In 2004, the city of Indianapolis granted the cultural development commissioners permission to use the city right-of-way to build a walking/biking trail. Local legends Eugene and Marilyn Glick committed $15 million, grants came in, and $63 million, and nine years later, voila! The city held a grand opening of the 8 miles of cultural trail. (More history here if you are interested.)
So what does this mean? There are six cultural districts located around Indy. Each offers a different feel with restaurants, shopping and more. All of them are connected by trail, making it easy to visit/walk/bike each and enjoy all Indy has to offer. My husband and I took advantage last month. We borrowed some friend's bikes, headed downtown, and had a grand time!
The path is easy to navigate. Maps are available online (I printed one in advance) if you want to plan your route more carefully. We didn't get to all the districts that day, but we started at Mass Ave, Rode through the city, And ended up at White River State Park (shameless plug - you can read about that adventure we had here.) You can also visit Fountain Square, Wholesale District and Indiana Avenue. It would be a blast to do several visits and focus on one or two areas because there is so much to see - even at night!
You might say, "But I don't have a bike." Well, no worries there. The Indiana Pacers Bikeshare began. It offers over 250 bikes around town at 25 locations (conveniently located on the Cultural Trail!) at a reasonable cost. So, you don't have any excuses now, right?
Oh, and I just remembered that I should mention the art! There are seven pieces of public art on the trail. The Glick Peace Walk is part of the trail, which celebrates 12 luminary individuals who made peaceful progress.
Be sure to Visit Indy to pair this with one of the MANY events and attractions in the area. Something is always going on in one of my favorite cities to explore.
