Explore the Upside Down bicycling from Jeffersonville to New Albany, Indiana
Bike rides have taken on new meaning as kids explore bicycle adventures through the young characters in the hit Netflix sci-fi thriller Stranger Things™. For older generations, it brings back nostalgic rides from classic 1980s movies, like Goonies and E.T.
Whether you’re rocking an ‘80s style banana seat Schwinn String-Ray, today’s road bike or a chill cruiser, you can experience a “Stranger Things” bike ride here in Southern Indiana.
As the year inches closer to the end, nights become longer and the spooky season is in full force. Odd and even eerie points of interest await you on this bike adventure. Grab your helmet and lights and let’s find quirky and strange stops along an 8-mile ride (one-way) from Jeffersonville to New Albany, Indiana. At daylight or dusk, these unusual points of interest are worth stopping for.
Stop 1: Fictional Hawkins Revisited
Start at the Southern Indiana Visitor Center (228 Spring St., Jeffersonville), where Stranger Things comes to life with scenes from the show, like the Byers’ living room. Are you a pinball wizard? Test your skills through November 26.
Head to Riverview Road and ride west along the Ohio River. After you pass under the yellow Clark Memorial Bridge, you’ll notice a new roadway opening to Clarksville’s Main Street lined with shops and businesses. Go down Main Street to the gigantic next stop.
2. A Blood Red Clock
The Colgate Clock is the beacon atop the former Colgate-Palmolive plant. It first ticked in November 1924. The odd roadside attraction is one of the largest clocks in the world. With its red neon outline, this stop may best be saved for last when the night’s sky accentuates its stature.
Go back to River Road and travel west to the Clarksville trailhead of the Ohio River Greenway. Pass by Ashland Park and its panoramic view of downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Roll towards The McAlpine Dam for our next stop.
3. Fourteen Street Bridge Piers
What’s beneath the train trestle carries interesting oddities. Explore the exterior of the pier on the north side of the road with its bizarre arched openings and cavernous interior. The Fourteen Street Bridge (L&I Bridge) opened in 1870. If you peer long enough at the original limestone walls, you may spy the fossils hidden throughout.
Proceed up the flood wall trail with an expansive view of the Falls of the Ohio. Watch for creatures great and small as you traverse the winding flood wall path towards Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Park, where your next eerie stop awaits.
4. The Remnants of the George Rogers Clark Cabin
Turn into the boat ramp parking area and follow the switchback path to where the old George Rogers Clark homesite once stood. It mysteriously burned down years ago leaving the charred façade of the lone standing chimney at the river’s bend.
As you head back to the Ohio River Greenway going west, you will come across a road closed sign and fence revealing our next odd stop.
5. The Disappearing of Jackson Street
Your eyes do not deceive you. The roadway has crumbled by the sheer force of the Ohio River and its spillway across the bank, leaving behind the ominous, jagged and cliffed roadway. Maneuver around to the parking lot for a better view, but stay back from the fence!
Back to the Ohio River Greenway, ride west past Origin Park’s Buttonbush Woods. Listen for unworldly sounds emulating from deep within its thickets. Proceed towards the trail split where you will follow the trail to the left to the Silver Creek bridge. Watch for lurking buzzards and hawks as you pass the wide meadow. Just over the bridge at Loop Island lies the next ghastly stop.
6. The Legend of Blood Pond
The Loop Island lagoon sits as a picturesque spot on the greenway. But, its spooky nickname, “Blood Pond” points to the lore of its past. One story goes that many years ago a nearby tannery leached tanning chemicals into the lagoon, dyeing the water a red-brown color, hence the name “Blood Pond.” Gaze at the lagoon long enough and you may see the crimson hue.
Continue around the pond and up the flood wall trail before descending into New Albany Riverfront Park where a historic bridge awaits.
7. Mystique of the K&I Bridge
While traversing under the Kentucky & Indiana Bridge, stop and marvel at the structure that has seen many iterations since originally opening in 1886. Listen for locomotives approaching. If timing is just right, you may hear above the mysterious trots of horses and wheels of wagon trains of centuries past.
As you make your way to the far edge of the park and the western terminus of the Ohio River Greenway, the newest phenomenon awaits.
8. An illuminated Overlook at New Albany Boat Ramp
Approaching the area, the overlook stands out in the evening sky with its alien-like green glow casting off the lookout pavilion and illuminating its surroundings.
For more Stranger Things™ fun before returning to Jeffersonville, venture to Downtown New Albany and hit Recbar 812, a 25,000 square-feet arcade bar where it’s always retro time!
As you ride your way back to Jeffersonville, make it even stranger with more spooky and odd sites along the Ohio River Greenway. Find the empty trolley car. Peer north at Silver Creek to the abandoned metal grate railway bridge. Chart a side trip to find the quarry or go even farther to visit the resident goats at Ray Lawrence Park. Wander down a small path that leads to an up-close view of the McAlpine Falls.
When you return to Jeffersonville, stop by The Alcove for a flip of the Stranger Things™ pinball game.
Visit again and build your own Upside Down bike adventures in Southern Indiana.
