Hiking Our State Parks
PHOTO: TREVOR KLATKO
Spring is here, and you know what that means—time to start planning this year’s amazing hikes! With all the State Parks, a National Forest, and many Nature Preserves in Indiana, you might find it hard to choose between them. Luckily, the Library has lots of resources to help you prep for hitting the trails.
Whether you’re hiking in nearby Brown County or taking a road trip to Indiana Dunes, guidebooks to State Parks in the Library’s collection help you find your way.
For great overviews of different parks and trails in Indiana, check out:
- Hiking Indiana: a Guide to the State's Greatest Hiking Adventures, Phil Bloom
- Hiking Indiana, Sally McKinney
- Indiana Best Hikes, Alan McPherson
- Nature Walks in Southern Indiana, Alan McPherson
Information on enjoying the trails, history, geology, and attractions at specific State Parks is found in two especially helpful book series, available at the Library: Paul R. Wonning’s Indiana State Park Travel Guides and the Hiking Indiana series by Randy Patrick.
And if you want to dig into the past, the Indiana Room at the Downtown Library is a treasure trove of Parks history. There you’ll find everything from historical newspaper coverage of trail and park development to vintage Parks maps and pamphlets from around the state. Just ask Library Staff for help accessing these gems.
PHOTO: DRAINHOOK
After downloading the DNR's app for my smartphone and consulting the Indiana Recreation Guide [PDF] they publish, I'm already planning my trip to Turkey Run State Park with a hike through Rocky Hollow [PDF] and a canoe ride down Sugar Creek—how about you?