Turkey Run State Park
Located just over the Central Illinois border in Marshall, Indiana, Turkey Run State Park is a popular and gorgeous park with a flowing river, the Sugar Creek, that divides the hiking trails and lots of canyons to explore. If you’re trying to avoid the crowds, go early - by the time we were heading out around 11 a.m. on a summer weekday, the parking lot was already full. Note: there was a $9 fee to enter the park for out-of-state residents.
Trail Conditions
The trail map boasts about 13 miles of trails that interconnect and loop through the entire park. I’d recommend keeping an electronic or printed trail map (available when you drive in) close by if you are trying to maximize your mileage.
We parked at the nature center, which is a centralized location to access all of the trails. The trails are numbered. Based on the printed map, we hopped on trail #1 and took the longest route we could manage. For specifics, #1 to #8 to #4 to #3 to #10, back to #3, where we hopped on to #5 to end our trip. There are steep ladders on sections of #3, noted on the map, that we purposefully avoided as we were hiking with Emmy. They are exactly as you imagined, so be prepared to carry down a little one or dog if you trek those routes. Our route gave us about 7 - 7.5 miles.
The trails are packed mud, and since you are weaving around waterways, prepare to get a little wet, muddy, and sandy…especially if visiting after a rainfall. There are some slight elevation changes, but the largest ones we encountered were on #3 and #10. There are steep canyons and staircases to traverse.
Overall, the trails were in great shape considering the recent heavy storms and rainfall. They are well-marked and easy to navigate.
Things We Love
We had been avoiding a second visit because we know how busy this park can get, BUT it’s a stunning hike. It has the beauty of a southern Illinois park in an unexpected location.
The trails can be adventurous! It’s fun to have to climb over canyons, sneak along ridgelines, and jump over waterways (or just go all in and stomp right through it). It was a great workout for our legs…and the dog.
This park is packed with mushrooms. Adam fancies himself an amateur mycologist, and we had a fun time looking at the many, many types of mushrooms we saw, snapping photos to identify later.
It’s right next to Shades State Park, which shares its beauty and has several fun, rugged trails.
Things to Know
This is a tourist destination - with an inn, swimming pool, family programming, camping, and boating on-site. It has always been busy when we have visited, so if you want to avoid the crowds…go early. We were in the park by 7:30 - 8 a.m., and had the trails mostly to ourselves until 10-11 a.m. (and if you’re coming from Illinois just be aware of the time change).
I would highly recommend bug spray and sturdy, close-toed shoes. It is a bit buggy due to the river, and some of the trails require you to go through small water pools. If you are traveling with kids or dogs, it’s super fun for them (the kids around us were having a blast), but you will get wet.
There are vault restrooms on-site. The nature center was undergoing construction, so we did not venture close and made sure to bring plenty of our own water and packed in/out our snack garbage. Since this is a busy area, we did notice more trash on the trails (gentle reminder to pack it in and out!).