Hamilton County Opens Nickel Plate Trail from 96th Street to Noblesville

Hamilton County (Indiana) multiuse trail enthusiasts got another link in their network recently as the local government opened the southernmost section of the Nickel Plate Trail through southern Fishers. Clocking in at just over eight miles, the paved trail extends northward from a spot just north of 96th Street to Noblesville. The south end awaits construction of a safe crossing of 96th Street into Indianapolis, terminating behind a 24-hour veterinary clinic. At the north end, the trail slams head-on into the construction known as the Pleasant Street Reimagination. 

Nickel Plate Trail map (north to right)

EDITED 11/15/23: The trail now extends all the way through along 8th street, skirting roundabouts at Vine and Mulberry Streets. As of 7 November, the Midland Trace was still inaccessible; although the White River Trail was open as far south as Division Street. Construction continues. 

If you can figure out how to get past a forest of mutually contradictory detour signs — Hint: don’t bother trying to go west until Pleasant Street is done — you can reach the county courthouse. From there, it’s a straight shot into Forest Park, which provides access to Potter’s Bridge via the Field Street entrance and White River Greenway or the Midland Trace Rail Trail via bike paths along Lakeview Drive and Hague Road. Users can add a little distance by taking Division Street west to the White River Trail, which will come up to street level at the bridge entering Forest Park from the south.

Plans call for the Nickel Plate to terminate at the eastern leg of the Midland Trace, which will follow Pleasant Street from Noblesville across White River and Cicero Creek to meet the existing trail at Hague Road and S. R. 32. Construction on the west side of White River is slated to begin in 2024-25. At some unspecified future date, Marion County plans to develop the trail south to the State Fairgrounds at 38th Street, including a bridge over 96th. We’re not holding our breath, however.

The newly-constructed trail is wide and smooth, with open shoulders and few overhanging trees, at least in Fishers. From 96th to 146th, the city of Fishers installed gravel rams to the back yards of houses along the trail. Most seem unused so far, a few are even blocked (we saw one resident stringing barbed wire across the end on his property). Except for 116th Street, all crossings in Fishers are at grade. Fishers built a tunnel under 116th, though there are stop signs at street crossings on both ends. A planned bridge (or perhaps tunnel) at 146th is a future improvement; currently trail users must cross at a traffic light 150 yards to the east. There’s a HAWK (high intensity activated crosswalk) signal installed where the trail crosses Hague Road just north of 96th, but a similar high-angle crossing at Lantern Road is unprotected. Watch for traffic on Lantern approaching from the north, which is hidden by a curve. The trail crosses high above Allisonville Road on a repurposed railroad bridge.

Random thoughts:

• The trail is generally flat south of 146th, but gains about fifty feet of elevation between southern Noblesville and the flats above White River east of Allisonville, a distance of some two miles. 
• The Fishers YMCA is located on the west side of the trail at 126th Street, about 3.5 miles north of the southern terminus.
• No infrastructure is available, including repair stations and restrooms, although Fishers municipal buildings are clustered just west of the trail and north of 116th.
• HamCo plans a bridge over White River at 106th Street, which they say will complete a loop with the Midland Trace and Monon Trails.
• In Indy, the southern end of the Nickel Plate is planned for 42nd Street, avoiding a crossing of Binford Boulevard and providing access to the Monon Trail about ¾ miles west along 42nd. 

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