TRAIL BUILDING & MAINTENANCE:
HHC's Hoosier National Forest Hiking Trail Plan

Officials at the Hoosier National Forest have acknowledged that the HNF Trail Plan outlined by a citizens commission in the 1990's has not served hikers. The so-called "multiple-use" trails that were to equally serve hikers, horseback riders, and mountain bikers are not attracting many hikers. The few miles of trails reserved for hikers alone are becoming overused, and some sections of the m-u trails are becoming totally unusable by hikers. An example of the latter is the Nebo Ridge Trail, which has become an unofficial mountain bike race track.

Single-use trails are the most cost-efficient and most satisfying for all users. For more details on this issue, see Cost-Benefit Analysis Leads to Single Use Hiking Trails and to Limiting High-Impact Horse, Bike and ATV Trail Miles by Suzanne Mittenthal in the July 2000 journal of the National Association of Recreation Resource Planners.

The HHC has proposed a list (below) of suitable hiking trail routes to be included in an HNF trail system to give parity to hikers needs. The trails with the highest priority include a Nature Trail Loop in the Deam Wilderness, to give the general public a taste of their wilderness. The Wilderness has, up to now, been served up mainly to horseback riders, who have repaid this favor with the installation (by an uncaring few) of many additional illegal, destructive user-made trails on Frog Pond Ridge. By developing a nature trail there, legal users should help prevent illegal, destructive horse use. Of highest priority is another trail in trouble from illegal use--by ATVs--the beautiful Hemlock Cliffs. And last but not least, the federal section of the Tecumseh Trail deserves immediate attention. For more details of the history of HNF trail planning, see the official proposal entitled HHC FOOT-TRAILS PLAN FOR THE HOOSIER NATIONAL FOREST.

Pleasant Run Unit (Northern):

• Nature Trail Loop Brooks Cabin-Frog Pond Ridge
  
• Cope Hollow Backpacking Loop
  
• Terrill Ridge Blue Diamond Loop
  
• Panther Gap Loop
• Bad Hollow-Browning Hill Loop
  
• Fleetwood-Combs Loop
  
• Brown Hollow-Creamer Hollow Loop
• Brown Hollow Long Loop to Bad Hollow
• Knobstone North/Tecumseh to S.R. 58
• Tincher Hollow-Tincher Lake
• Lukes Knob Short Loop
• Lukes Knob Long Loop

Tell City Unit (Southern):

• Buffalo Trace Trail
• Little Africa Hiking Trail
• Hemlock Cliffs-Mesmore Ridge
• Oriole Hiking Trail
• East Mogan Ridge--Rockhouse Hollow
• East Mogan North Loop to Mogan Ridge
• Mogan Ridge-Tipsaw Through Trail
• Happy Hollow

To express your support for more single-use hiking trails in the Hoosier National Forest, send your comments to the HNF via e-mail or via their website