On April 26, 2022, the Greenways Foundation of Indiana awarded its prestigious award for OUTSTANDING TRAIL GROUP of 2021 to the Prairie Trails Club.  Last October, we celebrated with friends the grand opening of a 2.1 mile extension of the Erie Trail southeast of US Highway 35.  The celebration was made possible when Gov. Eric Holcomb and the Indiana DNR awarded us a Round 1 Next Level Trails Grant.  Many thanks to our donors and to our volunteers who worked tirelessly to accomplish the requisite local match.  

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The Erie Trail is a non-motorized route extending eleven paved miles, within a Starke County public greenway, from North Judson across US 35 to Starke County Road 700 East. An equestrian trail borders the paved trail from Starke County 100 W to Starke County 700 E. To the east in Monterey, Pulaski County, is a shorter paved trail.

Located on the rail-banked right-of-way of the former Erie Lackawanna Railroad, the Erie Trail has great views of the Kankakee River sand country. You will see rich Indiana farmland, as well as natural groves of oak savannah, wildflowers, prairies and marshlands. The level railbed allows easy hiking and bicycling.

The Erie Trail is part of the American Discovery Trail from Delaware to California; the Great American Rail-Trail from Washington, DC to Washington State; and USBR 35 from Ontario to near New Orleans. The Starke County Commissioners have approved four share-the-road routes for better connectivity to the Erie Trail.