The Fall Creek Trail, or Greenway, connects northeast Marion County and downtown Indianapolis through a winding path that clings to the riparian corridor.
The trail starts at the Skiles Test Nature Park trailhead, leading to the Monon Rail Trail on 33rd Street before heading southwest toward downtown.
Along the way, you’ll come across a crushed limestone loop trail that spans 1.5 miles. The loop trail is a popular spot for joggers and walkers, and takes you past Fall Creek’s long overflow pond. The eastern shore area is prone to flooding after heavy rainfall due to its close proximity to the pond.
Benches and communal checkerboards pepper the trail, and three canoe launch ramps make it easy to kayak along the nearby waterway.
The Greenway can be accessed outside the trailheads, and you’ll find plenty of parking at various points along the trail.
Delicate wetlands can be found in the northern section of the trail, where you can easily connect to the Skiles Test Park. The southern section of the trail connects to the Monon Trail.
Further downstream is a shorter section of trail that links to the White River Wapahani Trail, which is where Fall Creek feeds into White River.
The 10.5-mile pedestrian trail follows along the historic George Kessler Boulevard Plan, taking you past stunning century-old bridges and the waterway.
George Kessler was hired in 1908 to create a system of parks for the city. Kessler spent a year studying Indianapolis and its needs, and unveiled his plan in 1909. The plan included three larger regional parks and several neighborhood parks that were connected by parkways, or recreational corridors. At the time, local residents would drive along the parkways on Sunday afternoons, stopping to wade in the waterways.
In the 1990s, most of the parkways were transformed into pedestrian pathways, connecting parks and neighborhoods.