We are very excited to share the news that on September 19th, the Friends of the Pumpkinvine Trail, Inc. was awarded a $100,000 READI grant to assist in completing the trail. Recent construction cost volatility has made it challenging to know exactly how much the final section will actually cost, but this grant puts the Friends in a good financial …
By Brittany Short I remember attending my first Friends of the Pumpkinvine Board meeting in 2016. The most memorable item on the agenda that day explored the question: What does the Friends of the Pumpkinvine become after all the “gaps” are complete? Conversations about the Shipshewana extension had begun, we were actively engineering the section between County Roads 20 and …
The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail would not be possible without the tremendous support of this community through volunteerism, sponsorships, advocacy, and donations. Because we value every commitment made to the trail, we are making a change to our donor recognition program to reflect that gratitude. Rather than referring to those who donate as “members”, all donors will now be referred to …
The Krider Rest Area is now open, and is the direct result of a collaboration between various community entities including: Town of Middlebury Friends of Middlebury Parks Community Foundation of Elkhart County Bontrager Family Foundation Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail Pumpkinvine Cyclery The Scott & Vonnie Trumble Family The facility has two handicap accessible restrooms complete with diaper changing …
650 feet of greenway to the west of County Road 35 in Middlebury is nearly complete, and the long-anticipated closure of the Trail’s final gap is on the horizon. However, Brittany Short, Friends of the Pumpkinvine Board President, says that getting to this point took longer than anticipated. Gas main discovery halts 2020 construction In October of 2020, Trail construction …
By John Yoder Elkhart resident Robert Carrico, a member of the Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail board of directors, received the 2021 Outstanding Trail Advocate award from the Indiana Greenways Foundation at the organization’s virtual Annual Luncheon, April 29, 2021. The foundation gives this award each year to the trail advocate who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in promoting trails …
by John Yoder, Brittany Short & Norm Kauffmann One of the final gaps in the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail has received funding for development. On Thursday, March 4th, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ NextLevel Trails program announced second round grant picks. This announcement comes nearly a near after the original decisions were due to be made; postponed due to the …
Thanks in part to a generous NextLevel Trails Grant, and the work of more than a few determined individuals, Pumpkinvine Nature Trail will finally connect to downtown Shipshewana by the end of 2021. On Thursday, March 4th, the grantees of the 2nd round of NextLevel Trails Grants were announced–nearly a near after the original announcement predictions, due to the COVID-19 …
Photos of the newly installed signs on 2/19/2021; cement base covered in plastic to allow time to cure. If you’re driving along County Road 20 southwest of Middlebury, or are adventurous enough to be pedaling by, you may notice a new sign has appeared along the Trail. This Donor Recognition sign has been in the works for several years, …
Every time I ride the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail over the trestle bridge spanning the Little Elkhart River in Middlebury, I’m reminded of how bad the area south of the bridge looked before it was turned into the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail. I remember it as something like a dump, and I’m amazed to see how much better it looks today with …
In the autumn of 2019 Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail purchased two parcels of land needed for the trail extension. They closed on this parcel early in 2020 and transferred ownership to the Town of Shipshewana. In late summer of 2020 Shipshewana received the final donation of land need to extend the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail from County Road 850 …
Many sections of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail are over 10 years old. Erosion threatens to undermine the asphalt at some locations where the trail was built on a raised railroad bed. On May 1st Elkhart County Parks used a front loader tractor to move 100 tons of #53 gravel to an eroded area near County Road 26 just east of …
