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.

Rode from Peru south to Kokomo and hopped on the Industrial Heritage Trail. Watch the crossways out in the country! Weeds are pretty high and the roads, and traffic is fast.

We rode this trail south to north. We enjoyed it greatly. Only a slight steady rise (279 ft) in the 22 miles. It was very peaceful and quiet. No very many travelers. All in all a good ride.05302021.

We went south to north today. Great ride. Gained 279 ft in elevation. We will do it again.

Great ride. We rode south to north. Gained 279 ft in elevation. Very few people.

I parked at the Nickel Plate marked trail head in Kokomo first rode south to downtown and then north to just south of Peru. The route to downtown Kokomo was well marked and an easy ride. Heading back north you will see many farms and small towns to pass through. My favorite was Bunker Hill. There are some stop signs. No rolling stops! The cross traffic are mostly trucks and travel at high speeds. A wonderful day in the country. Mike

Monon is a great urban trail. I recently rode it from Westfield to 10th St. Its well marked and well paved. But it has many stops. All are well marked but be alert. If you are riding for pace you will be disappointed. Its very picturesque. It travels through upscale Carmel and artsy Broad Ripple. Very cool train murals at lower end of the trail. Enjoyed it! Mike

So close to a 5 star and it is a 5 star considering the location. We camped at Tippecanoe State Park to explore Panhandle Pathway, Nickel Plate, and North Judson trails. We parked downtown Winamac by the train depot. Street parking, even for our camper van, was not a problem on a Saturday afternoon. The trail was very well maintained. Any roots were marked. We rode 15 miles down and came back after stopping at Star City trailhead for a snack break where there was some parking, picnic table, and clean porta potty. We rode against the wind to start and you feel the wind on this trail!! It was a great cardio ride. The people around this area are so lucky to have these well maintained trails by them. (Ride the North Judson Trail, too, if you are in the area!) It is tough to give these regional trails 4 stars when they are 5 star for the area. I am judging the trails based on several Pennsylvania trails we have ridden with bridges and tunnels. You gotta love that one of the rules of this trail is you have to say hi to everyone you meet!

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.