1
Griffy Lake Nature Preserve
Managed by Bloomington Parks & Recreation
841 acres11.8 mi of trail
South Shore TrailHiking TrailNorth Shore TrailNorth Shore Loop TrailBlue Ridge Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Bloomington
Bloomington, IN parks, trails & bike paths
About 13% of Bloomington is conserved land, roughly 1,901 acres. There are about 34 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Griffy Lake Nature Preserve (11.8 mi), Wapehani Mountain Bike Park (5.2 mi), and RCA Community Park (1.4 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Bloomington, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Bloomington outdoors
Conserved land
13%
1,901 of 14,918 acres
Trails
34 mi
1.4 mi per sq mi · 26 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
27
24 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
78.5 mi
18.7 mi lanes · 52.8 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Wapehani Mountain Bike Park
Managed by Bloomington Parks & Recreation
83 acres5.2 mi of trail
Wapehani Mountain Bike Path
Dog rules not recorded
3
RCA Community Park
Managed by Bloomington Parks & Recreation
50 acres1.4 mi of trail
RCA community park dirt path
Dog rules not recorded
4
Winslow Woods Park
Managed by Bloomington Parks & Recreation
38 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
5
Olcott Park
Managed by Bloomington Parks & Recreation
32 acres1 mi of trail
Olcott XC Trail
Dog rules not recorded
6
Twin Lakes Sports Park
Managed by Bloomington Parks & Recreation
55 acres0.9 mi of trail
Twin Lakes Natural Surface Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
7
Lower Cascades Park
Managed by Bloomington Parks & Recreation
81 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
8
James C Muller Park Nature and Hiking Area
Park
9 acres0.5 mi of trail
Twin Lakes Natural Surface Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
All 27 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 27 parks & preserves
Griffy Lake Nature Preserve841 acres · 11.8 mi of trail · Bloomington Parks & Recreation
Wapehani Mountain Bike Park83 acres · 5.2 mi of trail · Bloomington Parks & Recreation
RCA Community Park50 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Bloomington Parks & Recreation
Winslow Woods Park38 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Bloomington Parks & Recreation
Olcott Park32 acres · 1 mi of trail · Bloomington Parks & Recreation
Twin Lakes Sports Park55 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Bloomington Parks & Recreation
Lower Cascades Park81 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Bloomington Parks & Recreation
James C Muller Park Nature and Hiking Area9 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Latimer Woods11 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Park Square Park6 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
2Public pools53Playgrounds5Dog parks1Boat launch1Waterfall4Picnic areas1Disc golf course2Community gardens
Playgrounds in Bloomington
Showing 1–10 of 50 playgrounds
Broadview Park PlaygroundIn Broadview Park
Harmony School Playground
Lower Cascades Park PlaygroundIn Lower Cascades Park
Steeplechase Playground
Tot Lot PlaygroundIn Bryan Park
University School Playground
Walnut Woods Community Playground
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground in RCA Community Park
Unnamed playground in Switchyard Park
3 more unnamed playgrounds are mapped in Bloomington.
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 6.9 miUnpaved 7.8 mi
Showing 1–10 of 16 trails
- South Shore Trail4.4 mi
- Hiking Trail1.7 mi
- RCA community park dirt path1.1 mi
- North Shore Trail1.0 mi
- Olcott XC Trail0.9 mi
- North Shore Loop Trail0.9 mi
- Huckleberry Ridge0.7 mi
- Blue Ridge Trail0.7 mi
- Griffy Creek Trail0.6 mi
- Meadowood Connectors0.5 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
1,901 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 9 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 1 of 40 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes18.7 mi
- Off-road bike paths52.8 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes7.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis88
- Basketball38
- Baseball22
- Pickleball19
- Soccer10
- Football8
- Beach volleyball8
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Bloomington
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
State Conservation Area 827 acLocal Park 596 acLocal Recreation Area 225 acState Recreation Area 190 acLocal Conservation Area 44 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Griffy Lake Nature PreserveState Conservation Area | Town or city | 587 | Restricted |
| Griffy Woods Nature PreserveState Conservation Area | Town or city | 240 | Restricted |
| The Pfau Course at Indiana UniversityLocal Recreation Area | Other state land | 184 | Open |
| Cascades Golf CourseState Recreation Area | Town or city | 155 | Open |
| Cascades Community ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 128 | Open |
| Unknown ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 82 | Open |
| Twin Lakes Sports ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 49 | Open |
| RCA Community ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 48 | Open |
| Wapehani Mountain Bike ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 47 | Open |
| Olcott ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 43 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Showing 1–10 of 16 places
Bloomington Restorations Inc Hinkle-Garton FarmsteadBuilding
Captain Kathryn JanewayMonument
Herman B Wells StatueStatue
Hoagy Carmichael SculptureStatue
Large quarry remnantsIn RCA Community Park · Ruins
Miller-Showers Park Renovation - 2003In Miller-Showers Park · Plaque
Monon Memorial PlaquePlaque
Sample GatesMonument
Theodore Rose Well HouseMonument
USS Indiana MemorialWar memorial
Nearby
Bloomington and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomington | 12.7% | 33.7 mi | 27 |
| Bloomington | 8.1% | 23.3 mi | 9 |
| Richland | 2.1% | 10.7 mi | 6 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Bloomington's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 21.5-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.