(SHIPSHEWANA) – A Northern Indiana trail now extends into Shipshewana.

In a media release, the Friends Of The Pumpkinvine announced that they held a ribbon-cutting on Friday at 345 North Morton Street in Shipshewana, to help celebrate a new three-quarter of a mile section of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail into Shipshewana.

The expansion starts at Town Hall Park and ends at County Road 850 West.

The release says the 17 mile Pumpkinvine Nature Trail now links Shipshewana, Middlebury and Goshen in an off-road greenway ideal for walking, biking and jogging. This new section extends the trail from County Road 850 West into downtown Shipshewana and east to a new trail head at North Park. The extension also includes parking, a shelter with bike tools and a pump for bike tires.

The release says the 10 foot wide, asphalt trail extension was funded in March 2021 with a $953,482 grant from the Next Level Trails program of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

In the release, Brittany Short, Friends Of The Pumpkinvine President, says this all began with former Shipshewana Town Manager Mike Sutter in 2016. It has continued with current town manager, Bob Shanahan, along with a lot of help from Norm Kauffmann and others.