The Monon South Trail Visitor Use study has been released for 2025. The trail follows the old Monon rail line from Mitchell to Borden, Indiana and is still under construction. Once fully constructed, The Monon South will be the longest trail or greenway in the state of Indiana. The multi-faceted study, conducted by Radius Indiana and Crossroads Development Resource, was piloted in 2025 and aims to understand usage patterns, opinions of trail users about trail conditions and of nearby businesses that may benefit from the trail, the potential economic impact of the trail, and the impact of the trail on neighboring property values. The study was conducted through surveys on the trail and research of publicly available records.

The goal of the study is to proactively collect data that informs trail community leaders about how to best manage the trail and what opportunities exist to maximize the trail for economic, health, and quality of life and place benefits. With construction ongoing, the pilot year focused on the completed sections in the towns of Orleans and Borden. Key 2025 findings include an encouraging number of out of town visitors using the trail in Borden, anticipated spending of over $200 per year per trail user, and increases in exercise levels and overall health due to the trail. The surveys indicated that additional food service business and nature-based activities. among others, are in demand and have the potential to attract visitors to the trail and trail communities.

The study is a multi-year project and will resume data collection in the summer of 2026 at locations soon to be determined by the study team. The full 2025 report is available here.