Everyone in Indiana knows or has been to the popular Brown County State Park, there's another park that is every bit as beautiful and intriguing as this well-known state park. While Shades State Park isn't exactly a hidden park, it is often overlooked, which is a shame, since this park has so much to offer.
Shades is located near Turkey Run State Park, and as a result may look similar. While Turkey Run is often crowded and full of hikers, Shades State Park is rarely busy, leaving you alone to explore sandstone cliffs, gorgeous canyons, and breathtaking trails.
Shades has 11 trails in total, with trails 1-10 alternating between easy, moderate, and rugged. The last trail is a back pack trail which opens every year in April.
If you love exploring some of the most unique places in Indiana, then be sure to check out the Pine Hills Nature Reserve located within this park. This gorgeous preserve has steep slopes and ridges to explore, as well as unique trees and nature.
Indiana Dunes National Park is Indiana's first—and so far, only—national park. This makes it pretty special, I think! Of all the incredible parks and recreation areas in the Hoosier State, this one might be the single most unique one, making it absolutely worth driving from wherever you might be (in the Midwest and/or outside of it!) to experience it. While you're here, you'll have the chance to indulge in some of our state's most iconic hikes and hiking trails.
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Of the amazing hiking trails in Indiana, Indiana Dunes probably has some of the most iconic. After all, the dunes are incredibly iconic in and of themselves, thanks to their complete strangeness compared to the terrain of the rest of the state. Ask any stranger if there are sand dunes in the Midwest and see what they say; I suspect most folks have no idea.
Enter the Mt. Baldy Beach Trail, just under one mile of challenging (but rewarding) hiking with incredible beach views.
Truly, some of the intensely beautiful views of Lake Michigan on this hike look and feel like something out of a Caribbean paradise rather than a park in Indiana, but hey, here we are - and it's glorious. On particularly clear days, you can catch glimpses of the Chicago skyline across the water.
The trail is simple but not easy. You'll begin in the parking lot at the trailhead. From there, find your way to the staircase, which is right up along the entry road. Once you reach the top, you'll find that the trail veers right and meanders around the western side of Mt. Baldy (which is a dune, not a mountain, for the record). Follow the trail until you reach the edge of the dune, where you'll make your final descent down to the beach.
This is the hard part. The sand is loose and soft, and thanks to its nature, folks find it nigh on impossible to bring things like coolers and equipment down. The National Parks Service strongly advises against trying to bring these things, and so do I—let's enjoy nature without all the bells and whistles, at least while we're immersed in this particularly delicate ecosystem.
If you find getting down to the beach challenging—and for many, it is—you're definitely not going to like the way back up, which is simply the way from which we came. Climbing back up the dune is tough, even for seasoned hikers, but I promise the entire experience is worth it.
Mount Baldy is an impressive 126 feet above sea level (in this case, the "sea" is Lake Michigan), and amazingly, it's moving—and incredibly rapidly. While most geological processes take centuries, Mt. Baldy is meandering inland at an amazing four feet per year.
You'll find the amazing trailhead parking lot at 101 Rice Street (U.S. Highway 12), Michigan City, IN 46360. For a map and more information about the hike itself, check out the official Mt. Baldy Beach Trail AllTrails listing. If you're serious about hiking and would like to take it to the next level, check out the perks of getting AllTrails Plus. I'm personally obsessed with it.
If someone were to ask you if there are any interesting geological formations in Indiana, you could easily say yes. Sure, the Hoosier State isn't exactly known for its outrageous geology, but there are enough features around here to keep a geology geek fascinated. Among that not-so-outrageous geology are features and formations that are a little different in terms of what folks typically expect from Indiana, like a handful of spectacular gorges and canyons. People almost always credit the Grand Canyon, in Arizona, with being the most beautiful canyon in the United States, and we do agree that it's up there in terms of ranking, but we must disagree with the most beautiful part.
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Yes, it's awe-inspiring. It's absolutely breathtaking. But it's huge and can be overwhelming (and HOT), and besides, we think it's more majestic than beautiful. We think the coveted "most beautiful canyon in the United States" title ought to belong to a little state park in Indiana most people don't even know is there. Lace-up your best (waterproof) hiking shoes and let's explore Trail #8 at Shades State Park, where Shawnee Canyon awaits.
To explore Shawnee Canyon at its best, there are a few different trails you can do - but they all lead to one: Trail #8.
We recommend taking the Six Ravine Challenge, or, if you're short on time and prefer more of a challenging challenge, head directly to Trail #7 and follow it to #8.
When we say these trails are rugged, we definitely mean it.
You'll want to wear good, sturdy, waterproof shoes as you'll be crossing ravines, rivers, and creeks and trekking through some muddy areas. Be ready to spend some time wading in the creek, as part of the trail requires you to do so.
We promise all the wading, slipping, climbing, and ambling is worth it: Shawnee Canyon is breathtaking, and it feels like it's not even here in Indiana.
It feels much more like a sub-tropical jungle adventure, with ladders and all sorts of fun stuff to do and see. You'll want to explore every crevice; Shawnee Canyon is gorgeous (or should we say... gorge-ous? Okay. We'll leave) and sure to charm you into the next dimension. After all, it really does feel pretty inter-dimensional out here.
Gone are the rolling plains and fields of the majority of Indiana, replaced with lush, thick forest and murmuring brooks.
The geology of Shawnee Canyon is as interesting as the canyon, and it is beautiful. You'll find two layers of bedrock here exposed for the eye to see; the older of the two is the 225-million-year-old bedrock consisting of Pennsylvanian sandstone, and the other is a 220-million-year-old Mississippian sandstone formation.
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The Mississippian-era bedrock tends to be quite fossil-rich, and though collecting specimens to take home (or disturbing the land to look for them) is illegal and unethical, there are no rules against seeing one, picking it up, and checking it out before placing it back where you spotted it initially.
Do know that, due to its rugged nature and the occasional heavy rain, sometimes Trail #8 (and Trail #7, for that matter) will be impassable. Please make sure to double-check the conditions before you go.
Shawnee Canyon may not be as overwhelmingly enormous or majestic as, say, the Grand Canyon...
…but it's beautiful, green, and feels like something out of another world (Avatar, anyone?), which is more than enough for us. Even the weather around here is a little different than the weather around other parts of Indiana. It's cooler down here, though you'll still want to bring plenty of drinking water.
So there you have it: a stunningly beautiful canyon in Indiana that rivals the Grand Canyon (at least for us). Who needs heat and little shade when you can have nice, cool air and all the shade (plus, the trail is located within Shades State Park, so it's even in the name) you could ever ask for?
What's your favorite hiking trail in Indiana? Tell us your thoughts in the comments. Also, make sure to sign up for an Alltrails Plus membership before you hike! That way, you can get even more information before you start your journey.
