Indiana has a number of trails with minimal obstacles. Some are very easy and others are wheelchair accessible. Here are just a few of them.
These links were found through Internet search. I would love to have some first-hand recommendations. With your help, we can share our knowledge with disabled people everywhere and also increase awareness of the need for more accessibility. Please e-mail me with your suggestions using the form in the sidebar.
Federal
State
Local
Private
Miscellaneous
Federal
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore follows 15 miles of the southern shore of Lake Michigan and offers “50 miles of trails over rugged dunes, mysterious wetlands, sunny prairies, meandering rivers and peaceful forests.”
Accessibility Maps and Trails Phone 219-395-1882 Here is their website.
Here is a description of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore from The Disabled Traveler’s Companion
Portage Lakefront & Riverwalk Trail Systems 0.9 mile paved “access to the lakefront and beach, trails that highlight dune succession, an accessible fishing pier and a restored 900-foot breakwater. ” Trail Map
State
Indiana Recreation Guidebook
This guide to recreation in Indiana has a short entry for each of the many parks. There is a location map, phone number, and a set of icons for the different amenities. Seventeen of them have a dotted line indicating accessibility around the hiking icon. It will take me a while to learn about these, but if you have a favorite, please let me know and I will add it to this site.Brown County State Park
Brown County State Park is Indiana’s largest park at almost 16,000 acres of “rugged hills, ridges and fog-shrouded ravines. Glaciers from the most recent ice ages stopped short of the ‘hills o’ Brown,’ but their meltwaters helped create the narrow ridges, steep slopes and deep gullies of Brown County State Park. ”
Here is their website Phone 812-988-6406
Friends Trail “Short, easy, paved trail, with benches and vista on flat terrain.”Fort Harrison State Park
Ft. Harrison State Park, on the NE of Indianapolis, is a 1,700 acre park with a blend of landscape and history. It includes four nature preserves.
Map and Brochure Phone 317-591-0904. Here is their website.
? Harrison Trace Trail 3.2 miles asphalt surface trail for “walkers, bicyclists and joggers.” It is described as easy, but there are some hills. Call ahead to see if it really would work for you with your kind of wheelchair.
? Tree ID Trail 1 mile mowed and said to be easy.Indiana Dunes State Park
Indiana Dunes State Park’s 2,182 acres lie at the north end of State Road 49 in Porter County, and includes more than three miles of beautiful beach along Lake Michigan’s southern shore. Sand dunes tower nearly 200 feet above the lake. A wide range of habitats provides homes for many types of plants and animals.
Map Phone (219) 926-1952 Here is their website.
The only trail with an accessible icon on the map is to the beach and described as “moderate.”
Trail #2 is 3 “easy” miles and good for early spring flowers and ferns. Best to call to be sure it is easy for you.A list of Indiana’s State Forests, also with links.
A list of Indiana’s State Parks with links to information about each.
McCormick’s Creek State Park
McCormick’s Creek State Park, Spencer, has a limestone canyon, flowing creek, and scenic waterfalls. Hiking trails feature diverse forest trees, spicebush, and native wildflowers, including a trail through Wolf Cave Nature Preserve.
Phone 812-829-2235 Map and Brochure Here is the DNR’s website. Here is another, commercial website.
Trail #8 0.7mile paved? Trails #6 0.6 mile, and #9 1.2 miles are described as easy, but that doesn’t mean they are barrier-free. Call ahead.Ouabache State Park
Ouabache (pronouced Wabash) State Park, Blufton, runs along the north side of the Wabash River. Although the Indiana Recreation Guidebook shows accessible hiking for this park, I don’t see that on their map.
Map Phone 260-824-0926 Here is their website.
? Trails #1 (1 mile), #2 (1.5 miles) and #3 (1.5 miles) are all described as “easy”. Call to learn just how easy.
? There is a paved bicycle path more or less parallel to the river. Call to see if it would work for a wheelchair.Pokagon State Park/ Trine State Recreation Area
Pokagon State Park, Angola, “…is framed by Lake James and Snow Lake, which offer abundant opportunities for boating, swimming, fishing and scenic sunsets.”
Map and Brochure Here is their website. Phone 260-833-2012
Bike Trail 1.6 miles “Connects campgrounds, Nature Center, saddle barn, Inn and park entrances.”
? Trails #4 (1.4 miles) and # 5 (0.7 miles) are said to be easy. Call ahead to be sure.
Local
City of Indianapolis
Eagle Creek Park
This city park, on the Eagle Creek Reservoir, encompasses 1400 acres of water and 3900 acres of forest. “Eagle Creek Park is one of the largest city parks in the nation, offering unmatched opportunities for recreation, enjoyment, and discovery of nature only minutes from downtown Indianapolis. This is their website. Call the park 317-327-7110 or the Earth Discovery Center 317-327-7148 to learn more about their trails. Trail map.
They sent this helpful response to my inquiry via facebook: “There is an old paved road that is now an accessible pedestrian trail that runs north of the Ornithology Center – on the map it’s the dotted line that goes from the Ornithology Center to the Blue Trail. It’s along a high bluff, so you get a nice view of the reservoir in a few spots, and it goes through some nice, shady older forest. It does have one section that can get some standing water after heavy spring rains, but is usually dry the rest of the year. The section of the Blue Trail that it connects to is a gravel road that is closed to vehicle traffic – probably pretty bumpy for most wheelchairs, but might be accessible to some. There is also an accessible access to the overlook/fishing area at the Marina.
Most of the other hiking trails are compacted gravel and rock trail mix – some smaller or all-terrain type wheelchairs might do ok on flatter portions of them, but larger or motorized wheelchairs would probably have difficulty. Most of the park roads also have a paved pedestrian strip along the side, but it is right next to park traffic.”
Private
Miscellaneous
The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy lists wheelchair accessible trails in Indiana.
The Indiana Trails Inventory – This map allows you to zoom in on an area and see where there are wheelchair accessible trails. Click on these to learn more and get contact information where available.