Brown County State Park is by far the largest State Park in Indiana encompassing nearly 16,000 acres. It’s nicknamed the “Little Smokies” because of the area’s resemblance to the Great Smoky Mountains with rugged hills, ridges and fog-shrouded ravines. Sorry, I didn’t see the resemblance, but none-the-less it is a beautiful park. I also realized as I am writing this, that I should have done more research on the park and area as I missed out on a lot that both have to offer. The park is located near Nashville, Indiana – a picture postcard of a town and an artisan community with over 200 galleries. And from the park’s website – the top five things to do:
- Climb the 90’ Fire Tower for a breath-taking view of the hills o’ Brown.
- Didn’t do – and bummed as I have a slight fear of heights and always try to overcome this.
- See the rare (and state-endangered) Yellowwood tree on Trail 5.
- Missed Trail 5 so didn’t see this.
- Visit the nature center to see the rare, state-endangered timber rattlesnake.
- Missed this, and it would have been cool to see the rattlesnake.
- Jump in the Water Park pool, newly constructed at Abe Martin Lodge.
- Missed this too.
- Watch a sunrise or sunset from a vista.
- Since I was on a schedule, left before sunset.
Oh well, I guess I need to make another visit to the park to experience the top 5 things to do. I also didn’t know there was a 7-vista challenge, which I would have been all over as many of you know how competitive I am. (Funny, I just noticed as I was looking at the pictures of the West Lookout Tower, there is a sign on the frame noting this is vista #1 in the challenge – missed that entirely!) With all that said, I did enlist the help of AllTrails to find the best trails to hike. I started out on the HHC TRAIL, a moderate 3.6 mile trail, with an elevation gain of 482 feet, that extends east from west lookout, continues to near Hesitation Point, and then southwest to parking area at Ogle Lake and Trail 7, where I started my hike.
I first took the trail up to Hesitation Point, one of the most popular vistas in the park with its picturesque views. The trail then goes parallel to the road, which I never understand why trails go so close to the road as it seems counterintuitive to being in the outdoors hiking. But enough of my rant. The next vista is West Lookout Tower Vista. There is a two-story tower overlooking the valley and apparently is the perfect stop for a glorious Brown County sunset. It was fashioned after structures built for surveyors who were working in the area. Map makers lived in the upper level while horses and livestock were stabled below.
Pictures: The entrance to Brown County State Park near Nashville, Indiana
Pictures: Trail #8 trailhead | The trail up to Hesitation Point
Pictures: The lower area for horses | View of the valley from the tower
From the West Lookout Tower it was back down to the parking lot. I enjoyed this portion of the trail – away from the road through a beautiful forest and along a ravine. Once back to the parking lot, I decided to go around the lake on Trail #7 – a 1.2 mile loop with a slight elevation gain of 36 feet. (the Indiana Department of Natural Resources marks this trail as moderate, not sure why because they also mark trail #8 as moderate?) Ogle Lake is a 17-acre lake for fishing and boating. It was a nice hike and gave me some additional miles for the day.
As I was hiking trail #8 and then trail #7, I noticed all these temporary markers and wondered what they were for. Well near the end of my hike, I ran into a volunteer and found out that they were setting up for a major trail race – Dances With Dirt | Gnaw Bone. They tout it as the world’s most difficult 10K and you should expect double your road time and triple your effort! Sounds like fun? (actually it does as I love trail running) They also have a 5K, 13.1M, 26.2M, 50K, and 50M – yes a 50-miler!
Pictures: Ogle Lake | The marshy area at the end of the lake
Pictures: The area around the lake can be wet and marshy, so there are bridges and stumps to navigate
Date of visit: 18 May 2023
And on my way up to Illinois and Starved Rock State Park, I rewarded myself with some soft serve ice cream from the Dairy Bar in Lizton, IN – just northwest of Indianapolis.
