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Porter West Preserve
4.5 ★★★★★ 61 Google reviews · Running trail in Bloomington, Indiana · Hours vary
Runner's snapshot
- Surface
- Not reported
- Loop distance
- Not reported
- Shape
- Loop
- Shade
- Tree cover
- Access
- Not reported
Confirmed from Porter West Preserve's own listing, the park or land manager's website, and runner reviews. Blank cells mean we could not verify that fact — we would rather say "not reported" than invent one. There is no Easy / Moderate / Hard rating on this page on purpose: a one-word difficulty score tells you nothing about whether a trail suits your run. Surface, distance, shade and hours do.
Wooded nature reserve featuring hiking trails and an old cemetery.
What runners say about Porter West Preserve
“Beautiful hike through the woods with a nice change in elevation but nothing too difficult.”
“Beautiful location, hilly, well marked hike.”
“Peaceful walking area- the south section is very flat but close to the road so a little noisy.”
It was OK. The cemetery is close to the parking lot. It was interesting and very old. Good place to do grave rubbings. The rest of the trail was kinda meh. No bad. Good place to take kids. Fairly easy. I'd say it was about 2 miles if you take the main loop? It was maintained well.
A mostly wooded, slightly hilly preserve that recently got a significant expansion to the trail system. A large pond is on the south side of the preserve which offers great wildlife viewing opportunities. The wooded trails are narrow but clear.
Nice trail. Marked well, easy to follow. My little guy loved finding the arrows as we went. Starts on a mowed path and progresses through the forest. My 4 year old hiked it with us, nothing too difficult. Slight inclines in places. Wonderful scenery. Not a lot of parking. Definately take bug spray.
Peaceful walking area- the south section is very flat but close to the road so a little noisy. The rest goes through the hills and woods and is very quiet. Pretty limited parking so nobody was here. Lots of spider webs on the trail so wear pants if you're ticklish.
Trail conditions & character
“A mostly wooded, slightly hilly preserve that recently got a significant expansion to the trail system.”
“A mostly wooded, slightly hilly preserve that recently got a significant expansion to the trail system.”
“No parking lot, have to park on the road side.”
“Beautiful hike through the woods with a nice change in elevation but nothing too difficult.”
“Peaceful walking area- the south section is very flat but close to the road so a little noisy.”
“I do wish there were some sort of historical information markers, it seems like there used to be a quite old structure at one point.”
“The loop through the northern portion has more topography.”
Plan your run at Porter West Preserve
The practical stuff
- AccessHours vary — hours are not posted for this trail, so check before an early or late run
- DistanceNot reported. Trail systems often quote total path mileage rather than a single loop, so measure the route you actually want before you drive out.
- ShadeRunners describe real tree cover here — it makes a summer afternoon workable
- At the trailheadparking — reported by runners
- Stroller / wheelchairReported as smooth and step-free enough for a running stroller or a chair.
- Websitesycamorelandtrust.org
- Phone(812) 336-5382
- Social Instagram · Facebook
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