville-Carmel stretch someday.
Date of ride April 17, 2026. My wife and I started at the trail head in Colfax. Easy parking right at the trail head. Rode the trail from parking area to the Hazelrigg area then back. We did pass a few folks out enjoying the day - all friendly! Beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife along the trail. It’s true though that there are some pretty rough spots in and around the Thornton area. We took it slow and it was fine - bumpy- but fine. All in all it was an awesome ride and for sure will ride it again. Hoping to try it from the Lebanon direction next.
The trail has a few spots where it’s kind of smooth but otherwise the concrete is severely heaved. Might be OK for someone to walk on, but not really suitable for biking. If you live in the area fine but don’t take a trip for this. Disappointing. There’s one nice stretch right before the bridge but that’s about it.
We ride this trail a lot. I believe the patrons of this trail set the standard for great maintenance. 2 porta pottys along this trail are much appreciated.
We ride this trail a lot but always dread the section passing through Thorntown. The bumps in the trail are one thing as not cheap to repave but the overhanging honeysuckle is easily remedied. We often start on the south side of Thorntown and ride to Lebanon just to avoid this bone rattling stretch.
The newest addition to the trail nearly makes it a full circle. The CCT is one of the state’s best biking trails. It weaves it around the country side through some wooded parts of the area. The terrain can be a challenge as it is a fairly steep grade to tackle on a hot and humid day. All I all, it’s a great trail to ride.
Great place for walk ride or run. Love this trail and location in connected to an amazing and well maintained county park.
Visited Indianapolis the week before Thanksgiving 2025 for a conference and rode the trail from Carmel to Sheridan and back. It was a warm and sunny November day, which brought out lots of trail users. Downtown Carmel is a delightful place to stop and walk around - show respect for other users and ride slowly through town. Further north the trail opens up with longer distances between road crossings, and far fewer groups walking or jogging. I turned around just before the end of the trail in Sheridan. I see opportunity to some enterprising business owners to develop more options for trail users in Sheridan, but during my ride I stopped at the Speedway just off the trail at Main Street to refuel and take a break. I'm looking forward to some day riding the length of the trail into downtown Indy.
If you plan on using your ebike on the short trail off of Potters Bridge we were advised by the locals that they are no longer permitted do to others abusing the trail. We were told the trail is being watched closely by authorities. We wanted to see the the bridge and ride to the Nickel Plate Trail.
The Thorntown parks and recreation dept needs to step it up a notch on this section of the trail. The bumps are so significant it jars my teeth and nearly throws me off the bike. Most of the rest of the trail from Lebanon to Colfax is just fine.
There was some work done on the 1 1/2 mile section just out of Lebanon, which is now relatively smooth. Thorntown needs to fix that one or two sections. The one just after the street cross-over bridge coming into Thorntown and then the most horrible section from Thorntown to the bridge crossing over the river. That section is bone jarring.
This trail was very good, highly recommend for people. The gap in between has lots of areas to eat, so you can’t get hungry. Some of the fast food places and grocery stores are McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Arby’s, Subway, Kroger, and ALDI. Just a note, this trail can reach around 10 miles farther than what the trail says, if you start at Fansler Park in Rochester. Very well paved, not many bumps. It would take about 25 miles to reach Peru, which is the middle town. The road section is pretty short, around 3-3.5 miles. From there, it will take you another 20-ish miles to reach the end. However, the end leads to another trail, which goes to a splash pad and some parks, great for the early summer and late spring. We visited in the fall, but you might have an even better experience in the warmer seasons.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Scan the QR code to get TrailLink on your phone
Map Search
