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Outback Trail at Imagination Glen
28 reviews
4.04 of 5
a little of everything, high speed sprints, technical climbs, jumps, it's a good time. don't forget to cross the river on the train tracks for some exrta miles....also very cool
From down town portage take central avenue to McCool road go left at T. About 1/2 mile on the right is Imageation Glen. Park trail is inside of park. Look for gravel parking lot on the right. The trail head is there.
Summary: Nice trail! It's easy to see that a lot of time and effort goes into maintaining it. I was only able to ride the short loop, but it was very enjoyable. A couple of tough(for northern Indiana) climbs, some twisty sections, and a few fast, open areas. I am anxious to go back when I ca ride both loops.
PROS: Very well maintained. Lots of markers make it easy to follow. The couple of trickier sections have shortcuts if you wish to skip them(they are worth riding though). Set up to accommodate riders wanting to hammer away, or riders wishing to take it easy and enjoy the scenery.
CONS: Nothing really comes to mind.
OVERALL: Great place to ride. A couple spots offer a nice challenge for beginners, while more advanced riders should fly down the trail.
Recommended Route: Combine this park with nearby Bluhm County Park for a nice afternoon of riding.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Bluhm County Park, Rum Village, Potato Creek(opens 7-28-07)
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Summary: This trail is alright for NW Indiana to go out and get some exercise. It is not technical at all, no big climbs, but better than nothing. The trail is well maintained...almost to a fault. But better to be over maintained than under I guess. It makes me laugh to see people with 35lb+ quasi downhill bikes and full armor on this trail. A hardtail or cross country fs bike is more than enough. This trail is not hard folks, even at full speed the whole way!
If you want a good trail, move away from Indiana. If you are stuck here, this is the best in the area.
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Summary: Cross country trail with plenty of variety. Lots of lightning fast, smooth, flowy stuff; lots of fairly tight singletrack, some of it with small log obstacles; lots of bench cut swoops down & up; lots of ravines that you can fly down & most of the way back up; a few ravines that are sketchy on the way down and therefore require considerable effort on the way back up; lots of steep, fairly tight switchbacks. Climbs are short but require some effort and a little skill. Trail seemed to be very well maintained; since this was the first time I'd ever ridden it, I couldn't tell you for sure if this is par for the course or if it was in tip-top shape because of the race. Distance markers every half mile on the race course (which from the map on www.outbacktrail.org appear to be permanent and not just set up for race day) are a definite plus.
Overall not a terribly difficult trail, but fun and enough challenge to keep it interesting. I'll illustrate this by explaining that I rode this trail yesterday in a race. The course was between 9 & 10 miles x 2 laps = ~20 miles. I'm a reasonably skilled but out of shape sport racer, and I dismounted only twice in the whole race, both times being silly crashes I should have been able to avoid. Oh yeah, and there was the time to help another guy pump up his tire (I was way back out of contention; why not?). It was probably ~3 hours' drive for me when you factor in the standard major congestion along I-80 / I-94, and I would consider it well worth the drive.
Speaking at least for the portion of the trail system used for the race course, it is almost exclusively in the woods, which is a definite bonus on 90 degree+ days like yesterday. I did not see a whole lot of breathtaking views or anything like that, but then again I was trying to get to the finish line, so there wasn't really time to concern myself with that.
I didn't see anywhere to camp in the park, but since we just came up for the race that day, I may have missed it. If there is no campground there, I'm not familiar enough with the area to recommend somewhere else to stay close by.
Very easy to get to -- just a couple miles off I-94 -- I must have gone almost right by it a dozen times going to Michigan without even realizing it!
Recommended Route: Print a map off the web and do the whole 10 mile loop a couple times. You'll enjoy it.
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Summary: Up-n-down, back-n-fourth, off camber, bridges, switch backs, roots, log piles...it's got it all. Fun stuff. The hills aren't big, but they're steep and you don't get a "run" at em'... If you don't mess around and spin the cranks pretty good, you can average over 10 mph...
Recommended Route: Do both sides of the creek. Check the "outbacktrail.org" Trail Link for a good map. Stay out of the granny gear and you'll "feel" those hills...
Other recommended trails in the same area: TK Lawless(Michigan, about 1 1/2 hrs away), Winona(about 1 1/2 hrs away...Awesome trail!)
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Summary: A little bit of everything. Very well maintained.
This is a VERY technical trail. Lots of direction changes and difficult technical climbs. There is some very nice scenic riding next to the creek.
There are LOTS of twists and turns. There are LOTS of log obstacles.
Somebody bagged this trail for Aerobic difficulty. Well, I guess I'm not an expert because this trail WILL cahallenge/wind anyone who is not a seriously in shape experienced trail rider.
We have MANY riders who come here consistently from Chicago and South Bend. And they all give it solid marks.
Recommended Route: For the new rider, stick to the green route. Don't try to improvise your own path. First time I went out there I didn't follow the signs and ended up hopelessly lost. The trail turns in on itself ALOT.
The only exception is that newbies should DEFINITELY ride the basement. It's nice riding even if you have to walk your bike down the entrance and UP the exit.
For experienced riders, you will have wasted your time if you don't follow ALL the red arrows. Rich's revenge is the funnest part of the trail. Broken Arrow is a roller coaster ride with a BIG hill thats hard to peak on the saddle.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Bluhm County Park, Rogers Lakewood Park, Pines Ski Area
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