BLOOMINGTON – To date, contractor Spectrum Trail Design has finished or roughed in more than two miles of the four-mile hiking trail on the south side of Griffy Lake.
Some trails on the south shore have been permanently closed, either because there were better existing trail locations, or the trails were built in an unsustainable fashion (e.g. straight up and down slopes).
Scenic Construction Services is nearing completion of the trail improvements at the Griffy Dam, which will include a new staircase and access point from the parking lot below the dam. These projects are scheduled for completion by the end of 2023.
See the map for key trail construction updates
- The light blue, solid line is the South Shore Trail. The solid line means it is completed and open to the public. The dotted line means it is under construction. Overall, contractor Spectrum Trail has finished or roughed in more than two miles of the four-mile trail.
- The red dotted line means trails that have been or will be closed shortly. This isn’t representative of all the various trails and paths that have been closed. Many of the trails are being closed because they were duplicitous or built in an unsustainable fashion (e.g., built straight up and down slopes).
- Gray are existing trails that are remaining for now, or at least until updated.
Key items for the map:
A: The current northern trailhead for the South Shore Trail, which will connect to the Griffy Dam crossing when complete later this fall.
B: The South Shore Trail has two community access points along Dunn Street connected with new trail. Sections of the old trail have been closed and covered.
C: A section of the Blue Ridge Trail connector to the South Shore Trail will be closed here and rerouted (approximately along the blue dashed line) in the coming weeks. The Blue Ridge connector trail that connects to Meadowood to the east will be closed, as the South Shore Trail now connects to Meadowood.
D: South Shore Trail that continues to be constructed and will be opened later this year.
E: A community connection to Meadowood will remain east of the dam at the Meadowood Pond. A steep trail running down the dam itself to access the trail will be closed. The South Shore Trail crosses the creek just north of the Meadowood Dam. Plans are currently being reviewed to update the various connecting trails to the east.
The Griffy Loop Trail and Accessible Fishing Pier project is being completed at Lake Griffy to provide greater safety, accessibility, and connectivity at the Griffy Lake Nature Preserve. While an improved trail and causeway has been in the Griffy Lake Master Plan for decades, this project is being completed now with funding largely from a 2018 Bicentennial Bond. The project is being completed in three phases.
The map below shows the proposed 4-mile south shore trail (in blue), which connects to the Griffy causeway via the pilot trail constructed in 2022. The existing north shore trails are shown in black.
See the 2020 Griffy Lake Trail Map
Phase One – Causeway and Accessible Fishing Pier
This phase, completed in July 2022, constructed the retaining wall and .25-mile multi-use path along Headley Rd, connecting the northern and southern trails around Griffy Lake. This path improved safety, as pedestrians no longer need to walk along the edge of the road to access these trails. It also created an accessible fishing pier directly west of the existing Griffy Lake Nature Preserve parking lot.
Additionally, this phase also constructed the stairs and a .5-mile new hiking trail along the south shore, connecting the causeway to existing IU Research and Teaching Preserve trails. This section of the trail was meant to serve as a pilot project for future trail improvements.
E&B Paving, Inc. constructed the causeway and road improvements, and Spectrum Trail, LLC, completed the hiking trail. The total cost of phase one was $2,330,797, with $1,661,000 in funding from the Bicentennial Bond, $477,417 from general obligation bonds, $76,300 from the general fund, and $116,000 from public works funding for the east side guardrail.
Phase Two – Griffy Dam Trail Crossing
Phase Two of the project will create an official trail across the top of the Griffy Lake Dam as well as a new set of stairs to create an improved access point from the dam parking lot. The trail across the top of the dam will be constructed out of packed quarter minus (gravel) and will connect to existing trails at the north and south ends of the dam. Phase Two will begin in June 2023 and will be completed in Fall 2023. Currently, the trail across the top of the dam is mostly complete and contractors are working on the stairway to the parking area.
The total cost of phase two is projected to be $357,200, with funds from the Prow Rd-Acuff TIF fund and the Bicentennial Bond Series B.
Phase Three – Griffy South Shore Trail Improvements
Phase Three of the project involves constructing a new 4-mile hiking trail along the south shore of Griffy Lake, connecting the south end of the dam to the new .5-mile trail constructed as part of Phase I. The existing trail on the south shore is heavily eroded, difficult to follow, and does not follow current environmental best practices for trails. The trail project will eliminate social and informal trails and create a better, easier-to-follow trail for users. The new trail has been approved by the state Division of Nature Preserves, which operates a Nature Preserve on the south shore. The total cost is projected to be $226,625, funded through the Bicentennial Bond. The trail will be built by Spectrum Trail, LLC, which has built a number of trails throughout the state.
