Colorful bridges (north to south): green Broad Ripple bowstring, new in 2000; blue 1870s bedstead at Illinois Street, restored in 1999; and red 1870s bowstring at IMA, restored in 1999.

For decades, joggers, walkers and cyclists have made the Towpath a trail.

Old path, new way

It is both a vintage remnant of 19th Century Indiana, and a modern mid-city escape along gentle waters and into quiet woods. The Towpath is more than five miles long, from the Canal's headwater in Broad Ripple to its south terminus at 30th Street.

Along the way, users can enjoy two restored 19th Century bridges (one of which connects to the gardens and grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art) and a new pedestrian bridge in bustling Broad Ripple Village.

Today, the Central Canal Towpath is the lynchpin of a Greenways loop that includes the Monon Trail and the White River Wapahani Trail, and a cross-downtown connection formed by St. Clair and Dorman Streets.

The trail surface is packed crushed limestone, a reminder of its hard-working heritage as a corridor for cargo and passenger boats pulled by draft animals.

The path made by people

As early as the 1960s, Indianapolis citizens began voting with their feet to make the Towpath a greenway. Even today, the single track made by thousands of joggers and walkers is rutted and visible.

Early trail proponents found the City skeptical of suggestions that downtown and the north side could be linked by a trail system following the Canal and the levee of White River. But as public demand for greenways grew in the early '90s, the Towpath became a primary focus of the newly-created Indy Parks Greenways team, who clearly saw the value of trails and connections. IPG dedicated the 52nd to 30th Street portion of the Towpath in 1996 and constructed the College-to-Illinois leg a year later.

In 2001 and 2002, the section from Guilford Avenue to the Monon Trail was paved, landscaped and lit with gaslights as part of a Broad Ripple Village beautification project.

Photo tour: Select a photo icon below to view pictures in a new browser window or download a printer-friendly trail map in PDF format (1.4mb).