Nearby Land Trails (Within Jasper County)
Currently, in 2026, the only paved trails in Jasper County are in Town/City Park loops, with the exception of the Kankakee Township paved park loop and a short ADA accessible path at JPFWA near the sandhill crane observatory. Both Jasper & Newton counties are considered trail deficient and have active transportation deserts. We exist to influence & change that. Our mission is to “Connect Communities” to help protect those vulnerable to life threatening safety hazards associated with walking & biking the roads due to lack of sidewalks, bike lanes or side path connectivity trails &/or being unable to get in & out of natural resources like the river safely with ease. NWI is also considered deficient in public horseback riding trails.
Outside of municipality parks (Rensselaer, Remington, DeMotte & Wheatfield), here are places the public can hike around Jasper County:
Jasper Pulaski Fish & Wildlife Area https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/properties/jasper-pulaski-fwa/
Kankakee Township Park (Wheatfield)
Stoutsburg Savanna Preserve (Wheatfield)
Nature Conservancy Prairie Border (Wheatfield)
Thomas Ciurcus Nature Preserve (DeMotte)
Perkins Good Earth Farm Trail https://perkinsgoodearthfarm.com/stay-with-us-2/
Fisher Oak Savanna Preserve (Remington / Wolcott)
The RenArtWalk is a unique collection of beautiful & creative artistic murals in accessible areas (City of Rensselaer sidewalks, downtown paved alley ways & within the Rensselaer Parks) and is definitely worth checking out! https://www.rensselaerparks.com/ren-art-wlk
Nearby Bike Trails (Are all outside of Jasper County)
Hebron – Veteran’s Memorial Trail -will eventually connect in to the Great American Rail Trail- (1 mile)
Crown Point to Hammond – Erie Lackawanna Trail (18 miles)
Merrillville – C & O Greenway (5.5 miles)
Crown Point/Schererville to Lansing, Illinois – Pennsy Greenway (14.5 miles)
Griffith to Chesterton – Oak Savannah Trail to Prairie Duneland Trail (21 miles)
North Judson – Erie Trail to future Grand Kankakee Trail (11 miles) https://www.prairietrailsclub.org
Winamac – Panhandle Pathway (22 miles) https://www.panhandlepathway.org
Valparaiso- Valparaiso Pathways (paved) & Creekside Trails (unpaved, mountain biking) https://www.valpoparks.org/432/Valpo-Pathways
Fair Oaks – Farm adventure unpaved hiking paths behind hotel & orchard (Newton County)
Indiana Dunes National Park
Marquette Greenway (SW Michigan to Chicago) https://www.in.gov/nirpc/transportation/the-marquette-greenway-project-site/
Kankakee Sands Nature Preserve hiking (Newton County)
Stoney Run Porter County Park (unpaved hiking & horseback riding, Hebron/Porter County)
See AllTrails app or Calumet Greenways & Blueways app for updates & more.
https://apps.mycitybikes.org/usa/in/nirpc/map.php
Water Trails
Currently there is no public river access point on the Jasper County side of the Kankakee River, which spans its Northern border. We are working with a NWI region river collaborative team to help create a nearby access site to help close the gap & provide a safe way for kayakers to get in & out of the Kank. Nearby drop in’s include:
Dunn’s Bridge (Porter County Park) Pedestrian path on historic bridge & kayak/boat launch on the Kankakee River. https://www.portercountyparks.org/dunns-bridge
18.8 miles later, you’ll come upon the Grand Kankakee Marsh (Lake County Park) hiking & kayak/boat launch on the Kankakee River. https://www.lakecountyparks.com/153/Grand-Kankakee-Marsh
There are multiple river access points along the Iroquois River in Rensselaer (see Rensselaer Parks).
See Northwest Indiana Paddling Association for more NWI Region kayaking locations & river safety information. https://nwipa.org
Jasper County adopts its 1st Trails Plan!
This 2024 revision was created by Kimley-Horn, Jasper Newton Foundation & Jasper County Trails Club, along with stakeholder leaders, & is an update of the pioneer vision plan of 2012 created by Mitch Barloga of NIRPC, JCEDO and the National Parks Service. It was historically passed by Jasper County Commissioners in 2025. 🙌🏼
The Jasper County Trails Club represented both Jasper & Newton Counties for the 1st time ever @ the quinquennial DNR Charrette in 2024.