story by GLENDA WINDERS
Reasons abound for coming to Shipshewana, but if you only list Amish culture, tasty homestyle cooking and shopping for handmade gifts, you’re missing a biggie: spending time in nature. After a long, cold winter, this is also a great place to come and be outside.
Pack your bike, your rollerblades, and your walking or running shoes because you’ll want to get out on the Pumpkinvine Trail right away. This paved 17-mile thoroughfare was formerly the Pumpkinvine railroad corridor through northern Indiana. Today it hosts people doing all of those activities along with their pets — if they are on a leash and their owners pick up what they leave behind.
The scenic trail goes past the third-largest Amish community in the country, through lush green forests and farmlands. Along the way are local businesses, ice cream shops for a break and a sweet, and parks where you can stop to take a breather. It connects the towns of Shipshewana, Middlebury and Goshen, so it provides a way to see even more of this fascinating part of the state.
Shipshewana appreciates both its local riders and bicycling visitors. Near the trailhead are free parking and public restrooms, and you’re also close to places you planned to visit anyway — Davis Mercantile, the famous flea market and the Blue Gate Theater.
Also near the trailhead is Trail Riders Bike Shop, where they will sell or rent you a bicycle or repair the one you brought. So will family-owned Otto’s Bike Shop, and Pumpkinvine Cyclery in Middlebury. Shipshewana Bike Rental will help you select the perfect ride for the day.
On State Road 5, cycle alongside Amish riders in dedicated lanes, and many businesses have bike racks outside where you can park while you shop. Bicyclists who have traveled here before say you can’t get any safer than in Shipshewana, so when you’re done for the day, just lock your bike at the one outside your hotel.
For more information visit: visitshipshewana.org
