The Pumpkinvine is Doing Fine!

Elkhart County’s Pumpkinvine Nature Trail Nothing Short of Amazing     

EDITOR’S NOTE: On Sept. 26, 2023, a final, half-mile section of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail was completed between County Road 20 and County Road 35 in Middlebury. The event was the culmination of more than 30 years of planning and work that all began one day in December 1989, when an ad hoc committee of residents and leaders met to discuss promoting a linear park on Pumpkinvine right-of-way. Although the trail and its 2023 completion are not functions of Vibrant Communities, future trail segments in Wakarusa and Nappanee are initiatives outlined in the Action Agenda 2.0 report. The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail project is representative of what the Action Agenda is designed to accomplish; making residents’ wants become realities. To learn more about Action Agenda 2.0, including reading the report, visit our landing page here.

“Since the 17-mile Pumpkinvine Nature Trail was completed in 2023, connecting Shipshewana to Goshen, there has been a great uptick in its usage,” says Brittany Short, director of Connect in Elkhart County, an initiative of the Community Foundation of Elkhart County. Short, born and raised in Middlebury, works in her current role to further connect, expand, and activate the county’s trail network. She also previously served from 2020 to 2022 as board president for Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail.

“The Pumpkinvine Trail is more appealing now that it’s been completed and is fully-functional. We’re seeing so many people come out to use it for recreation. People are walking, running, hiking, biking, skating, roller skating, and skateboarding. It’s a lovely attraction, and it brings people together in our great outdoors. We’re seeing it become a regional draw, and that’s exciting.

The route also plays a vital role for people, including many of our Amish neighbors, who use a bike as their primary mode of transportation. The trail accommodates those who need it for biking to work and encourages others who are looking into alternative methods of traversing Elkhart County for health, lifestyle, or environmental reasons.

So many trails connect at some point with the Pumpkinvine—there’s an interconnected network of trails that can get someone just about anywhere in the county. On top of that, four different agencies help manage the trail—and all actively plow—so it is essentially available for use throughout the calendar year.”

Getting involved, with gratitude

“When my husband, Spencer, and I graduated from Goshen College we were in the midst of The Great Recession. There were not a lot of job opportunities. It was difficult, and in light of the situation, we decided to buy a bicycle shop—Pumpkinvine Cyclery—in 2011. Shortly after that, in 2012, the Middlebury section of the trail was completed. We always felt a great deal of responsibility toward the trail because in a lot of ways—as bike shop owners—it helped give us a livelihood. The emergence of the trail over the years certainly helped get us through those recession years and benefited our lives.

In 2016, John Yoder, the former board president of Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail, asked me if I would join the board. It made so much sense to get involved and help make sure the trail would continue to be maintained and completed. Before joining the Community Foundation of Elkhart County in 2022, I served as board president of the Friends board and I was involved in land negotiations, acquisitions, and trail development, and I helped maintain and expand relationships with municipal partners. I was deeply involved, and it’s just great to see how the momentum continues to build for the Pumpkinvine.”

Continuing the work

“Originally the goal of the project was to connect the 17 miles from Shipshewana to Goshen. There were still three gaps when I joined the board in 2016, and we were thrilled when the last of those gaps opened last year. There is such a substantial, extensive, and beautiful system of trails and waterways in our area, and that makes us so unique.

Now that the original mission of Friends of the Pumpkinvine is complete, I imagine the group will reorganize its mission so it can continue its work and expand upon what’s been created. I think one thing the group might look at is the possibility of someday connecting the 11 miles from Elkhart to Mishawaka, which could potentially result in a trail network extending all the way from Goshen to as far as Niles, Michigan.”

Good things take time

“As someone whose work involves trails, I find that people often think, ‘Oh, it’s an interesting trail project—that’s a quick, easy thing, no big deal.’ The fact of the matter is that, with trails, it usually takes between five and six years to go from an idea to usage. That’s a long time to keep folks engaged and excited about a project; especially a project where construction or progress can seem dormant for long periods. I’m the type of person who likes to get things done quickly, so that has been an adjustment. When it comes to the Pumpkinvine, the most rewarding parts for me have been the overall progress and the events and ribbon cuttings. It’s also rewarding just to see people happily—and safely—using the trail, and I enjoy using the trail myself.

Upcoming segments of the trail—in Wakarusa and Nappanee—are projects outlined in the Vibrant Communities Action Agenda 2.0 report, and there is work taking place to get those projects active and underway. I think what’s pretty great about the Action Agenda’s initiatives is that they come from the Elkhart County community. People often think things have to happen in a top-down approach, that the city, county, or municipality is in control of what gets done. It’s a great thing when a community gets involved and takes action towards its own development and says ‘This is what WE would like to see.’ That’s the premise of Vibrant Communities and its Action Agenda report. That’s important, and that’s why I’m committed to help bring those Action Agenda projects to life.”