The Chesapeake and Ohio Greenway (also referred to as the C&O Trail) offers a short, paved route through Merrillville, a town just a few miles south of Gary and the southern tip of Lake Michigan. The trail is on a diagonal; its northwest end begins at the Innsbrook Country Club, then the trail dives into the trees, where it stays for most of its journey. It pops out at John A. Stefek Park in a residential area and continues to Broadway, a busy commercial street. Along the way, there's a quaint pedestrian bridge over Turkey Creek.
The second phase of the trail will extend it farther southeast, under I-65, to Mississippi Street, which will connect the trail to a popular shopping area. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2015. Long-range plans also include extending the trail at its other (northwest) end to the town of Griffith, which would link it to the Oak Savannah Trail and Erie Lackawanna Trail.
Parking is available in John A. Stefek Park (70th Place and Harrison Street) on the southeast side of the trail. On the trail's northwest end, trail parking is located behind the Innsbrook Country Club parking lot at 6701 Taft Street.
For now...this trail provides a quick escape from life in Merrillville. It begins along the hap-happening street of Broadway as the landscape transforms to a pleasant wooded canopy. The bridge, the school, the many backyards rolls away to the dead-end just past the golf course. The escape may be short lived but that only adds to the excitement of "what's ahead" once the project is completed. I for one, can't wait!
C&O Greenway is a very well-maintained and beautiful trail. I was surprised, though, to see no one using it on a gorgeous day, until I found the explanation: it's a dead end. The golf course that straddles part of the old RR just east of Taft St., had blocked the north-east end of the Greenway.
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