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Status: Open
County: Wayne
City: Richmond
Endpoints:
Hiking Trail
North - Thistlewaite Falls
South - Test Road
Multi-use Trail
North - bridge near Richmond High School
South - Test Road
Trailheads:
-parking near Richmond High School
-parking at Test Road
-parking at Weir Dam
Connections:
Activities:
walking
biking
Surface:
Hiking Trail - natural
Multi-use Trail - asphalt
Length:
Hiking Trail - 3.5 miles
Multi-use Trail - 1.5 miles
Descrption:
The 1.5-mile asphalt multi-use trail is south of US40. The north end is
on the east side of a bike/pedestrian bridge near Richmond High School,
and the south end is at Test Road. It is a dramatic and beautiful trail
through deep woods with great views of the river gorge and the towering
G Street bridge. There are quite a few steep hills and the trail is often
slippery in places, so extreme caution is advised. Rollerblading is not
recommended!
The rustic hiking trail has a north half and a south half. The south half
runs beside the paved Whitewater Gorge Trail; the north half flanks the
Cardinal Greenway (see map
below). It takes roughly 2 hours to walk the length of the trail and back
at a moderate pace. There are 9 bridges on the trail and 8 sets of stairs.
Parking is available at Springwood Park, Weir Dam and the Test Road entrance.
The trail passes through downtown Richmond and features Thistlewaite Falls,
a bird sanctuary, vertical cliffs, Happy Hollow, Weir Dam, an old flour
mill, and several other points of interest.
Richmond Parks & Recreation plans to construct a section of the Whitewater
Gorge Trail that will provide access to the remaining bridge abutment
from the first bridge built across the Whitewater River for the National
Road in 1834, which was a covered bridge. While there are no immediate
plans to re-create the bridge, the option is included in long range planning.
The project will develop an interpretive site at the abutment. Richmond
will also be developing an interpretive site along the trail to interpret
the Starr-Gennett Piano Company and Recording Studio site, a birthplace
for recorded jazz music. Louie Armstrong recorded his own music for the
first time ever in the Gorge, one of Indiana's most unique natural features.
Also recording there were Bix Beiderbeck, Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver
and Hoagy Carmichael, who recorded "Stardust" for the first time in the
Gorge. Also in the works is an interpretive site for the Richmond Gas
Company Building, which is on the National Register of Historic Buildings.
Future Plans: Richmond
has received a grant to connect the Cardinal Greenway and Whitewater Gorge
Trails via a new trail through the downtown area.
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