Pumpkinvine Trail: Northern Indiana's Rails-to-Trails Gem

Decades of community effort have turned abandoned rails into a regional treasure

BY ALEC EVANS // POSTED AUGUST 18, 2025

With the warm summer season coming to an end and the beauty of the fall season right around the corner, it is a treat to take time to enjoy all that the fall outdoors has to offer. Take a walk outside to hear the crunching brown leaves beneath your feet, smell the earthy aroma of the air as it cools your face, and see the critters that run in front of you. To experience the highest concentration of these sensations, drive a half an hour east from South Bend towards Goshen to begin your walk on the Pumpkinvine Trail which begins at Abshire Park.

Pumpkinvine has been a popular destination for people to take a stroll through the country side as well as ride their bikes on its 17 mile stretch of path. While on the trial, you can hear a symphony of sounds around you: the humming of bike tires and soft ticking of sprockets, the various species of birds singing on top of the trees, and the occasional greeting of a trailgoer passing by.

The trail cuts through three towns: Goshen, Middlebury, and Shipshewana. Each of these towns has a beauty of its own. Have a picnic at Abshire Park in Goshen, enjoy Krider Gardens in Middlebury with its lush greenery and unique toadstool structures, or experience the various shopping selections in the heart of Amish country in Shipshewana.

Pumpkinvine was not always for walking or biking however. It was previously dedicated for another form of transportation: trains.

In 1852, a railway started in Goshen that connected with Elkhart. During this time, railroads were a profitable business and mass amounts of cargo and personnel were transported on its lines. Over the next few decades, more sections of rail were laid to first connect Middlebury, then Shipshewana. The railway kept expanding, but its first sign of trouble was the adoption of highways in the 1920's, which threatened railroad business. In 1928, the mail service which ran on the railway was terminated but business was still holding strong, especially with the industries that ran out of Middlebury.

By the mid 20th century, the sign of decay was present, and in 1975 Penn Central Corporation ceased operations of the line due to low profitability. A recovery mission was in action however. Three years later, a nearly half a million-dollar investment was made to the railway, including a 30 ton locomotive and upgrades to the rails between Goshen and Middlebury. This was unfortunately short lived, and in 1980 the Indiana Interstate Railway Co. ceased operations of the Pumpkinvine Railroad.

Five years before the rails shut down, the Elkhart County Park system laid out its 1978 Master Plan which was the first mention of a potential trail that ran along the Penn Central railway. Nearly ten years after the railway ceased operations, in 1989 five individuals gathered in Goshen to continue discussions on transforming the railway into a linear park. With the long stretch of land that the railway occupied, there was initial push back from the local governments. After years of discussion, an agreement was made to purchase the railway land and the Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail, Inc. committee was incorporated.

With all the pieces put in place, the committee signed the option to purchase the Penn Central railway in June of 1992. This was not without another round of pushback from local residents.

While the trail was intended to provide a way to appreciate the beauty of nature walking or biking in the countryside, some residents had the opinion that the trail would invade the privacy of landowners adjacent to the park as well as increase the risk of vandalism. A lawsuit between the Friends of Pumpkinvine and the adjacent property owners near the trail started in the early 1990s and dragged on for several years without an end in sight.

Finally, at the end of the 20th century, the suit ended with the judges siding with Friends of Pumpkinvine for approval to begin work on the trail. The perseverance of the committee gave a pathway for people to explore all the beauties of the Northern Indiana countryside, both figuratively and literally. Now all that stood in the way was the daunting task of paving a 17 mile stretch of land, which is no small feat by any means.

The first stretch of land, a 1.75 mile length starting at Abshire Park in Goshen, was opened to the public in March of 2000. After this, progress was slow in its development. Over the next twenty years, eight total sections were laid down, with the largest single section being five and a half miles between Middlebury and Shipshewana. The last section was completed in 2023, between CR 20 and CR 35 in Middlebury. During the summer of 2024, the committee celebrated the 17 miles of trail being completed with a Golden Spike Ceremony, a tradition that typically accompanies the completion of a new railway.

After 47 years, the dream of a linear park in Northern Indiana was realized. A path mostly paved with asphalt, but also with perseverance, partnership, and passion.

Alec Evans is a writer and lived his entire life in Mishawaka. He earned his bachelor's degree in communications from Valparaiso University and works as a Marketing Director.