Ladders, Bridges, and Ravines: Turkey Run and Shades State Parks

I cannot even begin to describe how much I loved these hikes. Right here in Indiana, which you think of as flat and corn fields as far as the eye can see, you've got these two gems. 

We hiked an absurd amount, and I can't believe the kids and Hank held up for it. It's an hour drive from our house, so we geared up, and hit Turkey Run first. 

We started with trails 6, 7, and 11 as a warm-up hike. The kids were super excited when they realized we would be hiking through a ravine and a mostly dried up creek, jumping back and forth over the water. They also very much enjoyed the stairs and the little lookout spot. 

We then combined trails 1, 3, 5, and 10 to create a very wobbly loop around--and we even split up at some points because...

Ladders! Yes! We had to climb ladders! I! Love! This! Hike! What's not to love? Hiking through ravines, along creeks, through creeks, up ladders, past waterfalls, over a freaking suspension bridge... It was The Best. 

Alas, Hank could not hike up a ladder, so we took turns finding an alternate route with Hank, while the other person climbed with the kids. 

After that, which was a solid 5 miles at that point, we headed out to go home except WHOOPS maybe not, we decided to really quick go over to Shades State Park, which is only 15 minutes from Turkey Run. Because we are bananas, we then went on ANOTHER hike of trails 1 and 4, adding on 2 miles. 

JD passed out in the car on the ride back, and I am pretty sure EJ did too. Hank had only been with us for a week at that point, but he seemed thrilled with the entire thing.

Honestly, some of my favorite hiking. It was just wonderful. It was very easy to choose your own adventure--you could keep it easy, or you could make a really hard hike out of it. It's pretty critical here to have good hiking boots or shoes, because you're often doing some light rock scrambling, and the rocks can be slick. I saw more than one person wearing flip flops with blood running down their leg from a fall. 

Some of this was on the edge of JD's abilities--not because he couldn't do it, because he's a climber and loves danger, but because I needed him to listen and do as I said, when I said it. That's a harder skill for him, and he has not yet learned to assess the best path to take, so there were points where I needed to be behind him for safety (the ladders) but I knew when we got up the ladders, it was slick and he needed to choose carefully where to step. Luckily, EJ is quite excellent at finding the best path to take, so she went ahead and assessed things for us while we brought up the rear. 

Anyway, the kids loved it and were already asking to go back.

Lawrence Creek Trail - Fort Harrison State Park

We did one of our (the adults) favorite trails in Fort Harrison--Lawrence Creek. It's a mixed use trail, for hikers and mountain bikers. Part of why it's such a great trail is because of the mountain bikers--all the obstacles they set or leave for them also make great things for the kids to do too. Rocks, downed trees turned into wide balance beams or jumps, log mountains, curves, and more--it's a fun one to do. 

Here's Lawrence Creek Trail on All Trails. 

It's 4.5 miles, but we tacked on just a bit more to make it an even 5 miles. This was the longest single trail hike the kids have been on, so I was thrilled with their accomplishment. We've stacked hikes before--3 miles with 4 miles, etc.--but that usually involves a sitdown break and change of scenery. This was just, get on the trial and go, don't stop style, and they aced it. 

5 miles of hiking = 1 tired puppy. Hank did great on this hike, though he's got some leash learning to do. 

Indiana Dunes State and National Parks Picture Post

Our trip to Indiana Dunes was both delightful and frustrating--we were foiled by the weather, but we can't wait to go back.

It rained and sleeted the entire time we were there. It was always meant to be just a short trip--there in the early afternoon, hike, stay the night, get up and hike again, then head home. We saw the bad weather forecast, but at that point, we were stuck with the dates we had picked, and decided to just go and have as much fun as we could. 

We did indeed have fun--but it was wet, cold fun, and shorter than we would have liked. We heavily leaned on the visitors center, which was excellent. The informational videos were wonderful, the kids were engaged, and the ranger was just delighted that we were full of questions. 

We did short burst hikes around the dunes in both parks before we got totally soaked and frozen (this was back in March!) and had to call it. 

Whirlwind: Arches and Canyonlands National Parks

I thought I was not going to get to a national park this year until October--maybe June, if we managed a run up to Indiana Dunes for a weekend. I was apparently wrong. 

After Finn passed away, my sister decided I needed a break. I've had a rough couple of month--lots of solo parenting while JK traveled, intense work stuff, and then Finn. She begged me to jump on a plane on a whim and go with her to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks for a whirlwind 48 hours trip.

So, my plan-loving soul is going with very little notice or chance to plan. 

Arrive: Fly into SLC, arriving at 12:00 AM, are you even kidding me, meet my sister, grab rental car, and drive to Arches. 

Arches: roll into Arches while it's still dark, hike with headlamp to a good spot to watch the sunrise. We've got a few picked out. We don't have timed entry reservations, so we need to get in before 6 am, and we will stay until we are done. We've got some mild to moderate hikes picked out and we will see what moves us. 

Canyonlands: we will take a quick break in Moab and go check out Canyonlands. We've got some short hikes picked out and highlights to hit. 

SLC: return to SLC on basically no sleep and crash at hotel. Next day, check out Antelope Island and downtown SLC.

Depart: Leave SLC at 6 pm and arrive in Indy at 2:00 AM ARE YOU SERIOUS ugh.

It's going to be wild, and hopefully, what my heart needs right now. It's a disservice to the parks to spend so little time in them, but I'll take what I can get. I'm struggling with the idea of leaving JK and the kids while things are so fresh, but JK is pretty much pushing me out the door. 

Short Recap: Spring Break 2022

We did our spring break in Chicago and Indiana Dunes National and State Parks, along with hikes in Fort Ben State park. We had a blast, and my foot survived. The weather cooperated NOT AT ALL. It didn't matter when we were in Chicago--we were inside at the Museum of Science and Industry--but it was either raining, sleeting, or outright snowing for the rest. 

Fort Ben hikes: Camp Creek, Harrison Trace, Walnut Grove trails. We often had to jump off the trails and onto the paved trails due to mud, and we were basically dancing in between raindrops. 

Indiana Dunes: We visited both the state and national parks, an it sleeted on us. We had to keep things short and sweet, which was a real bummer, because we LOVED it. We are planning a weekend return trip. Hikes included: West Beach Succession Trail, (national park), part of the Portage Riverwalk, part of trail 9 (state park), part of trail 10 (state park), part of trail 3 (state park), and part of trail 4 (state park). 

The Indiana Dunes National Park Visitors Center was GREAT. The kids loved it--they loved reading the information, getting brochures, talking to the ranger on duty, and watching the info movie. The movie got them very excited to come back and do more in the late spring/summer/fall, when the weather is better. They did the junior ranger program, and marched off with their books. The ranger on duty was just pleased anyone had tried any hiking at all in that weather, and thought the kids were troopers. 

Upcoming: Indiana Dunes National Park

I am EXCITED for spring break. I know we had a (rather glorious, if I say so myself) trip to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park planned that we had to abandon, but I am excited for our little trip sessions that we are taking. GSMNP, we'll see you soon.

On the menu instead is (1) Chicago (gonna hit some museums, eat some pizza, and stay in a fancy hotel with a pool); (2) Indiana Dunes National Park; (3) Gabis Arboretum (which as TRAILS and TRAINS, could this be more perfect for us? Probably not); (4) Shades State Park; and (5) Turkey Run State Park. The Chicago - Indiana Dunes - Gabis section is all on one loop, so we will take a few days do that. Shades and Turkey Run are going to be day trips, so we will leave early in the morning and return late afternoon. There's an off chance that we will also do a daytrip to Brown County, but I am betting that we actually do one of our beloved Fort Ben hikes instead. 

Indiana Dunes NP and Indiana Dunes SP are right next to each other, so we may go back and forth into both. I'd love to do the 3 dune challenge, which has an elevation gain of about 550 ft--hey, it's Indiana, we take what we can get for elevation gains. We are also hoping to do Cowles Bog Trail, Dune Succession Trail, and/or Tolleston Dunes Trail. Gabis has lots of 1-2 mile trails, but honestly, we are going to have a hard time pulling JD away from the trains. We may take turns with adults hiking while the other does the train thing. 

Shades and Turkey Run are within a stone's throw of each other. they've got similar topography--ravines, cliffs, waterfalls, etc. There are long span bridges, stairs cutting down ravines, and even ladders to climb alongside waterfalls. Depending on how good of a time we are having, we may do two separate day trips to them, or combine into one long day. We'd really like to do the 6 Ravine Challenge--really give the kids a challenge--but we will just have to make that call the day of. They can definitely do it, but it may depend on how well JD slept that night. That's a 650 elevation gain, so it would be a big one, and we might take almost half a day to do. JK and I could do it at a good clip, but our goal with kid hiking is get them to love and enjoy it, not march them along. 

Coming along with us this trip, other than humans: (1) EJ's new backpack; (2) JD using the Osprey Moki for the first time on a longer hike; (3) testing out new water filtration devices; (4) my new Hoka trail running shoes; (5) if weather permits, I am going to try my Chacos and see how they do for hiking; (6) JD's new hiking Keens; and (7) new hiking pants for JK. 

Hike: Camp Creek Trail

It was a beautiful, sunny day, and Grams was scheduled to pick up both kids. By 2:00 pm, I'd already worked a full day and thought I had more to do, I decided to take a quick break, leave my downtown office, grab the dog, and do a solo hike. 

Park: Fort Harrison State Park
Trail: Camp Creek Trail
Distance: 3 miles (full trail is a bit less, but I added on some other areas)

Gosh, what a muddy mess. I knew it might be, given our hike over the weekend, but I had hoped that a few days with no rain and decent temperatures would make it tolerably muddy, not "sloppy wet mess that makes you fall on your ass" level of muddy. That's what hiking boots and dog towels are for, though, so on we went. There were a couple sections where I turned back or took a connecting trail because it was such a mess that I didn't want to do more damage to the trail than what was already done. 

Finn and I had a blast--the sun was shining, there were so many things to smell, the crowd was super light, and the birds were singing. Finn did a great job of sitting prettily and waiting for other hikers with dogs to pass. He didn't bark or try to play with them at all, and he hiked along with a slight amount of slack in the lead. He's becoming a good hiking dog, despite his lazy nature. 

It was much easier to settle into a few more hours of work with some peaceful time outdoors under my belt. It's also easier with an exhausted puppy.

Hike: Lawrence Creek Trail

I've been spending a ton of time on my rowing machine and stretching and icing, and it's paid off. My foot was feeling like it might be ready for hike, so we hit the trail. 

Park: Fort Harrison State Park

Trail: Lawrence Creek

Distance: 2.5 miles (full trail is 4 miles)

We've had a constant stream of rain and snow the past month or more. It rains, then it all freezes and turns to ice, we get anywhere from a light dusting of snow to several inches, then it melts, and the process repeats. Even if my foot was fine, it would have made hiking difficult--you either get ice, or you get mud. There is no in between. 

When we started, the trial was ice. We did not have our microspikes, which probably would have been good to have, but it ended up being fine. We crunched along at pretty good speed despite the ice. Every minute we hiked, it got warmer--and it began to melt and expose the mud underneath. We had to stop at every creek crossing and carry JD across, then give Finn enough leeway to get a running start and jump over. 

We were all a happy, muddy mess by 2 miles in, which is when JD decided it was going to be a great idea to jump into the creek.

Since we were now in possession of a soaked 4 year old in 32 degrees Fahrenheit, we decided to call it quits and headed back. It was probably best for my foot to not test it too much--it was sore later but not too bad. JD was stripped down to skivies and bundled up, and medicinal hot chocolate was applied to both children.

The trees were really something to behold--they were all still coated in ice, so with the sun shining through them, it was like walking through a crystal forest. There was glinting and glistening everywhere, and tiny faint rainbows would dance fleetingly in and out of your line of vision. 

Indiana State Parks and Indiana Dunes National Park

We planned, and the universe laughed. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is off; Indiana State Parks and Indiana Dunes National Park is on!

We decided to put GSMNP on hold for either a winter trip or a spring next year trip. We had a few projects come up that we decided made it smarter to have a shorter time away. We are installing a new master closet in our house all my our own selves, and it's going to take some dedicated, focused time that we will have over spring break, if we aren't gone for all of it. Then, our washer started its Final Cycle Into Imminent Death, and the closest delivery we could get was during spring break (please, Washer Gods, let the washer last until then).

All in all, a smarter decision to have a shorter trip away and make sure we have time at home to get these projects done and settled. 

The Plan. One day and one night in Turkey Run State Park and Shades State Park. This is an easy combo, since the two are only about 15 minutes away from each other, and we will try out the Inn at Turkey Run. We've been meaning to go to these two, especially this winter, because Turkey Run has fantastic rock formations along the creek, and when the creek freezes, you get a hike you can only do a few weeks out of the year. ALAS, our plans were foiled by me and JD getting covid in early February, so it will be a wet spring trip. We've got some neat hikes picked out, and hopefully it won't be too muddy.

From there, we head on up to Indiana Dunes National Park and the neighboring Indiana Dunes State Park. We planned out two full hiking days there, and staying at a nearby hotel. Again, have some nice trail options picked out and we are excited about the water views, even if we are staying far, far away from that frigid nonsense.

As a grand finale, we are going to head over to Chicago and spend the night there. We will hit up hopefully three museums that the kids will lose their minds over, and get some Chicago-style pizza (or... not, if you are JK and allergic to tomato). There will also be train rides, naturally.

We will head home after a full day in Chicago.

Picture Post: Garden of the Gods & Pikes Peak

Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak, in pictures. Brace yourself, because there is almost nothing of Pikes Peak--the visitors center and the cog railway were both under heavy construction, and all the views were obstructed at the top. 

Of course, SOME of us like the construction vehicles (ahem, JD).

Kind of sort of a view.

Don't let the lack of pictures scare you off BUT MAYBE this drive up the mountain should. I am kidding, it was spectacular. I love stopping at the pull outs and scrambling around. 

Although it turns out I am a very anxious passenger on this ride up Pikes Peak, I still love it. LOVE IT. It's such an adrenaline rush. Also there are brake check stops, where they take the temperature of your brakes and sometimes make you pull over if you brakes are overheating. That's how steep the incline is.

Like I said, I love stopping at the pull outs. We did a bunch of short, one mile hikes at a ton of stopping points. 

After Pikes Peak, we went on to our house in Garden of the Gods. This view was 50 yards from where we stayed. Seriously. 

We actually hiked this trail in the late evening our first night there, but the view were, uh, limited then.

There was something so magical about this section. It was like walking through a long hall, approaching a god's throne. 

We kept going but then the kids got goofy and there are many silly kid pictures.

The famous Kissing Camels, on the main track of sights to see.

If you zoom in on the wall, you will see a surprise.

This is just amazing and it really made me wish I could join those climbers on the top. Zoom in on the peak! What an adrenaline rush that must be. Yes, please.

Balanced Rock, which hangs over a main road in and out of the park. It's often quite busy there.

The tree is not dead-dead, it's only MOSTLY dead. Joke compliments of my niece.

The Siamese Twins rock, which was part of a really great hike. 

Real talk, that red dust is brutal. Look at JD's butt! Also, look at the awesome piggyback assist device we have.

At one point, we took a break and sat under an outcropping for snacks. It's hard to believe you are in a smaller park in the middle of a city with that view. Also, our butts were totally covered in red dust after this break. 

Finishing up our hike and our time at Garden of the Gods. We hiked the kids into exhaustion that day with 2 three mile hikes, then drove them home starting at 3 am the next morning. They slept hard in the car for a long time.

Fort Harrison State Park

Indiana is our home base, and we consider Fort Harrison State Park--or as everyone around here calls it, Fort Ben--our home park.

Why To Go

It's just dang pretty, and its right there, in Indianapolis. There's creeks, and some decent hills (for central Indiana, that is). There's great spots to rest and picnic. There's trails for road biking, and trails for mountain biking. There's golf, too, and the old Garrison is now a restaurant with delicious food, with an Inn nearby. There's sledding in winter, and fishing and canoeing in summer (with permits). There's horseback riding, and there's history--so much history to this park. 

It used to be part of an army post--the former Citizen's Military Training Camp has been preserved around the park office in what used to be known as Camp Glenn. There are the park offices and even a Museum of 20th Century Warfare, which has exhibits about the soldiers that served at Fort Harrison. There are often reenactments and other history related events.

Favorite Trails

I could try to pick my favorite trails, but I can't. I won't. I shan't. You can't make me, I love them all. It's very common to people to have their leashed dogs on the trail, kids are a common trail sighting, and you get casual hikers to brisk and intense hikers to trail runners. Some of the trials are mixed use, meaning, they are also used for mountain bikers. Personally, when I am hiking with kids, I prefer to have the mountain bikers coming at me head on--I can see them in advance, with time to pull the kids off the trail. The mountain bikers have almost exclusively been fantastic and polite, but hey, they are on a bike, balancing, and we are on our own two feet, so I like to move for them rather than make them work for it. Team work makes the dream work.

Schoen Creek--This was the trail that had me falling in love with Fort Ben. It's up, it's down, there are tight turns, a steep drop off, it winds back and forth. Along the way, you'll pass over bits of frames of old buildings--remnants of the military fort, or get glimpses of Lawton Loop, where the officers lived, and are now private houses. 

Lawrence Creek--This trail is longer, and one that JK and I typically do together, without the kids, though we do parts of the trails with the kids. They can certainly handle the distance, it's more that we just like saving this one for just us. It has one of my favorite section of the entire park, where the trail narrows and is cut into the side of the hill but wraps back in on itself. I often let JK and kids, if they are with us, get far ahead, just so I can be amused by the view. So close, but so far. 

Camp Creek and Fall Creek--although these are/can be two separate trails, we often do them together and combine them in new and different ways. These are the two trails we prefer to have the kids on, because there are no bikers--it's a hiking only trail. This is a trail where, at the beginning, you often see people finding little sandy beach spots and floating along in the creek. It's honestly delightful to see families come camp out for the day, floating, picnicking, and having fun. This trail will take you along the creek, through trees, through tall grasses, up stairs, over gravel and sometimes  quick pavement crossing, down hills, and more. It can be kind of a choose your adventure hike, because you can cut it very short and exit on to the paved path back to the parking lot at several spots, or you can keep tacking on the dirt miles. 

There are some paved paths and a shorter Tree Line Trail, but they are more of a walk (though a delightful one) than a hike.

Favorite Spots to Be

Millennium Grove Picnic Area is such a great spot. There are places and spots to pull off and park your car and when the grasses are tall, you are isolated from each other. Schoen Creek Trail runs all around the area, so you could pick it up and hike a bit, or you can just hang. 

The top of the big sledding hill is another major favorite. It's a nice view from a high point, and I love sitting up there in summer and fall and just enjoying the sun and breeze. This hill is where I do my "training" when I know I am going to hike bigger hills/mountains--I run up the hill and walk down, over and over. 

Other Things to Do

There are stables, so you can sign yourself up for a nice horseback ride. Our daughter did it when she was five, and it was easy enough and fun. In the winter, it's a popular place for sledding--that big hill is a great ride. There's a golf course that's part of the park, so if golfing is your jam, it's a beautiful course. I see many families in the summer load up a cooler and  go find a spot along the creeks, park themselves there, and wade in, floating along the creek. 

Last, but certainly not least, is the history. In Fort Ben is the museum of 20th Century Warfare. they have reenactments, displays, special exhibits, and special guest series.

Eats and Sleeps

Nearby, you have deliciousness. Porter Books and Brews is a delightful coffee shop with some baked goods. Cafe Audrey is delicious, as is Chef Suzanne's little drive up hut. There's some chains--Panera, Culver's--but I generally prefer the local places I mentioned. The Garrison is a more old-fashioned eating place, but they do a great brunch on weekends. 

The Fort Harrison Inn is fantastic. I've stayed there, despite being close to my house and it is just neat.