The Greenways Foundation promotes greenways, blueways and multi-use trails in Indiana.

Join us as we celebrate trails in Indiana! Governor Holcomb will be our speaker as we continue Taking Trails to the Next Level in recognition of Indiana’s Next Level Trails initiative.

You are invited to celebrate with us April 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Ritz Charles, 12156 North Meridian Street in Carmel.

Sponsorship opportunities are available as well as individual tickets.

We also will give our annual Indiana Greenways Foundation Awards. Read the criteria for the awards and nominate your choices!

The Greenways Foundation has served the State of Indiana for more than a decade as a non-profit organization promoting trails — advocating, creating, developing and maintaining recreational and transportation trails across Indiana. The Foundation offers technical assistance, fund development, support, enhancement and operation of Indiana’s greenways, trails and connections. In addition, the Foundation has successfully partnered with the private sector to achieve our mission.

The Foundation’s successes during the last year have been numerous:

Organized and hosted six Trail Town workshops across Indiana to promote ways to entice people off the trail to spend money and stimulate the local economies;
Create and communicate our 2019 Legislative Platform, which now is available on the Foundation’s web site;
Awarded $26,000 in grants to trails organizations for projects ranging from bridges to horse trails to an organization just getting its not-for-profit status. Since the grants program began, the Foundation has given over $100,000 to 32 greenways and blueways groups;
Partnered with the Eppley Institute at Indiana University on a statewide trails survey which provides much needed information about the impact and importance of trails in Indiana.

We look forward to seeing you in April!

Trail of the Month

When a trail system connects four communities, multiple parks, and miles of rural countryside, it deserves attention. Such is the case with the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail, Wilden Avenue Trail (part of the Maple City Greenway), and the Mapleheart Trail. Elkhart, Goshen, Middlebury, and Shipshewana are the communities benefiting from this 25-mile gem in northern Indiana, as are all points in between, and the combined trail system is 25 miles long. While four local government agencies each manage portions of the trail, much credit goes to the Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail, which purchased the Pumpkinvine corridor in 1993 and has remained active in developing, managing, and extending the greenway.

Friends of the Pumpkinvine

Goshen Parks & Recreation

Mapleheart Trail, TrailLink, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Our Trail of the Month feature is sponsored by Citizens Energy Group.

Getting around

The Town of Pendleton is connecting east and west with a bicycle/pedestrian bridge crossing I-69. City leaders, anticipating future growth, say the span is a gateway to the future of Pendleton. In a community known for its architecture, the bridge mirrors the historic truss bridge crossing nearby Fall Creek.

Diana and Hall Virgil received a well-earned honor when the Brownsburg Parks & Recreation Board voted to name a park after them to honor their years of work and effort to create and sustain the B&O Trail.

For added coolness as you find your way around the Fort Wayne trail system, download the new Fort Wayne Trails App. Available for iOS, coming soon for Android.

Greenways Foundation Annual Report

You may download our 2018 Annual Report (PDF, 721 KB) or read the synopsis below.

The Greenways Foundation presented our 2019 Legislative Platform with the help of Indiana trail stakeholders. We continue to work with state legislators on funding the existing Trails Maintenance Fund and sustainable funding for new trails when the Next Level Trails program is complete. The demand for trails in Indiana is strong!

We proudly sponsored the 2018 Greenways+Blueways Map in Northwest Indiana. We have served as a sponsor for this excellent resource since the first map was published in 2008. We understand the importance of marketing, and can help you with getting the word out about your trail, too!

Our state license plate accounts for our main source of revenue. At the end of 2018, there were 1,446 plates sold for a total income of $36,150. Those who buy plates become new members of the Foundation. Thanks to our state plates, we were able to award $21,000 in grants to five trail projects in 2018! These include:

$5,000 to Noble Trails to aid with the extension of the Fishing Line Trail between Rome City and Kendallville.
$1,000 to the Friends of the Quaker Trace Trail for start-up costs to secure federal non-profit status.
$5,000 to aid the Indianapolis Parks Foundation in repairing a bridge on the Pogues Run Trail.
$5,000 to Prairie Trails Club to aid with the expansion of the Erie Trail.
$5,000 to South Adams Trails to aid with the installation of two historic bridges for trail use between Berne and Geneva.

Financial Report 2018

Inflow $54,000
License plates 67%
Annual luncheon 27%
Donations 6%

Outflow $42,500
Grants program 44%
Business expenses 36%
— Community engagement, accounting services, board insurance, reimbursements
Fundraising 20%
— Luncheon venue, printing, marketing, conferences