Tag: Fort Wayne Rivergreenway

COME RIDE THE FORT WAYNE TRAILS … KIDNEY BELTS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

I have been riding the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Trails for quite a few years now and have racked up over 120,000 miles on them. During that time I have experienced poor trail maintenance and it keeps getting worse. The problem as I see it is that there is no designated maintenance dept. The city of Fort Wayne assigns sections of the trails to the various city departments … Street Dept., Parks Dept., Right of Way Dept. and Allen County Road Dept. They all have their own responsibilities to tend to so the trails are down the list in priority. The city used to hire two men who worked only on trail maintenance and it made a huge difference. But that ended years ago and nothing has been done since to replace them. Most recently we lost our trail maintenance manager who did a lot of trail maintenance all by herself. She was awesome. She quit to take a job in another city up on Michigan. She is really missed. The guy they hired to replace her is next to worthless in comparison. Trying to get the city to do something about this falls on deaf ears. I pretty much believe in … “if you are not going to maintain the trails, don’t build them”. I think it is shameful.

All I have talked about so far is trail maintenance but what I really want to address is trail conditions … the condition of the surface of the trails. I mentioned wearing a kidney belt. I was joking but  it might not be a bad idea. One could lose tooth fillings riding on our trails. They definitely are rough. Even the newest pavement, Becketts Run Trail, is rough. I tried to film a ride on it holding the camera in my hand. I got tossed around so much the video didn’t turn out very good.

I don’t have any suspension on my trike but I do have balloon tires on all 3 wheels and it definitely helps. I don’t have a kidney belt but if the trails get in any worse shape I may have to consider getting one. And I thought they were only for Harley riders. COME RIDE THE FORT WAYNE TRAILS … if you dare.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

BECKETTS RUN TRAIL … FORT WAYNE’S NEWEST TRAIL

Although it is only about 1.75 miles in length it is a welcome addition to our local trail system. And there is a plan to extend it and have it connect to the Pufferbelly Trail which will be great. Once that happens we will have a loop to ride instead of just a linear trail where we have to turn around and go back. Unfortunately that will probably be a very long way off before it becomes reality. I have not heard or read a recent report as to the total amount of miles our trail system is now but I am pretty sure it is about 130 miles now.

The St. Joe Pathway is on the east side of the St. Joe River. This new trail, Becketts Run, is on the west side of the river … at least for a ways before it turns westward following Becketts Run Creek.

The Becketts Run Trail is shown in red in the image below. It starts just north of St. Joe Center Rd. and currently ends at North Clinton St.

To ride to the trail one takes the St. Joe Pathway going under St. Joe Center Rd. Upon emerging on the north side of St. Joe Center Rd. the connecting ramp takes off at the 180 degree curve and runs alongside of St. Joe Center Rd.

To drive to the trailhead parking lot one needs to turn north off of St. Joe Center Rd. onto Martin Luther Drive which is the first road west of the St. Joe River. As it curves westward and goes back into the Lutheran Seminary the trail and trailhead parking lot can be seen on the right just past the chain link fence and tree row.

There is a nice paved parking lot at the start of the trail …

Here is the start of the trail …

Here is where the trail turns westward following the creek …

Here is my trike parked by the bridge over Becketts Run Creek …

And here is the creek. The picture was taken standing on the bridge.

Getting close to the end …

And here is the abrupt end of the trail … to be continued someday.

Here is a video I made today starting on the new ramp just constructed to get from the St. Joseph Pathway (part of the Rivergreenway) over to Becketts Run Trail. I apologize for the jerky video. It was the best I could do holding the camera in one hand as I rode along. I was getting bounced around pretty good.

Below is a picture of where the video starts at which is the connecting ramp off of the St. Joe Pathway. In this picture it was still under construction. The concrete had not yet been poured.

COME RIDE THE FORT WAYNE TRAILS

 

and here is the post I just made recently about this new connecting ramp …

THEY LISTENED TO ME … HARD TO BELIEVE

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

HEADWATERS PARK

The city of Fort Wayne, Indiana where I live was built on the confluence of three rivers … the Saint Joseph river which flows from the north, the Saint Marys river which flows from the south and turns east in the downtown area. These two rivers converge and form the third river, the Maumee river which flows east and then northeast and empties into Lake Erie at Toledo, Ohio.

With rivers come flooding and Fort Wayne has experienced some bad flooding over the years. One of the most memorable floods that happened in my lifetime was back in 1982 when downtown was flooded and then President Ronald Reagan visited and did a photo shoot of him lending a hand handling sand bags.

After that flood occurred “Headwaters Park” was built near downtown. It is designed to flood over and prevent the river’s floodwater from going into the city. I guess it works. I don’t recall seeing any more flooding downtown since. But then again I don’t recall seeing Headwaters Park flooded over either. Oh, I have seen flood water over portions of the park, but I have never seen the entire park flooded over. Anyway, it is a nice park with lots of paved trails running thru it. I have ridden on them many times.

Here is a picture taken from the north looking south. It only shows the northernmost portion of the park.

This photo must be “touched up” as I have never seen blue water in our rivers. They are all brown and nasty looking … nothing at all like this picture shows. BTW, the rivers are also nasty smelling. There is gobs of trees jammed up at bridges, etc. Maintenance is badly needed.

That is the MLK jr. Memorial Bridge which was built a few years ago to replace (upgrade) the old bridge across the St. Marys river on Clinton St. It is a beautiful bridge which lights up at night. It has several different colors of lights on it that can be turned on making it very attractive. Here is a video of it. At about the half way point (one minute into the video) they show the lighting.

Here is another video showing the bridge from the side as the lighting changes.

The park is divided in two by Clinton St. One can ride a trail to go under Clinton St. on the north end of the park to get from one side of the park to the other side. That is, if it is not flooded over. There is also a crosswalk with pedestrian traffic light control on Clinton St.

Here is a satellite image of the park (in the center of the image). You can see all the trails in the park.

And here is an aerial view of the park.

Here is a video I made of me riding my trike across the MLK jr. bridge and thru Headwaters Park.

The regular bicycle trails are close by running along the river. They are called the “Rivergreenway” because they are built along the rivers … all three rivers. They were the original trails built here in Fort Wayne. There are about 25 miles of them. They are nice but unfortunately they flood over all too often and the trails remain closed for some time as a result.

Here is a video I made several years ago as I rode to and thru Headwaters Park. I approached it from the west side this time. The area I am riding thru to get to it is all changed now as “Promenade Park” has been built there.

I have posted about this bridge and park once previously. You can read that post HERE. If you ever visit Fort Wayne and have your trike (or even bike) with you and would like to ride our trails I would be delighted to ride with you and help you navigate them. Just  email me initially to communicate. Yep, I know the trails like the back of my hand. Hey, where’d my hand go? 😉

tadpolerider2@gmail.com

Wherever you ride, do try to …

ENJOY THE RIDE! 

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

TREK THE TRAILS

Here where I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana we have what is called Trek the Trails. It is an organized bicycle ride led by various people. It is usually about  8 miles long and features a different trail or section of a trail each time. It is held on Tuesday evenings starting in April and ending in October each year. The purpose of this ride is to help people learn the trail system. Here is a video of an interview with the manager of the trail system talking about Trek the Trails. This interview took place in April 2019.

And here is the assistant trail manager in a more recent interview.

And here is another organized ride held in the wintertime …

The Towpath Trail …

The St. Marys Pathway …

Lastly here is a video showing various trails here in Fort Wayne …

When I first started riding on our trail system we had about 21 miles of trails which is what is called the Rivergreenway consisting of trails along the three rivers here in Fort Wayne. Today as I compose this article we have approximately 130 miles of trails. Even so my favorite riding is still on those original 21 miles. I also like the Towpath Trail and Pufferbelly Trail. The Pufferbelly Trail has a long way to go before completion but once it is done it will really be nice as it will connect to other trails making it possible to ride about 90 miles one way between near Bluffton, IN to the south of Fort Wayne to north of Angola, IN near the Michigan State Line.

This year due to the Covid 19 PLANdemic the Trek the Trails program won’t start off until June 2nd.

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

COME RIDE THE FORT WAYNE TRAILS

Fort Wayne is Indiana’s second largest city with a growing population currently around 268,000. We are blessed to have about 130 miles of trails at this point in time. About 79 miles of them are connected together. They are all paved … mostly with asphalt and a small amount are concrete. The original trails are known as the Rivergreenway because they follow along the three rivers we have here in Fort Wayne. The Rivergreenway consists of about 21 miles of linear trails. The Rivergreenway consists of the St. Joseph Pathway, the St. Marys Pathway and the Maumee Pathway. Two other trails I recommend are the Towpath Trail and the Pufferbelly Trail. HERE is a map of the entire trail system.

For those who are campers there is a very nice campground conveniently located in Johnny Appleseed Park which has one of the Rivergreenway Trails (the St. Joseph Pathway) going right past it. There are also two fenced in dog parks available just across the street from the campground for those who have dogs with them. It is called Camp Canine and is 60,000 square feet in area. To check out the cost and requirements click on the dog parks link above. I often times stop by on my trike just to watch the dogs play and interact with one another. On the map below the black line area is the campground, the blue line area is the dog parks and the red line is the St. Joseph Pathway (bike trail).

I am available to ride with anyone who wants to come here and ride on our trails. I will help with learning the trails and making sure you are safe and don’t get lost. I look forward to meeting you. You can email me for further communication, information and planning. My email address is …   tadpolerider2 at gmail dot com.

May we all …

ENJOY THE RIDE!

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

 

 

PICK A TRAIL, ANY TRAIL

Here in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area where I live we are blessed to have several trails to ride on. There are currently about 130 miles of trails and more are planned and slowly being built. HERE is a web page which has information on them as well as great photos.

I know that many places have more and even better trails but I also know many places have no trails at all. My wife and I moved to Fort Wayne back in 2003. A couple of years passed by before I heard about the existing bike trails. They only had the original Rivergreenway at that time … some 21 miles or so of trails … consisting of three different trails which followed the three rivers here in Fort Wayne. Upon learning of these trails I immediately started riding on them and thoroughly enjoying doing so. Since I started in about 2005 I think the trail network has steadily increased in total mileage until now it is around 115 miles of paved trails. And since I started riding on them I have accumulated over 87,000 miles. I think it is safe to say that I am quite familiar with them. Update — in early 2022 there are about 130 miles of trails.

Below is a video of a bike ride on one of the Fort Wayne Trails … the St. Marys Pathway, one of the original trails known as the Rivergreenway. It follows along the St. Marys River.

HERE is another web page the city parks dept. offers with information and maps on the trail system.

On one of the trails, the St. Joe Pathway, it goes right through Johnny Appleseed Park where a fairly large campground is located (about 2 miles north of the downtown area). So anyone who is into camping whether by tent or RV has a convenient place to stay and ready access to the trail. It is right near convenient dining and shopping. There is a nice restroom and shower facility at the campground. The campground only operates seasonally … closed through the winter months.

This is the current Fort Wayne trail network as of Nov. 2018:

The red lines are the current trails. Lots of trails are planned throughout Indiana and many of them are suppose to connect together. I don’t know if it will ever materialize but it would be really great to have such a trail network.

Below is a video of the trails manager and the mayor of Fort Wayne talking about Fort Wayne Trails and showing video footage of various trails. This was several years ago and at that time there were only 68 miles of trails.

So I invite you to come to Fort Wayne and PICK A TRAIL, ANY TRAIL to ride. And if you would like an experienced guide as well as someone to ride with just let me know. You can EMAIL ME initially.

Wherever you choose to ride be safe out there and …

ENJOY THE RIDE!

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

HAVE YOU BEEN GOOGLED?

Yes, our local trail system has been Googled.

It seems like it was about 2 years ago our city’s assistant manager of the Greenway System was driving a golf cart around with the infamous Google cameras aboard.

And here is the sign which appears on the back of the golf cart …

Also a man was wearing the back pack camera outfit and walking around with it. Yep, we’ve been Googled. It took a very long time before this effort finally materialized and showed up on Google Maps. Just today I received notice via email that it is available online. Unfortunately the entire trail system was not included and even some of the trails that were only have a mile or so filmed and appearing online. Never the less, it is neat to see this feature available.

Here are some screenshots I captured of the Street View of some of our trails:

Above: Pufferbelly Trail north of Dupont Rd. This trail upon completion will be about 80 miles long.

It is a rails to trails project.

Below: Pufferbelly Trail south of Dupont Rd.

Below: St. Marys Pathway which  runs alongside of the St. Marys River.

Above: The St. Joe Pathway which follows along the St. Joe River. Here it is going under St. Joe Center Rd.

Below: The St. Joe Pathway as it comes onto the property of a local university it shares the trail with. Here it crosses the river using this bridge and continues along the other side of the river.

Below, My current personal favorite local trail is the Maumee Pathway which follows along the Maumee River. Here it passes under Maplecrest Rd.

Upon Googling “Fort Wayne Rivergreenway Street View” HERE is where Google took me. It is the Maumee Pathway and just happens to be the section I am assigned to as a Greenway Ranger.

Here is a map showing some of the Fort Wayne Trails …

Click to access FWT005-Trail%20Map%202017-WEB(2).pdf

HERE you can find maps of individual trails around Fort Wayne, IN.

And HERE is an article about  the Google Maps Street View Trekker project.

As of the end of 2018 we have about 109 miles of trails and more are being added each year.

You may never have the opportunity to come to the Fort Wayne, Indiana area to ride the trail system, but if you do hopefully this information will be helpful. Regardless of where you are at do your best to …

KEEP ON TRIKIN’ 

and

ENJOY THE RIDE

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

TREK THE TRAILS

Every Tuesday evening at 6 PM from April thru October here in Fort Wayne, Indiana the local trails authority conducts what they call Trek the Trails.

Trek the Trails ride meetup

Each week they have an organized ride where bicyclists can show up at a designated starting point to form up and head out riding a different section each week. By the end of the “riding season” they will have covered the whole trail system and probably repeated some of it. The rides are usually about 6 to 9 miles long. They are open to all and families are most welcome.

Depending upon the weather the turn out is usually pretty good … 60 to 100 riders. Someone always leads the rides and someone always brings up the rear making sure everybody made it ok. I have only personally ridden on a couple of them as I ride all of the trails frequently and know them all quite well. The main purpose of these rides is to introduce people to the local trails and help them to learn about them.

Trek the Trails ride

Probably at least 4 times during these rides they offer special events in addition to the ride itself. Sometimes they have a live band, food, dance, bicycle giveaway by drawing, etc. On one such ride they go to a predetermined location out away from the city lights where they have telescopes set up to check out the stars and whatever else they can see in the heavenlies.

Here is a video of one of the rides from 2012. It is on the Saint Joseph Pathway to Shoaff Park. It started out at Johnny Appleseed Park.

And HERE are other videos of these rides. And HERE are other videos of  Fort Wayne Trails.

In addition to these Tuesday evening rides they also have a Saturday morning ride once a month which is longer and geared a little more for those more serious about riding including a little faster pace and longer distance. But again, it is open to all and someone brings up the rear ensuring everyone makes it regardless of whether they keep up the pace of the leader. These rides always get spread out considerably. Even the Tuesday evening rides do, but probably not as much.

Trek the Trails ride 3

Anyway, I think it is a pretty good thing that they offer this. It is good to promote the trails and help people learn of them. In doing so it raises awareness and more and more people are taking to the trails. And after all … that is what it is all about. Just so they don’t get too crowded as we want to be able to continue to …

ENJOY THE RIDE!

AUTUMN RIDE ON TRAIL

I was watching some videos on YouTube of our local trails here in Fort Wayne, Indiana when I came across this one which sort of caught my eye … probably because of the fact it was in Autumn with the leaves on the trees changing colors which is always so pretty. The colors certainly are not breathtaking as they are some years, but they are still pleasing to see. Anyway, I thought I would share it so others could enjoy it as well. Fort Wayne’s original trail system known as the Rivergreenway are trails built which follow along the three rivers here in Fort Wayne. This video features the St. Marys Pathway which follows along the St. Marys River.

Here is a map of our current trail system. It is not quite up to date as there have been a few short sections added since this map was created. The trails are represented by the red lines. We presently have just over 100 miles of trails completed. And more miles are planned and slowly materializing. The St. Marys Pathway is the north-south trail in the middle of the map toward the bottom.

ft wayne trails map