If you’ve gone out to Griffy Lake lately, you likely noticed a lot of construction work along the causeway.
The road has been repaved, a guardrail installed, and a new paved walkway added along the lake. But one of the highlights of the construction may be the new pier to fish from.
The pier is part of a $1.85 million endeavor called the Griffy Lake Loop Trail and Accessible Fishing Pier Project at the nature preserve on the north side of Bloomington.
People have most often been fishing the area of the lake on the east side of the causeway. The new pier is located across the road from the boathouse on the north side of the lake.
“With it being deeper water and a rocky bottom over there because of the retaining wall, it’s probably going to be bigger fish deeper,” said Sean Mabrey, was fishing at Griffy on rainy Wednesday afternoon. “So, slower fishing, but good fish when you hook them, I would imagine.”
Not having a pier since the lake was created almost a century ago as a source of water for Indiana University hasn’t stopped people from fishing off the causeway.
“People did used to fish off the causeway, but it was just a jumbled riprap,” said Steve Cotter, the Natural Resources Manager for the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department. “But people still fish from there."
“And even though this project isn’t completed, we’ve seen plenty of people fishing from both the pier and fishing spots that are sort of bump out from the trail out into the lake.”
The pier will be accessible via a new paved walkway that will allow hikers access to trails on the north and south sides of the lake.
Before the walkway, Headley Road, which crosses over the water, was the only way for hikers to reach the trailheads.
“The park is open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., so people are out here in the dark quite often, and a lot of drivers just aren’t expecting people on the road,” Cotter said. “So, we’re eager to get people off the road on a safe way to get to the trails.”
The handicap-accessible walkway will also serve as a connector on the east side of the lake for what will be a six-plus-mile Griffy Lake Loop Trail. The new trail will eventually circle the lake using existing trails on the north and south sides along with some new trail construction.
None of the trails now on both sides of the lake allow walkers to completely loop the lake unless you get a little creative.
Cotter says there’s been a demand for a loop trail for years.
“People do make their way around the lake, however, it’s very treacherous in spots,” Cotter said. “There’s some exposed bedrock that makes it harder to keep your footing.”
He said construction has begun on a portion of the trail.
“They’re doing a pilot project that will run from Headley Road to that first cove on the south side of the lake,” Cotter said. “And they’re about 40 or 50 percent done with that project already.”
Funding for this phase of the project came out of the bicentennial bond approved in 2018, although Cotter says plans for the project go all the way back to 1983 when a master plan for the lake was put together with the help of Indiana University, which owns some of the land south of the lake.
While this portion of the project is nearing completion, there’s more work to be done. Park commissioners approved a nearly $6 million bond earlier this month that includes money to complete the loop on the west end where the dam is located.
“That will include stairs up from the parking lot to the top of the dam, then a new surface across the dam and some fencing and signage,” Cotter said. “And then there will be trails cut on the north and south side of the lake to link up existing trails to allow for a contiguous loop.”
Cotter said the second phase of the project should be completed by the end of 2023.
He said he would next like to see work done on the east end of the lake, where sediment tends to build up.
“When it was drawn down for some work on the dam 10 or so years ago, we did get some funding to dredge out the portion from the boat ramp and dock to the bridge on the causeway,” he said. “We’d love to take out more at some point. But it’s very expensive and we’re working on some other things now.”
The initial phase is expected to be done this summer. The city is planning a ribbon cutting for the new pier on July 29.
Once finished, there will be more reasons to enjoy Griffy, a lake that lured Cotter back to the area to watch over.
“I think people really appreciate being able to get off work or out of class and make it out here in an evening without having to go all the way down to Lake Monroe or out to a state park or something,” Cotter said. “So, as a community, we’re very fortunate to have it, and we’re trying to take care of it.”
