Monon South Trail now has 20 miles open to enjoy

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Radius Indiana celebrated the opening of two segments of the Monon South Trail today.

The trail segment in Campbellsburg and Saltillo totals 3.53 miles, with 0.59 miles asphalt pavement and 2.94 miles of crushed stone surface. In New Pekin, 1.39 miles of asphalt pavement and 3.9 miles of crushed stone surface were opened for a total of 5.29 miles.

“With the completion of Phase 1A of the Monon South Trail, Hoosiers living across this region of southern Indiana gain an incredible new connection to the outdoors, neighboring communities, and to one another,” said Maddy Conner, DNR chief of staff. “DNR was proud to support the acquisition of this rails-to-trails corridor and the first phase of trail construction of the Monon South, which will eventually become Indiana’s longest recreational trail.”

Together with previous openings in Mitchell, Orleans, Borden, and Salem, the Monon South Trail now has 20 miles of trail open to the public. Today’s openings complete Phase 1A of construction on the Monon South corridor by Radius Indiana.

With dedicated state funding support, DNR purchased the 62.3-mile Monon South corridor on behalf of New Albany and Radius Indiana for the combined sum of $5.5 million. DNR granted Radius an additional $22.3 million to support Phase 1A development, offering Hoosiers and visitors more than 20 miles of hard-surface trail along the historic former Monon Railroad rail line.

“Our southern Indiana region is truly blessed to have this scale of investment in trail infrastructure completed,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius Indiana. “People from seven different communities can now step out their door and have access to a beautiful facility that is an invitation to enjoy the outdoors and take a break from everyday life. We thank the team at the Department of Natural Resources who collaborated with our Radius team and with the local community leadership to bring this phase of the project to reality.”

DNR has led the largest infusion of trails funding in state history, with $180 million in dedicated trail funding administered through DNR that facilitates critical trail connections within and between Hoosier communities. A total of 44 of the 89 projects are complete, with another 21 under construction. With these two openings, more than 125 miles of trail have been built since the program’s inception.

To view all DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov.