Lake Griffy Revisited

Last night I ran starting at the SRSC (Student Recreational Sports Center) down to the parking lot at the IURTP (IU Research and Teaching Preserve) just above the hill on Heady road going down to Lake Griffy.  I run this route all the time, and often run the short IURTP loop trail (1.2 miles or so) around Huckleberry Ridge and back to the lot before running either back to the SRSC or down the "big hill" on Heady road to the lower North Griffy trails.




This time my friend Alex was waiting at the IURTP parking lot to also get some miles in and we ran the first part of the Huckleberry loop almost to the end.  It was at the back side of the loop that I finally (after six years of going back there) noticed a small almost invisible trail veering off to the left and dropping down the ridge.  I kept telling Alex, "this is the like the trail discovery of the year", "I can't believe it", etc.  I think the feeling would have been the same if as a kid I would have found a previously unknown secret passage at home.  The trail was right before the single big tree at the end of the flat part of the trail that heads downhill quickly to the lake.

Griffy Trails with additional trail connectors somewhat marked

I actually do not think the map above is even accurate as it seemed like we found more loops going out toward the lake than were marked. There were probably two or three more loops if I remember correctly.  We came out on the grass over the dam right by the dog park and ran across the dam to North Shore loop and then on the North Shore trail all the way to the Heady road causeway and finally ending by going up the "big" hill.  Although probably not exact, Alex had his GPS which indicated a route total of 6.2 miles.


So, I guess if anyone has ever wondered if it's possible to stay on trail all the way around the lake . . the answer is yes.  Next time I'll have to look for a good way to get from the Wetland or Lanam trail over to the IURTP trails and get back to the gravel IURTP parking lot going around the east side of the lake as well.