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This is a really nice trail that has bridges and is a fun ride through Shelbyville
It was a nice ride just on the outskirts of Shelbyville and the trail leads into the Blue River Trail
Wide paved trail, fairly flat, lots of benches and restrooms. Even a dog park! View of the Ohio River and tug boats along sections of the trail. Beautiful trees through the trail. A definite do again trail!
Very nice trail! It has a steep incline so it might be difficult for children, strollers or those not in good shape.
We started on the North end of the trail. We parked at the Rev Ernest D. Butler Park. Use the parking lot off of Fairview St on the east side of the park; this is by the playground/swings. There are about 7-8 parking spaces. From there it is a very short ride north to enter the trail (like, coast down the hill and there it is).
From there we rode the three miles of the B-Line. We went on a Sunday and the trail was relatively busy. Along the way we rode through part of downtown but traffic was very light. Vehicles were respectful of the crossings and would stop if they were paying attention.
Along the B-Line we saw a bike repair shop, bike/skate board park, splash pad, playground, dog park, and more. Bloomington has really developed this trail and the amenities on it. Due to COVID the water fountains were covered.
The trail is paved and mostly flat. There was one large incline overpass but nothing too hard. The B-Line section ends at W Country Club Dr where there is another area to park if you wanted to start on the South end and travel north. There are approximately 17 or so parking spaces there with Handicapped parking.
We continued south onto the gravel Bloomington Rail Trail. We actually rode straight south from the B-line and realized we were on a motor path that runs parallel to the Bloomington Rail Trail; to get on the Rail Trail there is a slight jog to the west (by the parking lot). We were not the only ones who did this; but the actual trail is better in that it has tree coverage and it was a really sunny day. We eventually cut over to the proper trail when the motor path ended as we continued south.
We stopped at a large creek bridge that is just south of the roundabout for the Clear Creek Trail. We rested, took some pictures, and headed back North. We had a 9-year old and 12-year old with us and they were worn out at the end of what turned out to be a 10-mile round trip bike ride. It was a great time, though!
We pedaled from Indy to Shelbyville to get some ice cream at the local Cow Palace. As the Palace is essentially at the center of this cute little trail we decided to check it out. The 'eastern reach' is very nice and much more what we expect for a paved bike trail with smooth pavement and some wooded areas. Great idea to connect city parks and the trail even goes through a portion of the county fair grounds. There are an impressive number of restrooms, air pumps and bicycle maintenance stations - a nice touch! A very attractive new "trail head" parking area with clean restrooms, etc. but it was not connected to the trail? Not a destination trail but if you find yourself in the area...
We started at Pope Lick Park entrance, went to Broad Run Park, and then back, around 21 miles. The trail was either paved asphalt or concrete slabs. There were several bridges that crossed over the river. Several places to stop and use the bathroom. This app says there are bathrooms at Broad Run, but if there were, we could not find them and there were no signs, so we went back to the silo and used the restrooms there.
My wife and I are wanting to be outside and get some exercise. Riding this trail does the trick. Not to hilly but enough of a challenge for us. You ride through some nice woods and several fields. I think we saw about 25 rabbits on the trail last night. We also saw a turkey earlier this week. I should add that we are starting around 7pm so the trail is not to busy but it is still being used by lots of people. It is very clean and as I said a good ride.
This trail has a lot of potential so for the life of me I can't understand why the city of Columbus doesn't take advantage of it more by making tweaks that seem so simple to me. There are probably some restaurants along the way but I couldn't look for them I was so busy trying to figure out where the h*** I was supposed to go without getting hit by a car. Parts of this trail are very nice but it's disconnected at numerous points along the way and there is no signage whatsoever for guidance. Absolutely NO SIGNAGE AT ALL. ANYWHERE. You can wind up taking a wrong turn because this trail intersects with others, as we did, and take your $2000 bike into a mudslide area, as we did. And if it's rained at all before your visit, plan on a swampy ride. If you are a local it might be okay, but if you aren't and are looking for a nice ride, I'd go somewhere else. Not impressed. We won't be back.
There are presently trees down on the trail following a storm (Probably July 11 or 12, 2020). The route is very blocked by bridge number 8, though walkers have moved around one side. This looked too difficult for us to navigate with bicycles. There is a large tree down over the path just east of bridge 16, approx. mile 4.7. It is possible to walk a bicycle under this tree. I do not know where or how to report these. Love the trail, good shade and good condition and beautiful.
Great tree canopy for majority of trail, the bait shop and Williams Dam are must sees. First few miles from Bedford start need attention, stone should be crushed and packed down and many wash outs need to be addressed
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