One hike and bike trail system that starts in Northwest Indiana and another that lies wholly within it have been designated U.S. Bicycle Routes, which makes them part of a nationwide system for touring bicyclists.
The trail networks, bearing official route numbers, are like a U.S. interstate highway system for bicyclists, according to Mitch Barloga, active transportation planner at the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission.
"It's set up so people can navigate throughout the country using these routes and knowing they are part of a national network," Barloga said.
The routes in there entirety are for experienced long-distance bicycle riders, generally considered "touring cyclists," who are comfortable riding on the highways and roads that make up parts of them. The national designation should attract tours and other recreational bicyclists to the area, Barloga said.
U.S. Bicycle Route 36 includes the Erie-Lackawanna Trail starting in Hammond and uses the Oak-Savannah and Prairie-Duneland trails. It also utilizes U.S. 12 in its eastern portion.
It stretches 59 miles in total, running from the Illinois border to the Michigan border.
U.S. Bicycle Route 35 in Indiana begins in LaPorte County on the Michigan border and runs 381 miles to Jeffersonville at the Big Four Bridge over the Ohio River.
Previously, U.S. Bicycle Route 35 was designated in Michigan, so it now stretches all the way from the Ohio River to the city of Sault Ste. Marie, in Ontario, Canada. That makes U.S. Bicycle Route 35 the only international route on the system.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently approved the Indiana Department of Transportation's application for the two routes, as well U.S. Bicycle Route 50 stretching 160 miles from near Terre Haute to Richmond on the Ohio border.
INDOT worked with the Adventure Cycling Association, Bicycle Indiana, and the Hoosier Rails to Trails Council to win the designations. Indiana now joins 22 other states as part of the U.S. Bicycle Route System.