10 Ways to Stay Fit
the Goshen Way
When you feel your best, you have more energy to explore everything else this community has to offer!
Here are 10 opportunities to feel your best in Goshen. Enjoy the list! Afterwards, we’ll see you at the gym. Or on the bike trail. Or at a yoga class. Or … well, we think you get the idea.
I screen, you screen, we all screen
Regular health screenings are a great way to both detect potential problems and manage an existing condition. Luckily, Goshen Health makes the process easier by offering a number of free and reduced health screenings to the community.
Available health screenings include a fasting lipid profile, blood pressure, and risk assessments for breast cancer, colon health, and sleep disorders. Call 877-566-4660 for an up-to-date listing of screening dates, times, and locations.
A Goshen Health nurse cares for a patient.
Photo provided by Goshen Health
Get fitter at Fidler
Canoes sit primed for riders at Goshen’s FIdler Pond.
Photo credit: Lynne Zehr
One of Goshen’s newest parks, Fidler Pond includes an 80-acre pond ringed by a 1.5-mile trail ideal for walking or biking. Goshen residents flock to Fidler Pond to run, bike, walk and even sail! But locals aren’t the only ones who enjoy the facility. The park was the recipient of 2013 Indiana Park & Recreation Association’s Park Development Award.
Want to ride your bicycle?
You can ride it where you like in Goshen. Goshen is home to more than 30 miles of bicycle and pedestrian trails.
The pathways include the scenic Millrace Trail, which runs the length of the canal that once powered Goshen’s early industry. Goshen’s network also links to the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail, which provides riders with stunning rural vistas as it winds north out of Goshen toward Middlebury. If you make it to Middlebury and are still feeling adventurous, the Pumpkinvine continues east toward Shipshewana where you can stop and award yourself with world-famous donuts from Rise ‘n’ Roll Amish Bakery.
If you’d rather not ride solo, Lincoln Avenue Cycling organizes Group Rides throughout the year.
Bikers enjoy the summer sun on the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail.
Photo credit: Scott Weisser
Work it out
Yogis practice Warrior I at Spacious Heart Yoga Studio in downtown Goshen.
Photo credit: Lynne Zehr
The Maple City has several fitness centers, including Planet Fitness, Anytime Fitness, Goshen College’s Roman Gingerich Recreation-Fitness Center, Eastlake Goshen, Ares Fitness Club, and LOL Health and Fitness Studio.
You can also work out while you zen out with yoga classes offered at Spacious Heart Yoga and the Women’s Retreat Health Center.
Freshen up
Ever wondered if you could whip up dinner with all local –– and heck, while you’re at it, organic! –– produce? In Goshen, it’s easy. Just stop by the Goshen Farmer’s Market.
The market is a one-stop shop for locally grown, organic, and all-natural goods like produce, homemade baked goods, meats, cheeses, and more. It’s an opportunity to shop local and buy organic, and do some good while you’re at it. Goshen Farmer’s Market is a not-for-profit group formed by the Community Sustainability Project (CSP). Through its Share the Bounty program, the market helps offer access to locally grown food for low-income families in the Goshen area.
An organic farmer chats with a customer at the year-round, indoor Goshen Farmers Market.
Photo credit: Jo Ellen Davis
Run for fun
Steve Freeto races across the finish line of the annual Green Day Frolic during Goshen First Fridays.
Photo credit: Lynne Zehr
Runners, joggers, and walkers love our network of trails and use them nearly year-round. For those with a competitive streak, a 5K run along the millrace is offered every year during the Green Day Frolic, part of Goshen’s First Fridays Green Day festival. In keeping with the theme, runners are encouraged to “go green” in a different way: with all-green attire.
Looking for a little incentive before you commit? How does running to dinner (and a cold one) sound? The Goshen Dam Beer Runners meet for a weekly run (or walk) that ends with beer and dinner from Goshen Brewing Co.
Let’s GO(shen)
The 90-acre Shanklin Park is the Maple City’s largest park. A wonderful way for the whole family to experience its natural beauty is to participate in Get Up and GOshen, a wellness clinic sponsored by Goshen Health.
The annual event occurs each June, and includes a bike ride and obstacle course, games, interactive learning stations, and other activities.
Tommy’s Kids Castle is a fantastic play place located within Goshen’s Shanklin Park.
Photo provided by the City of Goshen
Liquid assets
Canoers paddle under a bridge on the Elkhart River.
Photo credit: Gina Leichty
One of Goshen’s most beautiful natural attractions is the winding Elkhart River. An ideal way to experience the river is by paddle! You can rent a canoe or kayak from Goshen Parks and Recreation from April 15 through Oct. 15.
The parks department also offers an Elkhart River canoe trip. The journey starts at the Goshen Parks Office on West Plymouth Avenue and ends at Ox Bow County Park.
Go Green … croft!
Green thumbs are in ample supply in Goshen, and some of them have been busy at the Greencroft Goshen continuing care retirement community.
You can view their horticultural talents – and get some exercise at the same time – by visiting Greencroft’s butterfly gardens. Designed by landscape architect Don Yoder, the garden includes perennials, a butterfly sculpture, and butterfly bushes.
Native grasses and wild flowers bloom on Greencroft Goshen’s beautiful campus.
Photo provided by Greencroft Communities
Exercise your mind
Goshen College Coordinator for Intercultural Community Engagement and Latino Student Union Adviser Rocio Diaz laughs with students.
Photo credit: Lynne Zehr
Physical fitness is important, but so is keeping the mind sharp. There are educational opportunities aplenty in Goshen, such as enrolling in a class at Goshen College. GC offers adult degree completion programs and continuing education courses for working students and those wanting to transition into a new career. The college also offers an annual lecture series and conferences, several of which are open to the public.
Additionally, the Lifelong Learning Institute of Elkhart County offers short courses in a number of fields for active senior citizens. Classes take place in fall and spring, and there’s a lecture series in mid-winter. Courses are scheduled at Goshen College, Greencroft, and other locations in the community.
Writer • Scott Weisser
Editor • Liz Shenk
Web Design • Ben Stutzman
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