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Print Friendly MapKokomo's nickname is the "City of Firsts" and the Industrial Heritage Trail celebrates its progressive and inventive past with public art and signage highlighting the historic significance of some of the nearby factory buildings. It was here that the first successful test-run of the "horseless carriage" (the internal combustion engine) took place and where stainless steel flatware and the first mechanical corn picker, among other inventions, began.
This urban trail runs adjacent to an inactive rail line, stretching from a downtown trailhead at Wildcat Creek south to US 31/S. Reed Road. In the north, you can hop on the Wildcat Creek Walk of Excellence to trek east or west through Kokomo.
The trail is being extended from Wildcat Creek to connect with the Nickel Plate Trail. The city of Kokomo is currently refurbishing the old Nickel Plate freight depot in downtown Kokomo which will act as a trailhead and possible museum and commercial area.
Currently, only on-street parking is available with a plan to incorporate off-street parking at one of the trailheads in the future. The best locations to find on-street parking are Main, Union and Wheeler Streets.
We traveled from NW Indy to ride the IHT. The trail itself was pretty spectacular…all asphalt, concrete, or brick…smooth, easy to navigate, and lots of lights (for evening use). However, we also noticed cameras on every 4th pole (give or take). Not sure if the cameras are functional or just for show. If functional, one wonders if the area is so unsafe that cameras were needed. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the trail was desolate…maybe we passed two~three people along the entire route. As we rode along the trail, we traveled through quite a bit of urban and industrial blight…abandoned factories, neglected/run-down houses, and sketchy trailer parks. A highlight of the trip…we parked at the courthouse on Main St and visited Mo Joe coffee shop. Really cute/comfy place to chill for a bit. Net-net…we won’t return to the IHT. The trail itself is great, the environment…another story.
This trail goes right through the heart of kokomo. There are several historical plaques along the trail explaining the history of the buildings you pass. We had a fun 2 hours taking photos and reading the info. There are several great murals along the route as well. There are 2 full service bathrooms on the route one near the north end and one near the south end. We combined this with the Walk of Excellence to the Cloverleaf trail which returned us back on the Industrial Heritage Trail.
All trails are nicely paved and easy to follow. The traffic at interesections was light and there are a few traffic lights at the busier interesections with a button that will give you your turn to go. We parked at the Nickel Plat Trail head north of Kokomo where 35 and 931 cross. This is not a trail to hammer out the miles. If you wanted more miles you could then ride north on the Nickle plate to peru or even rochester.
I have walked this trail many times just for the exercise. It is well kept, paved and level. Kokomo has done a lot for the trail system and I, as a senior resident appreciate it very much.
The trail intersects with the Walk Of Excellence trail which runs east and west and if you choose to do them both it will total more than eleven miles.
The IHT runs N. & S. and if you go the full length is almost three miles long. It goes past several of Kokomo's former industries, not many of which survived progress but it is still worthwhile to explore. And don't miss the downtown section with its new businesses and bricked paved walkways. Take a few minutes downtown to explore all the changes.
Please keep the trail clean and report all instances of vandalism which are many.
Since the City of Kokomo has finished it's work on the trail in Downtown Kokomo, it is much easier to follow the trail through the downtown area. The Nickel Plate Depot is absolutely beautiful. Spent quite a bit of time on all portions of the trail to include the walk of excellence through Foster Park. In addition, there are numerous geocaches to find along the IHT.
I had a hard time following the trail. It tends to end and you have to ride on streets looking for where it may pick up again. Once I picked it up I then found myself on another trail. Definitely have TrailLink on to know where to go.
Although I will have to go back to try to complete the trail downtown Kokomo is just absolutely beautiful which totally makes up for me missing the trail. I will revisit!!!
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