Lambert Park will become the Clayton trailhead along the Vandalia Trail
Our 4.1-mile-long section of the Vandalia Trail currently stretches from the Hendricks-Putnam County Line through Coatesville into Amo, but plans are underway to extend the trail all the way to Clayton.
The first phase of this trail expansion was completed this summer. An access point on the south side of Lambert Park was created, a concrete boardwalk was installed over a culvert, improved drainage was added along County Road 500 S. in Clayton town limits, and a short length of paved trail now travels from Lambert Park, south to CR 500 S., and west along the county road to Michigan Street.
This project was funded entirely by a federal grant through the American Rescue Plan Act.
Meanwhile, along property and right-of-way that we have purchased from landowners on the north side of CR 500 S. from Michigan Street almost all the way to CR 250 W., the Central Indiana Land Trust donated and planted 26,000 trees on each side of what will become a paved extension of the Vandalia Trail.
Construction on this phase of the project that will add more than
18 • www. HendricksCountyParks. org
Photo by Greg Midgley
two( 2) miles of paved trail is expected to begin in 2027. The goal is to one day connect Clayton to Amo by way of the Vandalia Trail.
The Vandalia Trail is a State of Indiana Visionary Trail, part of a trail system that will eventually stretch from Terre Haute all the way across the state to Richmond. Our current section connects with People Pathways at the county line, allowing pedestrians and bicyclists to travel from Amo to Greencastle.