A Day Trip to Turkey Run State Park, Indiana
- Michael Thornton
- Aug 16
- 7 min read
In the summer of 2025, I moved from Oklahoma, where I had resided for 10 years, to east-central Missouri. That same year, in the fall months, I became interested in travelling to states like Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana to explore new areas. During this search, I came across many areas I found interesting in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Then, while searching in Indiana, I came across "Turkey Run State Park," which featured a large wooden bridge spanning a river. The scene Google showed me featured vast trees, rocky ledges, and a peaceful yet crowded forested landscape. I was more interested in the river than the state park and researched launch points, river stages, and currents along Sugar Creek to see if it was viable for kayaking. With this in mind, I still decided to keep the State Park on my list of things to explore in 2026.
Not long after discovering Turkey Run State Park, NASCAR released its NASCAR Craftsman Truck schedule for 2026. The schedule indicated that the series was headed to Indianapolis Raceway Park in July of 2026. With Turkey Run State Park nearby, I decided to buy tickets for the truck race and make a day of it by going to Turkey Run State Park earlier in the day.
The last time I had been to Indiana was in the late 2000's, so the idea of travelling back to Indiana felt like something new to me. On the morning of July 24th, 2026, I set off towards Indiana from east-central Missouri. Not entirely to my surprise, the drive was fairly uneventful, as much of the journey took me across the long, flat stretches of Illinois. Just before 2 PM, I made it to the Illinois/Indiana state line and entered the town of Terre Haute, Indiana. I had heard of Terre Haute, Indiana, before, likely not for the reason you are thinking. Growing up, I had a game called "Dirt Track Racing: Sprint Cars" which heavily featured The Terre Haute Action Track, a half-mile racetrack.
As I entered the downtown portion, a gigantic building emerged from the background and took center stage. The building in question was the Vigo County Courthouse. The exterior design of this 138-year-old courthouse really stuck out to me, and it's one of the few times I have taken a picture of a government building for no reason other than to admire the craftsmanship.
As mentioned earlier, I only knew Terre Haute for its racetrack. As I made my way north of the Vigo County Courthouse, I quickly came upon a university on the right side. Except it wasn't just ANY university; it was Indiana State University. Almost instantly, my mind was blown. I had never known that ISU was in Terre Haute, Indiana, but I had always known of the university through its basketball program.
The entrance fee for Turkey Run State Park as of July 24th, 2026, was $15 for me as a non-resident; however, residents of Indiana will see a $7 fee. As I entered the park, I stopped in the parking lot near the Turkey Run Inn to figure out the trailhead for the area I wanted to hike. After finding the right trailhead, I drove towards the amphitheatre and pool. It was here that I was shocked by the number of people visiting a state park on a random Friday at 3 PM, though I ultimately concluded it was likely due to summer vacations and so forth.
As I exited the vehicle, I realized I had left my hiking gear in my other vehicle back in Missouri and decided to no-load hike, which is the practice of hiking with minimal to no gear. I entered the trail and made my way down a set of stairs towards a gigantic concrete stairway. The concrete stairway had the wording "Rocky Hollow-Falls Canyon." This stairway informed trail-goers that they were entering an area containing sandstone canyons and "One of the last remnants of the magnificent forest that originally covered most of Indiana." It asked that trail-goers protect the land.
I made my way across the wooden bridge that connected landscapes in between the Sugar Creek and instantly found myself in a whole nother world that did not resemble Indiana. In front of me were gigantic cliffs, canyons, and heavily forested areas that resembled Tennessee. As I continued down into the canyons, I watched them grow well above my head.
The deeper I went into the forest, the more the landscape changed. The resemblance to the Great Smoky Mountains kept returning to my mind, like an old trail unexpectedly crossing a new one. The one thing that did not resemble the Smokies, however, was the amount of foot traffic. Trail-goers were scattered everywhere, many off the trail, disregarding signs that asked them to keep out to help preserve areas under development and rehab. As an outdoorsman, it truly frustrated me to see others disrespecting nature in such ways. I continued, hopeful that the foot traffic would lessen the further I pushed into the woods.
Roughly a quarter-mile in, I came across a narrow canyon filled with flowing water from Rocky Hollow, a small tributary that feeds into the Sugar Creek. This small section blew my mind as I hadn't seen any pictures of it during my research of the state park. As I made my way up the canyon and into the small slot, I couldn't help but stop and think about how dangerous this area must be during flash flooding, and I understood why there were signs stating to be off the trail by dusk. After many trail-goers passed me, I finally had a chance to take pictures of Mother Nature's beauty without the interference of others. Given how wet the area was, I carefully navigated through the canyon, ducking and climbing over downed trees and slowly walking along small ledges.
After navigating the narrow, wet slots, the canyon opened slightly, revealing large quantities of families struggling with a section where the trail breaks into two. I patiently waited and scouted the area. After briefly scouting, I found the best route around the wet, rocky downslope was to climb up a ledge with stairs just large enough for feet. While the ledge was narrow and seemed like an easy task for me, I still took caution as the conditions were wet. As I got towards the end of the rocky downslope from above, I sat down on the rocky ledge and pushed back down into the trail. Noticing most families were breaking off into a section of the trail called the "punch bowl", I chose to continue on Trail 10, deeper into the woods, hoping for less of a crowd.
Almost instantly, the landscape changed from wet, cut canyons to muddy forested canyons. Trail 10 then led me towards a set of stairs, bringing me back to the top of the canyon and back on the forest floor. Just as I hoped, the crowd was now gone, and I could truly get back to enjoying nature and everything I loved about it. Squirrels and gophers ran through the forest, watching me from a distance as I photographed and videotaped them. The birds chirped above me. The scene was perfect. Roughly a mile into the hike, I came across another sign advising me to return to the suspension bridge before sundown.
From Trail 10, I connected to Trail 12, which led me deeper into the northern part of the State Park. I saw on my GPS Tracking that a landmark called "camel's back" was roughly a half mile ahead. When I arrived at the landmark, I saw a fence along the ledge of a forested descent and noted an old trail now blocked by it. I was confused by the name and why it was a landmark, as the views of the valley below were entirely blocked by heavy brush, and there was no "camel back" look.
Gearing up for my hike back to the trailhead, I chose to take Trail 10 all the way back towards the bridge, rather than fight the crowds in the canyon slots. While the journey along Trail 10 was rather uneventful, I enjoyed the peaceful gravel trail back towards the suspension bridge. At one point, I came across a beautiful tree that stuck out among the others with its white base and had to take a picture.
As I made my way onto Trail 3 and back towards the suspension bridge, a set of stairs brought me along a carved-out rocky ledge that I found it absolutely unique and wonderful. A great example of how both humans and nature can coexist in the same world.
At 4:39 PM, I had made my way back to the suspension bridge connecting both sides to each other above the Sugar Creek. The crowds had died down some, making the experience better than when I first entered the hiking area earlier. I finally had a chance to take a picture of the beautiful Sugar Creek and the rocky ledges above from the suspension bridge.
Overall, I felt that Turkey Run State Park was a wonderful park to visit alongside attending a race later in the afternoon. I look forward to being back. As a fun fact, Turkey Run State Park is open year-round, so I may come back during the fall to see the leaves change and maybe even in the winter for some picturesque scenery. I imagine that the park is less crowded on the weekdays during school months; however, in the grand scheme of things, that did not ruin this trip for me as nature showcased its beauty once again.
About the writer: Michael Thornton graduated from Rose State College, majoring in Emergency Management. He is the Director of Warren County Emergency Management and an Oklahoma Certified Emergency Manager. In 2024, he was awarded the OEMA Innovator Award for his severe weather operations in Tillman County.
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