Step by step, the National Road Heritage Trail (NRHT) is stretching across America providing a living tribute to the road that made westward settlement possible. Hendricks County Parks and Recreation has partnered with the Hendricks County Trail Association to maintain three-mile Vandalia Trail that connects Amo to Coatesville and in the future, extend the trail across the county.  Ultimately the trail is envisioned to be part of the National Road Heritage Trail stretch 150 miles from Terre Haute to Richmond using the former Pennsylvania and Vandalia rail corridors (where possible) and closely follow the Historic National Road for much of its route.

Trail enthusiasts may access trailheads in Amo or Coatesville and enjoy biking, hiking, or running along one of Hendricks County’s most beautiful and natural trails.  Trailhead locations can be found on the county-wide recreation page.

     

 


Trails connecting communities are not easy to come by in Hendricks County but, with the help of a $665,238 grant awarded by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), our department as a great leg-up on developing one of the premier trail resources in Indiana. The grant was awarded to our department in November to further develop the National Road Heritage Trail (NRHT) in Hendricks County.

The NRHT, conceived just six years ago, is considered one of the most important trails in the state. It is planned to extend 150-miles from Terre Haute to Anderson, directly through our county where it's called the Vandalia Trail in honor of the old Vandalia Rail corridor much of the trail follows. In Plainfield, the trail has been developed into a paved, multi-use, non-motorized recreation trail. An additional three miles of natural surface trail exists between Amo and Coatesville with a parallel trail for equestrian riders. For the past two years, we have worked in partnership with the Indiana Trails Fund improving and maintaining that portion.

The funds received from INDOT will be used to help acquire eight miles of easement property spanning from Amo through Clayton to Cartersburg Road. Once acquired and developed, the trail will provide a wonderful recreational resource for trail users and equestrian riders from Cartersburg Road to Coatesville and, someday, on to Greencastle and beyond. The Town of Plainfield has plans to extend their trail to meet with ours at Cartersburg Road which will provide great connectivity for trail users (although equestrian accommodations are not planned further east into Plainfield).

What a great development for our community! We consider ourselves very fortunate to help provide one of Indiana's premier recreation trails to our residents right here in Hendricks County. This trail will be a great pathway for hikers, bikers, and horse riders to travel between our communities in a safe and enjoyable way. It's our hope that in the not too distant future, travel from Plainfield to the Ohio or Illinois border will become a reality on this tremendous resource. Come out and enjoy the Vandalia Trail today!

 
 
 

Hendricks County Parks & Recreation Main Office
P.O. Box 463 · 955 E. Main · Danville · Indiana 46122
Phone · (317) 718-6188 Fax · (317) 718-6190
Email · hcparks@hcparks.net

Web page last updated: April 21, 2010

 

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