A Taste of the Wild, Hoosier National Forest
June 2024
A Taste of the Wild Hoosier National Forest
We started the day with our first visit to the Hoosier National Forest in Southern Indiana. The Hoosier National Forest is an immense forest covering approximately 319 square miles (827 square kilometers) of federally protected public land.
After we had parked on Polk Patch Road, we hit the trail and noticed marker 14, so we knew we were following the Hickory Ridge Trail System, which uses only numbers to mark trails. We combined numbers 14, 16, and 22 and then returned to Polk Patch Road. It was a beautiful hike through a green canopy, offering a great workout with some challenging climbs. We descended into the hollow where Callahan Creek runs through the limestone and hardwood valley. Sometimes we walked along the limestone ridges as well.
We left around 9:00 AM and started hiking about 1 hour later. We first thought we were lost because we couldn’t find a parking spot or a trailhead. Ultimately, we saw something that looked like a trail, so we parked along the side of the gravel road.
.
An hour and a half later, we were back at the car. We realized we had seen only a fraction of this enormous forest. To put the scale in perspective, it is fifteen times larger than Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe. Our visit to this part of Indiana to say goodbye to the area.
