Southwestway Directions and Information

[KevinG]

Information
SWW is a multiuse park for biking, hiking, and horse riding.  Trails are marked to show who has permission to use them.  The entrances to the bike trail are right off of the upper gravel parking lot near the large park rules sign.  Head down the doubletrack to the left of the sign.  When the doubletrack makes a right hand turn the singletrack entrance is on the left.  To find the entrance to ride in the other direction follow the doubletrack down the hill and right after reaching the tree lines after the powerline crossing the singletrack will split off to the right.

Location
Southwestway park is located at

7500 S. Mann Road
Indianapolis, IN 46221

Trail Map


Facebook Group
Park Users:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=204530125309

[Jathtal]

My buddy and I went for a ride on Monday at Southwestway Park.  I will say that I like what there was except for the fact that we got turned around somewhere and ended up on the golf course.  The signs were really confusing or maybe we just missed something.  Any tips?

[KevinG]

we're working on getting better signage.   if you're going south on the levee and get to the hill turn right and ride along the side of the hill and not straight up it.

[Dave G.]

My buddy and I went for a ride on Monday at Southwestway Park.  I will say that I like what there was except for the fact that we got turned around somewhere and ended up on the golf course.  The signs were really confusing or maybe we just missed something.  Any tips?

I've posted a couple of rules of thumb on riding SWW, I'll recap them here too:

1.  Anything on the river bottom between the levee and the river is Hike/Equestrian ONLY.
2.  Any trail with numbered signs nailed to the trees is Hike/Equestrian ONLY.
3.  Any trails on Mann Hill proper (except for the bench cut trail on the south levee extension) are Hike/Equestrian ONLY.


Another easy way to find out the exact path for Lenape Trail is to come out on Wednesday evenings at 630PM for the SWW Wednesday ride!  Or, post up whe you are riding, and perhaps one of the more seasoned riders can meet you and take you for a tour.

Dave

[IndyRider]

How long is the lap at SWW?  Thanks!

[Dave G.]

How long is the lap at SWW?  Thanks!

It's just a hair under 3 miles, but IMO close enough to call it 3 miles.  Besides, who wants to ride a trail that is less than 3 miles?   

Dave

[David Kuehnen]

Rode for the first time Saturday afternoon.  Hat's off to the SWW Trail Bums for creating such a delightful trail!  The trail directions posted on this thread were informative and clear but i got a bit confused at the northern end due to tape from the DINO race earlier that day.   Although i rode CW, i can see that CCW would be just as rewarding.

I have no beef with the layout, especially the northern section.  Super nice single track.  But I was kinda let down by the last climb(going CW).  It was too short.

Are there any plans for creating a MTB trail that uses Mann Hill more?  I understand that portions of the non-MTB trails are used during some of the races, but what is the prognosis of permanent trail that has a more brutal climb?

[mothgils]

Rode for the first time Saturday afternoon.  Hat's off to the SWW Trail Bums for creating such a delightful trail!  The trail directions posted on this thread were informative and clear but i got a bit confused at the northern end due to tape from the DINO race earlier that day.   Although i rode CW, i can see that CCW would be just as rewarding.

I have no beef with the layout, especially the northern section.  Super nice single track.  But I was kinda let down by the last climb(going CW).  It was too short.

Are there any plans for creating a MTB trail that uses Mann Hill more?  I understand that portions of the non-MTB trails are used during some of the races, but what is the prognosis of permanent trail that has a more brutal climb?

Glad you had a good time!!

There are plans for additional trail and it will be up on Mann Hill.  I am not sure on the specifics but we were awarded grant money to bring Alex Stewart (pro-trail builder) and rough out the trail.  I think we are just waiting on the grant money to come through.  Stay tuned to the threads here for information.

[David Kuehnen]

Sounds great!

[Jeff Blum]

bring Alex Stewart (pro-trail builder) and rough out the trail.  I think we are just waiting on the grant money to come through.

There's a better way to do that.  What you do is set up a SAG stop somewhere out in the sticks, wait for Alex to ride through late in the day looking for water, and then make him a deal.  Kirk made an awesome swap, some icy cold water for 100 yards of trail @ Fort Ben!   

[David Kuehnen]

By what ever means necessary!  Mann Hill looks like it could provide a very humbling climb opportunity with a sweet descent back toward the parking area.  I was very tempted to take the left trail at the base of the hill, but like a good little boy, I took the right trail.

[muthabrain]

Today was my first time riding Southwestway in 7 or 8 years.  The last time I rode was when Mann Hill was part of the loop.  Gotta say that a lot has changed and you guys have done a great job with the trails - all the hard work is obvious.  I typically ride Town Run and this is way more fun and technical.  Please do what you can to get Mann Hill back in action - it really would add that upward dimension (and some distance) to an already great setup.  To the trail builders - great job.

[craigebaker]

Has anyone plugged the trail map photo into a GPS tool on their iPhone? I'm sure there must be a way to do it so that I can see in real time where I'm at on the trail. Please don't flame me if this is a really stupid question

Any assistance is appreciated!

[LetsRoll]

My buddy and I went for a ride on Monday at Southwestway Park.  I will say that I like what there was except for the fact that we got turned around somewhere and ended up on the golf course.  The signs were really confusing or maybe we just missed something.  Any tips?

I've posted a couple of rules of thumb on riding SWW, I'll recap them here too:

1.  Anything on the river bottom between the levee and the river is Hike/Equestrian ONLY.
2.  Any trail with numbered signs nailed to the trees is Hike/Equestrian ONLY.
3.  Any trails on Mann Hill proper (except for the bench cut trail on the south levee extension) are Hike/Equestrian ONLY.


Another easy way to find out the exact path for Lenape Trail is to come out on Wednesday evenings at 630PM for the SWW Wednesday ride!  Or, post up whe you are riding, and perhaps one of the more seasoned riders can meet you and take you for a tour.

Dave

Has this changed ? I have been riding Southwestway for about 2 years. I read this back at the begining and have only been riding the 3 mile loop. Saw people riding the area right next to the parking lot. This trail has numbers on it so I have avoided it. Is it off limits to mountain bikes? How about below the levee ? I saw people on it also. Trying to respect the wishes of HMBA but wondering if the riding area has changed .

[Dave G.]

Has this changed ? I have been riding Southwestway for about 2 years. I read this back at the begining and have only been riding the 3 mile loop. Saw people riding the area right next to the parking lot. This trail has numbers on it so I have avoided it. Is it off limits to mountain bikes? How about below the levee ? I saw people on it also. Trying to respect the wishes of HMBA but wondering if the riding area has changed .

Nothing has changed, those areas are still off-limits to bicycles.  Having said that, It's impossible to enforce that when not everyone who rides there reads the HMBA board, and our signage is essentially non-existent. Even if we had proper signage, many will still ride unauthorized trails anyway because they don't think they are hurting anybody.  So far, we have had no complaints from anyone about this, but it only takes one bad bike/hiker or bike/horse interaction to really screw things up.  I appreciate your diligence in staying on the authorized trail!

Now, sooner than we may think, new trail construction will begin tentatively later this spring!  We are on the downhill path for trail construction approval, and we should know more in a few weeks.

Dave