Category: Indiana

In the fall, Brown County State Park is inundated with leaf peepers who snarl traffic bumper-to-bumper from Nashville to Gnaw Bone and beyond.

At Trail D on the far southwest corner of the park, you’ll avoid it all and find the hiking escape you’re looking for. In fact, you probably won’t see another soul.

We’ve compiled the ultimate hiking guide for Brown County State Park in Indiana, complete with interactive maps, detailed trail reports and helpful photos. With 20 miles of dedicated hiking trails, 27 miles of multi-use trails and 70 miles of bridle trails, the biggest state park in Indiana is a Midwest hiker’s dream.

This accessible quarter mile loop is the perfect introduction to hiking for the little ones as well as it is a route for hikers of all abilities to enjoy. Many who pass up this trail may not realize that it also contains one of the best views in the park.

Hike through land wooded with oak, hickory, sassafras, beech and maple on this easy .9 mile trail in the Abe Martin Lodge hiking trail network.

At roughly 70 miles of bridle trails, Brown County State Park boasts more horse trails than hiking and mountain biking trails combined in the park’s extensive back country. If you don’t mind the occasional odd glances and dodging horse apples, the trails are some of the most beautiful in the state.

This 2.75 mile lollipop hiking trail begins at Taylor Ridge Campground and follows the hilltop for a mile and a half before descending into Wise Hollow and looping back along a small stream. As there is no parking for non-campers at the trail head, this hike is best accessed via Trail 11 (Vollmer Trail) from Ogle Lake.

Formerly known simply as the Trail 9 extension, Trail 11 ascends quickly from the Ogle Lake valley to the Knobstone Escarpment and leads deep into the western section of the lush forest of Brown County State Park in Indiana.

You won’t find this trail on any official map of Indiana’s Brown County State Park. Heck, you won’t find it mentioned anywhere period. In fact, the trail doesn’t even have a name, so we’ve dubbed it “Abe Martin’s Secret Trail” due to its close proximity to Abe Martin Lodge.

Only a few know of its existence, and unless you’re one of those few who do know, you’ll never find it without GPS. In fact, that’s the only way we found it after studying heatmap signatures left by wearers of activity trackers.

Trail 2 at Brown County State Park is one of the most popular hiking destinations on the grounds, passing beautiful family cabins, the North Lookout Tower and the rustic Lower Shelter. With its quaint stone bridges, retaining walls and stairways, this trail serves as the perfect introduction to Indiana’s largest state park.

Trail 3 is a popular and easy 1.25 mile loop through the northern section of Brown County State Park that holds a couple of interesting surprises. When paired with the 2-mile-long Trail 2, this hiking trail makes for a perfect day hike through the enchanting forest of south central Indiana.