LIFESTYLE

Major park and trail projects to finish this fall in South Bend and Elkhart

Outdoor Adventures

Joseph Dits
South Bend Tribune

Autumn came at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. So while we try to guess when the weakening green foliage in the trees will burst with more color — and when the wink of maple red will flourish everywhere — it’s worth watching for major park and trail projects to finish.

They’re pretty darned close. Here’s a quick pulse on projects that I’d alerted you to this year.

The makeover of Pinhook Park in South Bend looks finished, but it’s not. A new paved trail makes a loop as it winds along the U-shaped lagoon, used by parents with kids on trikes and others, including a Cub Scout troop from Granger that recently rode bikes and scooters there and on the adjoining Riverside Trail.

A new metal fishing pier was installed, along with a separate wheelchair-accessible canoe and kayak launch (a colleague of mine found someone with a disability recently using it for that purpose). Loads of people have been fishing from both structures all summer and on the other shores. Kids are playing on new playground equipment, too.

But Aaron Perri, director of the city’s Venues, Parks and Arts, says the park will soon receive two interactive art features, landscaping, extra way-finding signs on the trail and bollards on the trail to keep vehicles out.

That’s expected to finish by the end of October. By spring, about 50 native trees will be planted and labeled. Pinhook Park is on Riverside Drive south of Cleveland Road.

Also by the end of October, contractors hope to finish what will be called the Joe Kernan Trail — the remake of the riverside trail between Howard Park and the Farmer’s Market. It replaces the low, narrow trail at the water’s edge, which has been removed. Two overlooks are still being built near the rowing clubhouses at Gov. Joe Kernan Park, Perri says. And, importantly, safety railing has yet to be installed by the trail.

A narrow concrete trail along the St. Joseph River has been removed and replaced with a new paved trail on the higher bank (not seen here) in South Bend, just beyond an outlook that's being built at Gov. Joe Kernan Park.

The River Ramble nature play area at St. Patrick’s County Park in South Bend is mostly complete, except for some signs and components, St. Joseph County Parks Director Steve Slauson says. It could wrap up by the end of this month or in early October, but it’s too early to say whether it can open this fall or next spring, he says, adding, “A lot depends on how well the grass and some of the plants get established before it gets too cold.”

The pavement is down for the new trail along Indiana 933 that links the East Bank Trail at Angela Boulevard and the LaSalle Trail at Douglas Road. But there are some key street crossings that still need work for safety, plus benches and landscaping — expected to be finished by mid-October, says Paul Phair, with Holladay Properties, a partner in the project.

In downtown Elkhart, the Elkhart River’s aging dam has been removed and turned into rapids, scattered with boulders to create a little whitewater — chiefly to allow native fish to swim upstream. But contractors are still working on a launch site for canoes and kayaks just east (and upstream) of the dam and hope to finish by late October, says the city’s aquatic biologist, Daragh Deegan.

I’ll follow up with details here when all of these projects are done.

A pavilion, paths, water pump (in the upper right) and water drainage are part of the nearly finished River Ramble nature play area at St. Patrick’s County Park in South Bend, which has greened up since this Sept. 12 photo.

National Public Lands Day

Volunteer projects and free admission to all national parks across the U.S. on Saturday will mark this annual day. Indiana State Parks and recreation areas will offer free admission on Sunday as part of the weekend. At 10 a.m. Saturday, the group Corazon Latino will provide musical performances from select public lands around the country at facebook.com/nationalpubliclandsday. Here are ways to help:

• Potato Creek State Park: Pick up equipment and a volunteer work assignment (remove trash or invasive species) from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the park’s nature center in North Liberty.

• Indiana Dunes State Park: Transplant marram grasses (which stabilize the dunes) from 1 to 3 p.m. CDT Saturday. Meet near the restrooms at the beach pavilion in Chesterton. Long pants and garden gloves are recommended.

• Indiana Dunes National Park: Join a cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon CDT Saturday at the park’s West Beach, 376 N. County Line Road in Portage. Trash bags and other safety gear will be provided. Each volunteer will receive a day pass to federal public lands, plus other goodies. Wear a mask. The bathhouse restrooms will be open. For information, call 219-395-1882.

• Boot Lake Nature Preserve: This isn’t officially part of the national day, but we’ll throw it in there. Elkhart County Parks invites volunteers to collect seeds from native plants Saturday so that they can be planted in future park projects. The work will go from 10 a.m. to noon (come at 9:30 a.m. for doughnuts) at the preserve, 51430 County Road 3, Elkhart. From County Road 6 in Elkhart, go north on Edwardsburg Road, pass the Indiana Toll Road, turn right on County Road 3 and then right on Williams Lane. Wear work gloves and long sleeves for working in the prairie. More volunteer days are planned, including invasive plant removal Oct. 3 at Baintertown Dam in River Preserve County Park. For information, visit elkhartcountyparks.org or call 574-535-6458.

A new overlook down a sloping woods to the St. Joseph River is part of the River Ramble nature play area at St. Patrick's County Park in South Bend that's nearing completion.

Fall wanders

• Free fishing: You won’t need a license to fish in Indiana’s public waters on Saturday, the state’s fourth and final free fishing day this year.

• Marsh hike: At 4 p.m. CDT Saturday, the Harbor Country Hikers will walk the Great Marsh Trail in the Indiana Dunes National Park. It’s an evening hike this time in hopes of seeing waterfowl return to the marsh to roost (sandhill cranes were recently spied in the area). Club president Pat Fisher will tell the story of how the marsh was saved on this easy, two-hour hike. Face masks are required. The Great Marsh is on South Broadway in Beverly Shores. From the town’s traffic light on U.S. 12, head less than a quarter mile north on Broadway and look for the southern parking lot and trailhead on the right.

• Bike path tour: Bring a bike or rent one from Green Earth Bike Rental to tour bike paths, meeting at 8:45 a.m. Saturday at the boat launch on South Bend’s Riverside Drive, north of Cleveland Road, and riding to Clay Township and St. Patrick’s parks. Finish with cider, pie, cookies, pita wedges, quesadilla and veggies. Bring a mask. Cost is $15. Register by noon Friday with Diana at greenearthbikerental@gmail.com or text 574-310-9428.

• Berrien County hikes: Berrien County Parks naturalists will lead a series of morning and night hikes. There will be a hike at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays: Sept. 30 at Love Creek County Park, 9292 Huckleberry Road, Berrien Center; Oct. 7 at Paw Paw River County Park, 650 N. Main St., Watervliet; Oct. 14 at Galien River County Park, 17424 Red Arrow Highway, New Buffalo; Oct. 21 at Madeline Bertrand County Park, 3038 Adams Road, Niles; and Oct. 28 at Love Creek. Also, Love Creek will host two night hikes: at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 and at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 24.

• Bendix hayride: Bendix Woods County Park in New Carlisle will host tractor-drawn hayrides Oct. 3 with the theme “Discover the Tricks and Treats of Nature.” It includes a campfire, crafts, treat bag and a trail to learn about bats, owls, spiders and more. Sign up for either the 5-7 p.m. or the 7:30-9:30 p.m. time slots by this Friday at 574-654-3155. Cost is $5 per person, plus the $4 vehicle entry fee.

The aging Elkhart River dam in downtown Elkhart has been replaced with boulders to allow native fish to move upstream.

• Wawasee cruise: A boat cruise from 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 10 on Lake Wawasee in Syracuse, Ind., will feature stories about what objects have been found in the lake, from cars and boats to coins and other relics. Historian Ann Garceau of the Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum and Erin Lomax of the Smithsonian Institute will give the presentation about their research. This event from Chautauqua-Wawasee is expected to sell out quickly. Tickets cost $25. Order at ChautauquaWawasee.org. Face masks are required.

Michigan trails: The Paw Paw River Water Trail, at 66 miles, needs financial help to clear fallen trees for paddling. It’s among six trails across Michigan that you can learn about — plus what they need to be complete or fixed — in a fund-raising drive through Saturday called the Michigan Trails Week Challenge. Check it out and donate in a link in this column online.

• Michigan foliage report: To catch weekly updates on where the fall colors are across Michigan, sign up for emails at michigan.org/fall.

A family uses the new fishing pier at Pinhook Park in South Bend this summer.
A narrow concrete trail along the St. Joseph River has been removed and replaced with a new paved trail on the higher river bank (not seen here) in South Bend, just beyond an outlook that’s being built at Gov. Joe Kernan Park.