The Prairie Trails Club in Starke County was recently selected for an Indiana Trails Program grant in the amount of $300,000.
According to Prairie Trails Club Chairman Steve Lucas, the funding from the Indiana Trails Program will be used to extend the trail northwest of the existing 11-mile walking and biking trail that begins on Main Street in North Judson to Starke County Road 700 East in North Bend Township. The funded asphalt extension will support walkers and bicyclists on a one-mile asphalt surface beginning at Main Street, passing through the Town of North Judson and then extending northwest of town on the west side of English Lake Road. Lucas noted that it will serve as the beginning of the Grand Kankakee Marsh Trail as it leaves the historic bed of the Erie Railroad. The one mile-extension would also host transAmerican routes the Great American Rail-Trail, American Discovery Trail, and US Bicycle Route 35.
The grant required a 20 percent match which was supported by many Prairie Trails Club donors and members.
