Niles Community

Niles Community. Trail History. In 2008, the Niles Charter Township Park Commission met with regional, municipal trail planners and trail advocacy groups at a meeting hosted by the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission. At that meeting, it was decided that a continuous, off-road, paved trail encompassing municipalities between Niles and Mishawaka (and eventually beyond) could serve as a pedestrian, interstate highway to promote the growth of collateral trail systems throughout Michiana. Representatives from these municipalities and advocacy groups, along with a representative from the Niles Charter Township Park Commission, volunteered to serve on a "Trails Task Force" that gathered regularly at meetings hosted by the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission., From those meetings, this trail network was named "The Indiana-Michigan River Valley Trail." A continuous route was determined and one by one, respective trail segments were completed. In 2010, the City of Niles completed 2.25 miles of trails from Plym Park to the intersection of Fort and 3rd Streets. In April of 2014, Niles Charter Township broke ground on the 3.3-mile segment of the Phase I trail from the Indiana-Michigan State Line to the Brandywine Creek Nature Park. Phase II from the trail at US-12 through Brandywine Creek Nature Park to the Niles City Trail was completed in fall of 2019, completing the gap between the City and the state line.