Disclaimer: We considered the safety and risks before proceeding with this trip a couple months ago and took precautions. I encourage you to check safety guidelines and consider any risks before you go.

Fun fact: my grandparents lived in Indianapolis for a period of time while my dad was growing up. That’s part of the reason I heard of Brown County State Park – it’s been an Indiana gem for at least the last 50 years! We know we have a lot to explore here in Indiana, and southern Indiana felt like a good place to go.

We met up with some friends of ours in October – which, honestly, felt like the biggest breath of fresh air to be able to see friends that we know and love – and stayed at an AirBnb in Bloomington that could accommodate our group (if you do plan on staying in the actual park, the cabins can book up fast – this site has some good recommendations on places to stay).

The main attraction during this time was the changing leaves in the state park. And they did not disappoint. The colors were incredibly striking and the gradient that they made even on one leaf was beautiful. Fall seemed to last longer here and for that, we have been so grateful.

Day One

Ramp Creek Covered Bridge

Go through Ramp Creek Covered Bridge (you can pull over on the shoulder to take photos – you pretty much have to go through this to go into Brown County State Park).

Brown County State Park

This was our main focus and destination – we saw the Hesitation Point Trail Overlook, and hiked Trail No. 7, and Trail No. 8. These were both very flat and easy. Trail No. 7 goes around Ogle Lake and is very scenic, while Trail No. 8 follows the road for a bit before looping through the forest.

Here are all the hikes we considered (most interesting and seemingly doable for families since we had 4 kids with us):

Hesitation Point Trail (best vista) - 2 miles
- Mostly a bike trail
- The vista can be accessed through a parking lot - you do not need to hike the trail to see the vista
Yellowwood trail No. 5 1.0 mile
- There is a rare (and state-endangered) yellowwood tree on this trail apparently
Strahl Lake Trail No 6 - 1.8 miles
Ogle Lake Trail No. 7 - 1.2 miles
- We did this trail as a “warm-up” and thank goodness – it took longer than we anticipated with all of us and some were reluctant to do another trail after this one (also it was pretty much lunch time by the time we finished)
Trail No. 8 - 3.9 miles
- This has a West Lookout Tower by the parking lot you can easily climb up and get a nice overlook – very close to Hesitation Point overlook
Climb up the 90’ Fire Tower
- Located at the beginning of trail 10 – you do not need to go on the trail to get to the tower
- Unfortunately this was closed off when we went because it can’t handle many people climbing it at one time

Ogle Lake

Trail No. 8

Hesitation Point Vista

Nashville, IN

Close to Brown County State Park is Nashville, IN.

This area is well known for it’s shops and atmosphere. We were hoping to get lunch at the place my grandfather recommended – The Nashville House (this was a 45-60 minute wait for a late lunch, so make sure to make reservations in advance).

Unfortunately, we decided there were way too many people around so we skipped this part (would be really fun to visit not during a pandemic). The whole town was packed, so we didn’t get out of the car and explore. It was fun to drive around and check things out a bit, though.

Instead, we went back to Bloomington and got Chick-fil-a and relaxed – not upset about that.

Monroe Lake

We checked out the antique mall in town and then went to locate the best place for sunset which ended up being on Monroe Lake. You can pull into the Cutright State Recreation Area (free access) and drive to the marina. Just driving on the 446 across the divider is pretty breathtaking. It was slightly cloudy so we just enjoyed ourselves on the lake with the kids throwing rocks and watching the sky change colors.

Day 2

Indiana University

We didn’t have much time before we had to drive back to Warsaw (northern Indiana), so we spent some time in the morning exploring Indiana University, including seeing their Rose Well House.

The Cedars Preserve

We also included one more hike through The Cedars Preserve (not to be confused with the Cedar Bluff Nature Preserve Trail which seemed a lot more confusing to find and hike).

It’s pretty isolated and when we went, there were no other people there (Jenn turned to me after we parked asking if this was where we were planning to kill her haha). It’s a simple, flat hike, and you can see remnants of the limestone quarry that used to be here. (It’s said that the owner of the quarry died aboard the Titanic and it closed soon after.)

Cedar Ford Covered Bridge

One last stop on our way back! I wanted to see another covered bridge, so Matt and I detoured to see this one – Cedar Ford Covered Bridge – which is a one-lane covered bridge and recently renovated.

I am so incredibly grateful for all these amazing friends we were able to connect with. On the way to our destination in Bloomington, we stopped in Carmel and saw the Indianapolis temple. Jenn brought us Special Sauce from our favorite hot dog place in Utah, J. Dawgs. Lars took us to dinner at one of his favorite places, Fat Dan’s Deli, and we got Graeter’s – one of my favorite ice cream places that I thought was only in Ohio – after. Michael made us homemade waffles for breakfast on Saturday morning (I guess my love language is food), but most of all I just loved spending time with everyone, playing games and laughing a lot. It felt completely rejuvenating.