About the Nickel Plate Trail
The Nickel Plate Trail is the 40+mile railtrail corridor running from Kokomo in Howard County to Rochester in Fulton County. This corridor was purchased from the Norfolk Southern Railroad via the Federal Railbanking program for the purpose of developing a trail for hiking, bicycling, and other non-motorized recreational uses. The trail currently goes through the communities of Cassville, Bennetts Switch, Miami, Bunker Hill, Peru, Denver, Deedsville, Birmingham, Macy and Rochester. The Nickel Plate Trail is ideal for walking, hiking, running, bicycling, skating, or even cross country skiing. Overall it is comfortably wide, smooth, and maintains an almost unnoticeable grade. There is a good mixture of open and shaded trail.
The trail follows what was once the Nickel Plate Railroad, running alongside and in places crossing over, Little Pipe Creek. The landscape surrounding the trail not only looks beautiful, but has the unmistakable fresh smell of the Indiana countryside. No matter how many times you visit the trail, there is always something new for you to discover.
As you explore the woodlands and wetlands, you can see a wide variety of plant and animal life. Of interest is Scout Bridge, which crosses Little Pipe Creek, and an old dam with some historical interest, both of which are just south of the Peru trailhead. South of Bunker Hill and to the east of the trail are some of the remains of the Union Traction railway, the electric interurban line that was abandoned around 1940.
Well cared for, the Nickel Plate Trail is one of the nicest-looking trails in the Midwest. The amazing sights, sounds and scents the trail provides make it much more than just a great place to visit, it’s an experience.
