Indiana | TrailLink

The " Great American" Route Through Indiana

A dozen trails will host the preferred route of the Great American Rail-Trail in Indiana—which will take a diagonal trajectory across the state from Richmond to the Chicago metropolitan area. The route is hosted by well-loved trails such as the Cardinal Greenway, which connects the eastern side of the state to urban Muncie and Marion, and the Nickel Plate Trail—which features the famous bucolic corn-belt landscapes the Hoosier State is known for.

When RTC met with officials from the Indiana Department of Transportation to discuss possible routing options in the state, they were so excited about the potential of the Great American Rail-Trail that they asked RTC to consider including as many trail miles as possible in Indiana. Later, in September 2018, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the state’s Next Level Connections program, a $1 billion investment in infrastructure projects including trails, which will be important to completing a trail across Indiana.

Nice RT Richmond to Gaston

October 2025 eric.kristofic

A few days ago we rode round trip from Richmond to Gaston, stopping for an overnight in Muncie. Overall it's a really nice trail. The only knock is that it starts to approach the "tunnel of trees"- pretty much that and farmland. Suggest taking a little detour to the Prairie Creek Reservoir area.

Pluses: a consistent, wide trail that is generally well maintained with a lot of rest stops, clean bathrooms, & shelters. Minuses: there are a few sections with cracked pavement, but they are well marked; created our own detour around the I-70 closure on-road.

A shout out to Dan at cycling and fitness Warehouse to letting us leave our car there overnight. It would be nice if the trail organizers came up with a safe spot at City Hall or something similar.

Note there is no closure at railroad bridge in Richmond. Only I-70.

Short trail itself but a nice addition to the connecting Sweetser switch trail and the Cardinal Greenway .

June 2024 mojohoover

Short trail itself but a nice addition to the connecting Sweetser switch trail and the Cardinal Greenway .

Trail is closed at Rt. 30 heading North from Erie Lackwana trailhead.

June 2025 tduffmcg3623

Trail is closed at Rt. 30 heading North from Erie Lackwana trailhead.

This is my home area trail. It's going to need some work soon but is great over all.

October 2025 hatchet.howard

This is my home area trail. It's going to need some work soon but is great over all.

Indiana Trail Reviews

Accordion

Nice trail. Hopefully it does connect to Erie trail out of North Judson one day. If it does it needs to stay one one side since HVRM owns right of way to Monterey. This be nice trail if both railroad and trail share same ground!

March 2020 secretary2

Good trail, liner than expected

October 2025 peterdevity

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.

Nice Suburban Trail

July 2023 trob4cy

Some areas could use some resurfacing but overall good trail.

my favorite trail

August 2024 andy_marsh

Run in this trail and the connecting converse junction trail several times a week. Feels like a safe place, lots of shade, pretty flat. Kept in good shape.