hoosier national forest

Picked out this location by browsing the Forest Service maps prior to a multi-day cross-country drive. Only a few minutes north of I64 near the town of St. Croix is a small parking lot and short walking trail to a series of sandstone bluffs and waterfalls. It was exactly what I needed to take a break from the road and get some exercise.The late afternoon sun made for some interesting lighting, and the location was very peaceful with only one other visitor. The trail is rather short, only one mile, so even with plenty of time for exploring and photography I can't imagine it taking anyone longer than an hour to see the entire area. The actual hike is well under 30-minutes for someone of average physical fitness. The surrounding land is private farmland, so there is little potential for extended hikes or wilderness travel.The hiking trail is well-marked and consists of a main loop, and a spur to a large bluff shelter on the east side of the property. The trail is well-maintained with a wide path, stone stairs, and a wooden bridge.The drive into the cliff area is nice as well: small farms, historic barns, and green pasture. Very scenic.-----------------------------This was my first visit to the Hoosier National Forest, and although I'd love to return some day for more exploring and sightseeing, the Forest itself was a bit disappointing. On the highway maps the National Forest is shown as a large unbroken green area, but in actuality the USFS owns very little land and most of the mapped green is private property. For serious exploration of the Hoosier National Forest, detailed maps showing land ownership would be critical.

Spend a couple hours hiking the Hemlock Cliffs. It is a 1.2 mile trail that takes you through amazing cliffs and forest area. Our family loved this adventure. Kids ages 9-16 hiked it with no problems. It was our favorite part of our Southern Indiana vacation.

This is a gorgeous park. Tons of hiking trails and boat ramps. Find the Hemlock and Messmore Cliffs if you would like to take a 2 hour hike or a 4 hour repelling trip. This is a definite must see and can be found on any Hoosier Nat. Forest map.

Just starting to get full color at this time, and it was a beautiful drive. Enjoyed the hills and curves and took lots of photos.

Absolutely became one of my favorite places to hike. We have did 3 trails in the Charles Deam wilderness and enjoyed all of them. The scenery is beautiful and has a serene feeling that is peaceful.

Visited the Charles Deam Wilderness inside Hoosier National Forest - did the sycamore trail and camped backcoutry for a night. Beautiful wilderness - lots of solitude. Pretty challenging hike too (especially with a pack) - loved it - first ever for my wife and I - will always be a special place. Highly recommend for hiking/backpacking.

We came over from Cincinnati to explore the Hoosier National Forest for camping and mountain biking possibilities. What we found was not very plesent but I can tell there may be better places around the forest. We camped in the Hickory Ridge Horse Camp. Manure and flies were everywhere. I had to pick a campsite in the middle of the open field because that was the driest and least buggy and manure. I would not reccomend camping here unless you have a horse. We camped on a Monday night and were the only ones there so the isolation was good. As for mountain biking we utilized the trails around the campgrounds in the HIckory Ridge. A guide book billed this as the biggest and best in the state. It may be the biggest but not the best. Trails were beset with mud and manure from the horses. At times it was hard to distinguish the two as you slopped through it all. Brown County State Park had trails dedicated to mtn biking and trails dedicated to horses so it is better separated. We did check out the Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower for a cool view.

We like to hike moderately rugged trails and usually hike in the state parks. On recommendation of a friend we decided to hike in the Deam Wilderness area. It is part of the Hoosier National Forest and is located a few miles south of Bloomington IN. The area is very wooded and quite lovely. However, it is a popular place for people to bring horses to walk on the trails. Only one trail is dedicated to hikers only. We were going to go to that one but we found it is quite a distance from the entrance on gravel dusty roads. We thus opted to try one of the other trails.Although we saw no horses, horses had obviously been there so we spent a good part of the time avoiding horse poop and horse flies and other bugs. We could not enjoy the hike because of that and eventually just turned around and went to Brown County to hike. Leaving the area we saw a huge snake crossing the road....be forewarned, there are large snakes in this area. It is great that we have this designated wilderness area. From reading trail websites it appears this is a popular area to hike and camp for experienced backpackers. We are day hikers who like to enjoy the journey as we hike. This area was not to our liking but it might be to those who do indeed like the wilderness. Cell phone reception is not good in this area - another thing to consider since you are some distance from civilization, and we saw few other people when we were there on a Friday afternoon.