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Status: Open
County: Wells
City: Bluffton
Endpoints:
West - Main Street (SR 1) at Wabash River Park
East - Ouabache State Park
Trailheads:
-parking at Starkey Nature Park
-parking at Starkey Road
Connections:
connects to paved and natural trails in Ouabache State Park
Activities:
walking
biking
rollerblading
Surface:
asphalt
Length: 2.5
miles; plus another 2.5 miles of trail in Ouabache State Park
Descrption:
Follows the Wabash River east of downtown to Ouabache State Park. Plenty
of interesting river life as well as trail features to enjoy, including
several carvings and a short covered bridge. Stogdill Rd., which connects
to River Rd., also has a nice asphalt sidepath to make a loop back to
the downtown area.
In the late 1980's, it took the Bluffton community less than four months
to raise more than $1 million for the Rivergreenway “health trail.” Officials
back then knew of no other community of similar size in Indiana or across
the USA that had ever raised more than $1 million in one fundraising campaign
in such a short time.
Future Plans:
Future extension of the Rivergreenway includes the Interurban Trail, which
would extend the multi-use asphalt trail westward underneath the Main
Street Bridge and then northward to Lancaster Elementary School on East
Jackson Street (County Road 300N). The extension would follow a portion
of the former Fort Wayne, Bluffton & Marion Traction Co. line along SR1
from downtown northward, covering about 3 miles. A new pedestrian bridge
just west of the Main Street bridge, which would connect downtown to Kehoe
Park, is planned as part of the trail. Bluffton's Interurban Trail would
become one of a small handful of trails in Indiana and the nation built
upon former electric interurban lines, which were in service between 1900
and 1940.
Also under development is a new 2-mile foot trail that will link to the
west end of the greenway, cross the Wabash River over a relocated historic
road bridge, and follow the north bank of the river toward Ouabache State
Park, making a loop with the paved greenway on the south bank. A new or
historic bridge will be placed to cross the Wabash near Stogdill Road
(which also has a parallel asphalt path).
Map:
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