12 HIKES, 12 MONTHS
My friend and I made a resolution in 2019: do a least one hike per month in a different Indiana park. We found beautiful places all over this state! This is a goal we have kept every year since. Check out the hikes from 2019 below. For more recent photos of Indiana and other outdoor adventures, click here to visit @patti_rae on Instagram!
January Hike: Shades State Park
Our first hike was in Shades State Park. Located close to the more commonly visited Turkey Run State Park, Shades is full of trails that run through gorges and creeks. The day we went was uncharacteristically warm for January. We basically had the park to ourselves. We hiked long and slow, taking time to practice capturing sun stars and waterfalls along the way.
Photo Credit: Jaime Witter
February hike: Eagle Creek Park
It was lightly sleeting or snowing for most of our hike in Eagle Creek, but it was still nice to get outdoors in the winter. Eagle Creek is a huge city park in Indianapolis where you can hike, kayak, visit a bird sanctuary, and more. If you live in Indy, you've likely been here or at least heard of it. The trails here aren't particularly rugged, but there are miles of them. It's lovely.
February hike: Eagle Creek
March hike: Holliday Park
The forest was waking up on our March hike through Holliday Park. This is another Indianapolis city park. It is next to the White River, has a nice little nature building, and - you guessed it - lots of trails! It's not nearly as big as Eagle Creek and there are often more people here, but it is an enjoyable spot to get outdoors after work during the week!
April hike: McCormick's Creek State Park
It is going to be hard to beat McCormick's Creek State Park. I loved this park! The tree buds were starting to open and we saw plenty of flowering trees. It had rained a lot recently and the creek water level was high, so we had to get creative with some of our crossings. This led to a little bit of climbing and fording which really made this hike stand out. In many places, the side of the creek is flat rock so you can easily explore along the creek itself and see waterfalls without getting in the water.
We didn't make it to this part of the park this trip, but there is also a cool cave to explore, sink holes, and other interesting geological features to see here. Anyone who says Indiana's natural landscape lacks diversity is simply not looking hard enough!
May hike: Turkey Run State Park
Turkey Run State Park is a classic and is widely considered one of the best parks in Indiana. To get to the park's best hiking trails, you walk across a large bridge over Sugar Creek and go through a small cave on the other side - and that's just the beginning! There are trails that run through creeks, require the use of ladders, and along the bottom of a canyon.
Because it is so popular, Turkey Run is usually very busy. If you go early in the morning, it is definitely less crowded. We went early on a drizzly Mother's Day and nearly had the place to ourselves.
Photo Credit: Jaime Witter
June hike: Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park
Fort Ben is a state park that's basically in Indianapolis. It surprises me how few people know about it or have visited it. It was originally a military facility opened by Theodore Roosevelt. It eventually served as a World War II prisoner of war camp, Civilian Conservation Corps camp, and a Citizens Military training facility. At first glance it is a park of paved paths and parking lots, with cool things to see and play in all within feet of the parking lot. There are old military buildings and even a golf course. Obviously, Jaime and I went for the hiking trails.
There are lots of trails and biking paths in the woods of Fort Ben. Many of them go along Fall Creek, where you'll see people kayaking. If you have a hammock, this is the perfect park to bring it to! The trails are surprisingly long and can be hard to identify, so it's important to pay close attention to where you are going. We went in June, but if you go earlier in Spring you will be treated to lots of wildflowers along the trails and in the forest.
July hike: Morgan Monroe State Forest
An added challenge to our 12 hikes in 12 months goal is that Jaime and I both travel for work. This makes it hard to find 1 full day per month in common, which is often necessary to get to some of Indiana's state parks from Indianapolis area. Luckily, we have the long Indiana summer days working in our favor! I picked Jaime up from work in July and we drove to Morgan Monroe State Forest for a quick post-work week day hike.
August hike: Clifty Falls State Park
Clifty Falls State Park is located in southern Indiana near Madison. It's a little far from Indianapolis for a day trip, so we decided to make a weekend of it!
This was our first camping trip and we took along a few extra friends! The campsite was standard for many state parks - not super private, fire pit, parking on your lot - with a really nice bathroom for the whole camp to use.
We hiked down to the creek bed, but then decided to go up and hike along the edge of the ravine so we could get a better view of any waterfalls. Unfortunately, It was hot and dry leading up to our trip, so the waterfalls that Clifty Falls is known for were pretty much all dried up. It was still really beautiful, though! The trails were more challenging than many of the ones we'd been on recently. We both said this would be a great spot to return to in the fall!
Photo Credit: Jaime Witter
September hike: Spring Mill State Park
My little sister, Katie, joined Jaime and I for our September hike. Jaime had a wedding that weekend at Spring Mill State Park, so Katie and I drove down on Sunday to meet her for a post-wedding hike! This park has caves, a settlers' village, and more. Park rangers offer a tour on boats along a river that runs through one of the caves. If you're interested in learning geological history and experiencing true darkness (zero light whatsoever), you should definitely do this!
October hike: Starkey Park
Lack of time prevented us from visiting a state park this month, but a little research led Jaime to recommend Starkey Park in Zionsville. This park is located inside of a neighborhood and was really nice for being such a small area. Ours was a short, easy hike and we shared the trail for a little while with high school students filming a zombie movie. Yup, you read that right! Zombies were on our hike with us. Luckily, they didn't attack us and we were able to enjoy the fall colors in relative peace!
November hike: Brown County State Park
Our November hike was in Brown County State Park. This, along with Turkey Run, is easily one of the most popular parks in Indiana. It holds the nickname "The Little Smokies" because its fog-covered rolling hills resemble a miniature version of the Smoky Mountains.
We were here at the perfect time of year for Brown County. The leaves had blown up in color already. There are thousands of acres to explore in the park. We hiked all day, stopping at vistas and lakes for breaks. It was definitely the perfect fall day!
November Hike: Brown County State Park
December Hike: Jerry E. Clegg Botanic Garden
Photo credit: Jaime Witter)
Our December Hike was at Jerry E. Clegg Botanic Garden in Lafayette. This park has a few trails along a large creek near Purdue. Our hike was short, but fun!
This hike was a celebration - we officially completed our New Year's Resolution! We both decided to do this again in 2020, but this time we added the goal to make it to at least 1 national park.
Wish us luck!
