Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Niles, 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.
Prairies and dunes are just two of the natural features you’ll experience on the Prairie Duneland Trail, located just a few miles south of the Lake Michigan shoreline and the Indiana Dunes National...
The Calumet Trail traverses the south side of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a unique ecosystem of forest, marsh, dunes and beach along Lake Michigan. This dirt and crushed limestone path...
The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail covers just over 17 miles between the towns of Goshen, Middlebury, and Shipshewana. The railroad line between Goshen and Middlebury served as a popular passenger and mail...
When complete, the LaSalle Trail will travel an arrow-straight 3.5 miles between Roseland Town Park in Roseland and the Indiana–Michigan state line. Michigan is currently working on building a trail...
The Wilden Avenue Trail stretches for roughly 3 miles from the northern Goshen city limits to the community's downtown. In the north, the trail is a direct continuation of the MapleHeart Trail (and is...
The Portage Bikeway trail system is a 17.5-mile network of multi-use trails throughout the city of Portage, south of Kalamazoo. The 4-mile segment through Portage Creek Bicentennial Park is cleared of...
The Van Buren Trail Spur, which opened in November 2015, offers a paved, off-road route from the southern outskirts of South Haven to Van Buren State Park. The rail-trail begins at 16th Avenue, where...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
The MapleHeart Trail travels nearly 5 miles from the city of Elkhart south to the outskirts of Goshen. The trail parallels County Road 45 and a Norfolk Southern Railroad corridor through residential...
The Vicksburg Trailway runs for nearly 2 miles on a former railroad corridor in a small village south of Kalamazoo. The paved trail is surrounded by dense woodlands for all but the southernmost...
When complete, the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail will run for 35 miles throughout Kalamazoo County. Currently, the trail consists of two continuous segments connected by bike lanes: one segment extends...
The Iron Horse Heritage Trail in Portage, Indiana, runs for over 2 miles between Max Mochal Road (SR 149) at the east end and Hamstrom Rd. at the west end. The trail passes through a greenway corridor...
The Portage Bikeway trail system is a 17.5-mile network of multi-use trails throughout the city of Portage, south of Kalamazoo. The 4-mile segment through Portage Creek Bicentennial Park is cleared of...
The Calumet Trail traverses the south side of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a unique ecosystem of forest, marsh, dunes and beach along Lake Michigan. This dirt and crushed limestone path...
The Vicksburg Trailway runs for nearly 2 miles on a former railroad corridor in a small village south of Kalamazoo. The paved trail is surrounded by dense woodlands for all but the southernmost...
The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail covers just over 17 miles between the towns of Goshen, Middlebury, and Shipshewana. The railroad line between Goshen and Middlebury served as a popular passenger and mail...
More than a half-dozen old railroad towns between Kalamazoo and South Haven offer rest and replenishment to travelers using the Kal-Haven Trail. The 34-mile crushed-limestone rail-trail links these...
When complete, the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail will run for 35 miles throughout Kalamazoo County. Currently, the trail consists of two continuous segments connected by bike lanes: one segment extends...
The Van Buren Trail Spur, which opened in November 2015, offers a paved, off-road route from the southern outskirts of South Haven to Van Buren State Park. The rail-trail begins at 16th Avenue, where...
Prairies and dunes are just two of the natural features you’ll experience on the Prairie Duneland Trail, located just a few miles south of the Lake Michigan shoreline and the Indiana Dunes National...
When complete, the LaSalle Trail will travel an arrow-straight 3.5 miles between Roseland Town Park in Roseland and the Indiana–Michigan state line. Michigan is currently working on building a trail...
Head for Van Buren Trail State Park and take a walk (or ride) on the wild side. Wildlife abounds on this rural 14 miles between Hartford and South Haven. While you might see deer, rabbit, fox and...
The Wilden Avenue Trail stretches for roughly 3 miles from the northern Goshen city limits to the community's downtown. In the north, the trail is a direct continuation of the MapleHeart Trail (and is...
The MapleHeart Trail travels nearly 5 miles from the city of Elkhart south to the outskirts of Goshen. The trail parallels County Road 45 and a Norfolk Southern Railroad corridor through residential...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
Head for Van Buren Trail State Park and take a walk (or ride) on the wild side. Wildlife abounds on this rural 14 miles between Hartford and South Haven. While you might see deer, rabbit, fox and...
The Wilden Avenue Trail stretches for roughly 3 miles from the northern Goshen city limits to the community's downtown. In the north, the trail is a direct continuation of the MapleHeart Trail (and is...
The Calumet Trail traverses the south side of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a unique ecosystem of forest, marsh, dunes and beach along Lake Michigan. This dirt and crushed limestone path...
When complete, the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail will run for 35 miles throughout Kalamazoo County. Currently, the trail consists of two continuous segments connected by bike lanes: one segment extends...
When complete, the LaSalle Trail will travel an arrow-straight 3.5 miles between Roseland Town Park in Roseland and the Indiana–Michigan state line. Michigan is currently working on building a trail...
The Iron Horse Heritage Trail in Portage, Indiana, runs for over 2 miles between Max Mochal Road (SR 149) at the east end and Hamstrom Rd. at the west end. The trail passes through a greenway corridor...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
The MapleHeart Trail travels nearly 5 miles from the city of Elkhart south to the outskirts of Goshen. The trail parallels County Road 45 and a Norfolk Southern Railroad corridor through residential...
The Vicksburg Trailway runs for nearly 2 miles on a former railroad corridor in a small village south of Kalamazoo. The paved trail is surrounded by dense woodlands for all but the southernmost...
The Portage Bikeway trail system is a 17.5-mile network of multi-use trails throughout the city of Portage, south of Kalamazoo. The 4-mile segment through Portage Creek Bicentennial Park is cleared of...
More than a half-dozen old railroad towns between Kalamazoo and South Haven offer rest and replenishment to travelers using the Kal-Haven Trail. The 34-mile crushed-limestone rail-trail links these...
Prairies and dunes are just two of the natural features you’ll experience on the Prairie Duneland Trail, located just a few miles south of the Lake Michigan shoreline and the Indiana Dunes National...
The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail covers just over 17 miles between the towns of Goshen, Middlebury, and Shipshewana. The railroad line between Goshen and Middlebury served as a popular passenger and mail...
The Van Buren Trail Spur, which opened in November 2015, offers a paved, off-road route from the southern outskirts of South Haven to Van Buren State Park. The rail-trail begins at 16th Avenue, where...
We rode 5 miles eastbound from Bloomingdales and the trail was rideable but in need of maintenance. The restroom at the Bloomingdales trailhead was the worst I have seen in. Any Steve we have ridden in. The next day we rode west from Grand Junction to South Haven. Rideable yes but we could not take our eyes off the trail path because of the vary soft and deep limestone powder in many areas. There were at least 2 spots that looked like someone took Nasty
S Haven to Van Buren SP is paved and easy. The 14 mile spur to Hartford is not. Double track, sandy, probably muddy if it has rained. A nice adventure. Even on a nice May Saturday only saw 3 people. Fun if you are up to it. If you are expecting the Kal Haven trail you won’t like it.
I really want to give this 5 stars because it is a gem of trail for the community and surrounding area. We had a camper van so parked off of 10/39 and S. 250 W just outside of North Judson. Trail was paved, but there were some dips to be mindful of in one section closer to North Judson (mentioned by someone else) otherwise it was well maintained. Heard lots of different species of wildlife and enjoyed our ride. Would we make this trail a destination? No. Would we change our route 20-30 minutes to be able to ride this again? Yes.
Prairie Duneland was the first rail trail we rode, so for us it's a sentimental favorite. It's also close to home, so we ride it often.
As others have noted, most of the trail is well shaded and screened by trees, making it a cooler ride on hot days. The tree screening also helps make windy days more manageable.
But, with trees come roots, which often are the source of bumps and cracks on paved trails. Other than a short stretch near the Cleveland Avenue trailhead in Hobart, this trail mostly has escaped that problem. (Technically, that stretch is actually on the Oak Savannah trail, see below.)
Another good thing about Prairie Duneland is that it connects to several other trails. Just west of 149, the Iron Horse Heritage Trail branches off to the north - at about 2 miles it's a relatively short but nice trail.
Prairie Duneland also connects seamlessly at its west end to the Oak Savannah trail - in fact, if you start in Chesterton and head west, the last mile and a half or so before Cleveland Ave is actually the Oak Savannah. If you're so inclined (and willing to put up with a stretch of some twists and turns with non-existent signage through downtown Hobart), you can ride the entire Oak Savannah, link to the Erie Lackawanna Trail in Griffith, and end up in Crown Point.
These trails are all almost entirely flat and well paved. The one warning is that a rail crossing at roughly mid-point on Oak Savannah can sometimes be blocked by stopped trains.
This was a fun trail. Beautiful landscapes .The trail had asphalt and gravel. We love riding through the Amish countryside and eating at the Amish restaurants.
There is now trailhead parking at the South Haven end of the trail. There is a parking lot on Aylworth Ave. between Kalamazoo St. and Monroe Blvd. The trail is also paved between that trailhead parking and Van Buren State Park.
Drove down from Grand Rapids, Mi to experience the Bicentennial Trail. The trail is short ( 3.6) but a comfortable 8 miles (we added a half mile by going beyond the park on paved side walk at south end) by going out and back. Trail was older but black top surface was very usable and kept in repair. For a short trail it had lots of nice surprises in twist, turns, slight hills and surrounded by nature in the middle of a city environment. Parking was plentiful with several trail lots at both ends and in the middle. It was a 77 degree, sunny November 6th which added to the enjoyment. Trail was quite busy but everyone knew and followed trail etiquette. Highly recommend this trail.
Flat tide on a cement trail. Benches online the trail. Not much shade so in the summer months it may be a hot ride, A few roads that you need to cross.
Very nice. Paved trail , pretty color change, nice scenery along the river . Very rider friendly.
Loved our ride. Very nice well kept trail. Began at 10th st trail head with the red caboose. have to say was a very pleasant Sunday morning ride, even as busy as it was. Between the Kalamazoo River Trail ride on Saturday and this one, well worth traveling from IN for
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