Directions to the trailhead: From Greenville,
take SR 121 south 2.2 miles to Bishop Road. Turn right on Bishop
Road. The
signed and paved preserve parking area is 0.2 miles ahead on the right.
The hike: Established only in 2005, Darke County
Parks’ Turkeyfoot Preserve protects 60 acres of wetlands and restored prairie
southwest of Greenville. The park is named for the big bluestem plant,
a prairie grass that produces a flower head shaped like a turkey’s foot. The good sightlines of the open prairie make
Turkeyfoot Preserve a good bird watching destination during spring and fall
bird migrations.
Information kiosk and vehicle gate at trailhead
The preserve is accessed by a
single hiking trail that starts at the rear of the parking lot. An information kiosk and a vehicle gate mark
the trailhead. The gravel entrance trail
follows an abandoned railroad bed with the preserve on your left and active
farm fields on your right. Some large basswood
trees live to the right of the trail and separate you from the field.
At 0.3 miles, the trail curves
sharply left to cross a man-made ditch that flows through a pipe under the
trail. The ditch contained plenty of
water on my visit. Just after crossing
the ditch, you enter the restored prairie and reach the trail fork that forms
the loop. For no particular reason, I
continued straight and used the trail going right as my return route, thus
hiking the loop clockwise.
Trail splits to form loop
The trail curves left, climbs
slightly, and reaches a wooden prairie observation deck at 0.4 miles. The observation deck sits at a high
point of land and therefore gives a great view of the
surrounding prairie. An interpretive
sign tells you that this prairie has been named the Tawaskote Menitsa Prairie
for an American Indian who was one of the Darke County Park District’s first commissioners. Also known by the English name Susan F. Gray,
Menitsa served as commissioner for 35 years and worked hard to preserve
prairies such as this one. On the hot
summer morning I came here, I saw several red-winged blackbirds while standing
on this observation deck.
View from observation deck
Past the observation deck, the
trail curves right as it passes through the southern end of the prairie. 0.7 miles into the hike, you reach a spur
trail that exits left to cross Mud Creek on a wooden bridge. Notice the concrete supports under this
bridge, an indication that a bridge was here long before the preserve was
established. The short spur trail gives
a nice view of Mud Creek’s restored wetlands.
During pioneer times Mud Creek created a large wetland area southwest of
Greenville, but drainage for the
purpose of farming ensures that it flows in a well-defined channel today.
Bridge over Mud Creek
Mud Creek
Back on the main loop, you head
into the northern section of the prairie as active farm fields appear directly
ahead. A large number of toads hopped
across the recently-mowed grass trail in front of me. Some seasonal ponds lie to your right, but
they never come into view. After curving
right, you close the loop at 1.4 miles.
Turn left and retrace your steps another 0.3 miles to the trailhead to
complete the hike.
Directions to the trailhead: DaubenspeckCommunityNaturePark is located at 8900
Ditch Road on the north side of Indianapolis. To get there, take I-465 to Meridian
Street (exit 31).
Exit and go south on Meridian St. Drive Meridian St. south
1 block to 96th Street
and turn right on 96th St. Drive 96th
St. west 1.4 miles to Ditch Road and take the
third exit from the roundabout to go south on Ditch Rd. The park and its roadside parking area are
0.7 miles ahead on the right.
The hike: Located just inside the I-465 loop, tiny DaubenspeckCommunityNaturePark provides 20 acres of
greenspace in otherwise highly developed northern Indianapolis. The park owes its existence to Peter Daubenspeck,
a farmer who owned many acres of land in this area. In the 1990’s, Daubenspeck sold most of his
land to developers for construction of houses, but he set aside 15 acres on Ditch
Road for use by the Metropolitan School District
of Washington Township. The plot was too
small for building a school, so the District created a non-profit entity to
manage it as a park. The resulting DaubenspeckCommunityNaturePark opened to the public in 2006.
The park
has two distinct areas. The park’s
southern three-fourths (the original 15 acres) consists of a restored tallgrass
prairie, while the newer northern 5 acres consist of young creekside forest. A single trailhead provides the only trail
access, so it makes sense to tour both park sections on a single short hike
such as the one described here.
Trailhead near sundown
Three
trails depart from the trailhead, giving you the options of right, left, and
straight. The trails going right and
left form a loop around the prairie section, while the trail going straight
leads to a wooden observation deck that gives a great view of the prairie. You will want to go to the observation deck
at some point, but I chose to first hike the loop clockwise by taking the trail
to the left.
The grassy trail
heads south with Ditch Road
to your left and the prairie to your right.
At 0.1 miles, the trail forks.
Take the left fork to reach a short boardwalk over a small wetland
area. On the other side of the
boardwalk, the two trails from the fork come back together. You next curve right to pass through the
southern part of the park and begin heading north near the park’s western
boundary.
Boardwalk over wetland
At 0.25
miles, the trail that goes through the center of the prairie past the
observation deck enters from the right, thus giving you another opportunity to
visit the prairie observation deck. For
the best prairie wildflower display, plan a late summer visit. When I came here on a late mid-June evening,
only the white beardtongue was blooming.
View from prairie observation deck
Continuing
north on the main loop, ignore a trail that exits left and heads for private
property. A gradual descent brings the trail
into the woods and to another trail intersection. The main loop continues uphill to the right,
but to tack on the short Woods Loop, turn left and cross tiny Alverna Creek on
a nice wooden footbridge. Where the
trail splits to form the Woods Loop, continue straight to hike the loop counterclockwise. The narrow dirt trail makes its short loop
through young forest, which features a green carpet of grassy plants.
Hiking the Woods Loop
After
closing the Woods Loop, turn right to recross Alverna Creek on the same wooden
footbridge, then angle left to continue the main loop. The trail climbs some
wooden steps to return to the prairie. A
second short boardwalk takes you over another small wetland area just before
you return to the parking area to complete the loop. Make sure you check out the prairie
observation deck before you leave if you have not done so already.
Directions to the trailhead: On the northwest side of
Indianapolis, take I-65 to 71st
Street (exit 124).
Exit and go west on 71st Street,
which quickly ends at the park’s north entrance. Pay the entrance fee, then drive another 200
feet to the perpendicular parking area on either side of the road. Park here.
The hike: Consisting of a sprawling 5300 acres, EagleCreekPark
is the crown jewel of the City of Indianapolis’
park system and one of the largest city-owned parks in the country. Most of the park land was farmed as recently
as the 1930’s, at which time wealthy people from the city began buying the
depleted farm land to build country estates.
One such wealthy person was Josiah K. Lilly Jr., the grandson of the
famous pharmacist Eli Lilly and President of Eli Lilly and Company. Josiah Lilly bought over 2200 acres in
western Indianapolis, and his
library is used today as the park’s OrnithologyCenter.
In 1958,
Lilly donated the land to PurdueUniversity,
which in turn sold it to the City of Indianapolis
in 1966. The dam that would create Eagle
Creek Reservoir, a major source of recreation and drinking water for the city,
was built in 1969. EagleCreekPark
officially opened in 1972. The park
features many amenities including a pistol range, a marina, the Eagle Creek
Bike Trail, the aforementioned OrnithologyCenter, a nature center, a golf
course, and several buildings that can be rented for meetings and other occasions.
In terms of
trails, EagleCreekPark offers 5 designated hiking
trails that total nearly 17 miles in length.
The park’s longest trail is the 6.75 mile Red Trail, which forms a grand
tour through the entire park. I wanted a
shorter hike on the hot summer day I came here, so I opted for the 3 mile Blue
Trail. The Blue Trail runs conjointly
with the Red Trail for its most scenic section, but it avoids the more
developed areas of the park frequented by the Red Trail.
Trailhead near park's north entrance gate
The
trailhead for the Blue Trail coincides with its crossing of 71st
Street, the road you drove in on. The Blue Trail forms a loop, so you could go
either way. I chose to start on the dirt
trail that heads east into the forest and use the wide gravel road that heads
west as my return route, thus hiking the loop clockwise. The trail is unblazed, but many metal signs
written in blue ink identify the trail and keep you from getting lost.
The initial
segment of trail is nearly dead straight as the combined Blue, Red, and Green
Trails head due east on a wide dirt path.
At 0.1 miles, the Red Trail exits to the right. Soon the highway sounds from I-65 can be
heard, but the interstate never comes into view thanks to the beautiful mature
maple, beech, and oak forest. A few pine trees also make an appearance.
Red Trail exits right
At 0.2
miles, the trail curves 90-degrees right just before the Green Trail exits
left. The Green Trail stays near I-65 for most of its distance, and therefore
it is one of my least favorite trails in this park. Now heading south, the Blue Trail
intermingles with a Parcourse Fitness Trail before crossing paved 65th
Street on a marked crosswalk. After crossing Acer
Lane on another marked crosswalk, notice the nice
stone picnic area and restroom structures to your right.
Crossing a paved road
The next
segment of trail follows a sewer line.
Despite the mature forest, modern sights and sounds such as the sewer
caps, interstate noise, and airplanes from nearby Indianapolis International
Airport ensure that you never feel you are anywhere other than a suburban
park. Just shy of 1 mile, you cross
paved Lillylake Drive just
before descending to LillyLake
itself. Some benches present the
opportunity to observe the aquatic activity, which included a family of Canada
geese on my visit.
Canada geese in Lilly Lake
Some basswood trees, easily
identified by their heart-shaped leaves and deeply furrowed bark, enter the
forest mix in the lowland area near LillyLake. At 1.3 miles, the trail crosses Eagle
Creek Parkway, the park’s main road. A small parking area offers an alternate
point from which to begin this hike. A
moderate climb to a narrow ridge that overlooks Eagle Creek Reservoir follows. Numerous trails criss-cross in this area, so
watch for the metal Blue Trail signs. A
nice breeze from the reservoir welcomes you to the hilltop.
After descending the west side of
the ridge, the Red Trail reenters from the left. The next segment of trail follows a
semi-circular causeway that is only a few feet wide and extends way out into
Eagle Creek Reservoir. The hike now
dramatically changes character. What has
thus far been a shady walk through mature forest becomes a sunny hike with
water on either side. Eagle Creek’s main
channel lies to your left, while the area to your right is managed as an
Audubon bird sanctuary.
Crossing the causeway
Many people consider the trail over
the causeway to offer the best hike in Indianapolis. There is no limit to the number of birds you
might see. On my visit, I saw many red-winged
blackbirds, nuthatches, woodpeckers, sparrows, goldfinches, and more Canada
geese. One secret to this area’s bird
attraction is the large number of privet and honeysuckle shrubs beside the
trail. These shrubs produce berries that
form an essential part of many birds’ diets.
Asters and other wildflowers are abundant here also.
At the north end of the causeway,
the trail curves right and starts following a wide gravel path formerly known
as 69th Street as
it climbs gradually away from the reservoir.
As pretty as the causeway was, this segment is just as ugly, and it has
all the charm of a maintenance area. At
2.8 miles, the Red Trail exits left for the last time. More gradual uphill climbing on the wide
gravel road brings you to a vehicle gate near Eagle
Creek Parkway just inside the north entrance gate. Angle right to reach the perpendicular
parking area that contains your car and complete the hike.
Directions to the trailhead: In central Kentucky,
take I-75 to SR 627 (exit 95). Exit and
go east on SR 627. Drive SR 627 east 5.6
miles to SR 388, passing the signed fort entrance on the way. (Aside: if the fort is open on your visit,
you could also start this hike at the fort by turning right into the park’s
fort entrance and parking in the blacktop parking lot in front of the
fort.) Turn right on SR 388. Drive SR 388 0.4 miles to the large trailhead
and picnic shelter #4 parking area on the right. The hike starts beside the picnic shelter.
The hike: The year was 1775 when Daniel Boone led 30
axmen in blazing the Wilderness Road, the famous pioneer
trace that passed over the Cumberland Gap and into the
Bluegrass region of present day Kentucky. The goal of the settlers that followed him
later that year was to found a fourteenth American colony in the western
portion of what was then the colony of Virginia. They planned to call their colony Transylvania. The settlers built a fortified community at
the Wilderness Road’s northern terminus that consisted
of 26 log cabins. They named their
settlement Boonesborough after their wilderness trail blazer.
Over the
next 20 years Boonesborough became a center of pioneer life on the Kentucky
frontier. The arrival of additional
settlers caused the community to grow too large for Boone’s liking, so he left
Boonesborough to start more new communities nearby. Kentucky
became the fifteenth state to enter the Union in 1792,
and 20 years later growth of neighboring communities had reduced Boonesborough
to a small obscure village. The village
was abandoned in 1830.
Over the
next century the land was farmed heavily.
In the late 1950’s a proposed dam on the Kentucky River
would have submerged the entire area, but the construction plans were cancelled. FortBoonesboroughState Park
was established in 1963. In 1974 the
reconstructed fort you see today was built on a bluff overlooking the Kentucky
River. The original fort
was located right on the river near today’s park boat ramp; it is located
across SR 388 from this hike’s trailhead.
The reconstructed fort is open for tours April through October from 9am
to 5pm Wednesday through
Saturday. A fort tour costed $8 at the
time of this writing.
Unfortunately,
I passed through this area on a Tuesday, so I did not get to tour the
reconstructed fort. The parking lot in
front of the fort was also closed, so I had to hike to the reconstructed fort
from a picnic area using the route described here. On the bright side, approaching the
reconstructed fort on foot through the woods more closely resembles how newly
arrived settlers would have approached the actual Boonesborough.
Fort Trail trailhead beside picnic shelter
From the
large picnic shelter parking area, pick up the signed asphalt Fort Trail, which
starts to the right of the picnic shelter.
The Fort Trail connects the picnic shelter parking area with the fort
parking area 0.3 miles away. The trail
climbs at a steady rate for its entire length as it gains nearly 100 feet of
elevation between the picnic shelter and the fort.
Climbing toward the fort
Most of the Fort Trail passes
through young shrubby forest, but a few areas are more exposed to the sun. A couple of benches provide opportunities to
rest if you get winded. At 0.25 miles,
note the dirt Pioneer Forage Trail that exits downhill to the right; we will
take it in a few minutes to begin our return route.
The Fort
Trail ends at the fort parking area at the top of the hill. To get to the fort, turn left and walk 500
feet across the parking lot to the fort entrance, passing a stone monument to
early Kentuckians along the way. Built
out of 10,000 pine logs, the reconstructed fort contains cabins with period
furnishings and areas where craftsmen demonstrate period crafts. Because the fort was closed on my visit, I
could only peep through openings in the logs and imagine what it would have
been like to live here in the late 1700’s.
Stone monument outside fort entrance
Peeping into the fort through the logs
The only
trail out of the fort area is the Fort Trail you came in on, so after visiting
the fort you need to retrace your steps to the Fort Trail’s upper trailhead and
begin walking back down the paved path.
For a little variety and to get off of the pavement, I chose to return
on the Pioneer Forage Trail, which exits left from the Fort Trail about 200
feet below the upper trailhead. The Pioneer
Forage Trail connects the Fort Trail to the park’s campground, but it also
connects to the north end of the picnic shelter parking lot via a spur trail.
The Pioneer
Forage Trail starts with a steep descent over wooden waterbars to reach a small
drainage, which it crosses on a shaky wooden footbridge. The somewhat narrow trail curves right to
follow this drainage downstream for several hundred feet. The damp clay soil was slippery under my
feet, so watch your footing.
Descending on Pioneer Forage Trail
Just as it
starts to flatten out, the trail surprisingly curves left and starts heading up
another small drainage. You can see the
final segment of the trail on the other side of the drainage, so you have to
choose where you want to cross.
Adventuresome hikers could cross on a log or a railroad I-beam that
spans the creek, but the official route takes you all the way up the drainage
to cross atop a concrete highway culvert.
Now heading
back down the east side of the drainage, just shy of 1 mile into the hike you
reach the signed spur trail to picnic shelter #4, which exits right. Turn right to hike the short spur trail,
which crosses the drainage on another shaky wooden bridge before climbing a
short distance to reach the parking lot.
A short walk across the hot and sunny parking lot completes the hike.
Directions to the trailhead: In Caryville, take I-75
to US 25W/SR 63
(exit 134). Exit, but instead of heading
east on SR 63, go the opposite direction, which is west on Royal
Blue Road or old SR 63. 0.6 miles from the exit, turn right on Bruce
Gap Road.
The signed, paved, and fenced trailhead parking area is located 0.3
miles ahead on the left just after passing under I-75.
The hike: Stretching for more than 300 miles from Cumberland Gap National Historic Park in the northeast to Chattanooga-ChickamaugaNationalMilitaryPark in the southeast, the
Cumberland Trail (CT) is to eastern Tennessee
what the Appalachian Trail is to the eastern United
States.
Unlike some other major trail organizations, the Cumberland Trail
Conference has done an excellent job of developing and organizing work crews to
build and maintain the CT. Parts of the
trail are still under construction, so check their website at http://cumberlandtrail.org/website/
for current information on trail construction or to volunteer for a work crew.
For
dayhikers, one of the better hikes on the CT is the out-and-back to Devil’s
Racetrack Overlook described here.
Devil’s Racetrack is better known as the vertical rock slabs you see
along I-75 as you drive north up the mountain out of Caryville. Many CT experts rank Devil’s Racetrack Overlook
as one of the best viewpoints on the entire CT.
After one trip to the overlook, you will likely agree.
The hike to Devil’s Racetrack
Overlook used to be an almost vertical climb directly up the south side of CumberlandMountain, but in the mid 2000’s a
Cumberland Trail Conference work crew completed the current more gradual route
up the north side. The new route makes
an excellent dayhike, and all trail users should be thankful for the time and
sweat that went into building this trail.
Also, the Cumberland Trail Conference provides an excellent, detailed,
free trail description on their website.
To be honest, their trail description is at least as good if not better
than the one I offer here.
Bruce Gap Road trailhead for CT
From the
rear of the parking area, pick up the wide dirt CT access trail that
immediately enters the forest. In less
than 0.1 miles, you reach a large trail mileage sign at the CT proper, which
goes left and right. The New
River segment of the CT goes southbound to the left and leads 17
difficult miles to the next trailhead, which is located in a remote area near Norma,
TN.
As indicated by the trail mileage sign, this hike turns right to head northbound
for Devil’s Racetrack.
Intersecting the CT
The trail
climbs a small knob on a moderate grade using several switchbacks. You started 30 feet below I-75, but the top
of the knob is more than 80 feet above I-75.
Vehicle sounds from the noisy interstate will be your constant companion
on this hike, and the road noise represents the only downside to the CT’s new
route.
At 0.3
miles, the trail splits with the Volunteer Loop descending right and the CT
climbing left. These two trails come
back together in 0.4 miles, so the choice is yours. I chose the easier route, which is to angle
left and stay with the CT. The CT is
marked with white rectangular paint blazes, and they come in handy at points
such as this one.
Climbing on the CT
The CT climbs
a little more before passing over the double top of the small knob. I saw a lot of poison ivy along this section
of the trail, so take care where you step.
Using a pair of switchbacks, the trail descends the north side of the
knob where the other end of the Volunteer Loop enters from the right at an
unsigned intersection.
At 0.8
miles, you pass through a brushy power line clearing. A narrow but deep water run-off channel will
require a single hop to cross. After
re-entering the forest on the other side of the power line, a couple more
switchbacks descend the trail into a lowland ravine area. Perhaps to your dismay, you have now lost
almost all of the elevation you gained in the initial climb.
After a
short distance of easy, level hiking in the ravine, the trail climbs using
switchbacks to once again ascend above interstate level. The second half of this climb is somewhat
rocky, a prelude of what is to come. The
next segment of trail stays so close to the interstate that it actually lies
within the federally designated I-75 corridor.
Cars zoom along the highway below you less than 300 feet to your left.
Starting to get rocky
At 1.6
miles, the trail dips to cross a steep drainage from the interstate on a high
wooden bridge. After climbing back to
interstate level, you cross a wire fence using a wooden ladder. The forest past the fence is much younger and
shrubbier with plenty of poison ivy and briars to get in your way. The dead end of Shelton
Farm Lane appears downhill and to your right. In the leafless months the vertical rock
slabs of Devil’s Racetrack can also be seen ahead and to the right.
2.2 miles
into the hike, the trail enters a sequence of boulder fields that were built
here to stabilize the interstate embankment.
Some of the boulders rock when you step on them, so you have to be very
careful where you step. Navigating the
boulder fields is the only really hard part of this hike, and it is the only
reason I ranked this hike’s difficulty at 10/10. The CT ultimately intersects a dirt road at
the base of the boulder fields, so one strategy is to pick the most feasible
line down to the dirt road.
Entering the boulder field
At 2.4
miles, the CT officially intersects the dirt road, where you need to angle left
to continue heading toward Devil’s Racetrack.
The next 0.5 miles parallel scenic BruceCreek, which features many pleasant
cascades and waterfalls. Like everything
else in this area, the creek was affected by the interstate construction. A new creekbed was built, and the waterfalls
were added to create plunge pools that capture eroded soil. On the bright side, the interstate is
sufficiently far above you and the cascades sufficiently loud that they almost
drown out the highway noise. Some rocks
beside the creek allow you to sit, rest, and extend your time away from the
interstate.
Bruce Creek
2.7 miles
into the hike, the dirt road ends, and you have to climb a steep rocky section
of trail around the highest cascade in BruceCreek. An established campsite sits at the top of
this climb beside the base of the interstate boulder field. A little more creekside hiking brings you to
the wooden CT footbridge across BruceCreek at 2.9 miles. A couple of planks were missing from this
bridge on my visit, but it got me across without incident.
Now on the
east side of BruceCreek,
you begin the final assault on CumberlandMountain. Over the next 0.3 miles the trail gains over
400 feet of elevation using 11 switchbacks.
Do not succumb to the temptation of cutting the switchbacks as some
other people have done. Ironically the
“trail” created by cutting the switchbacks gives you some idea of what the old
route to this overlook was like.
Climbing the switchbacks
After the fourth switchback, you
reach a rare small flat area on the side of CumberlandMountain that contains a
cabin-sized boulder fallen from the cliffline above. More switchbacks bring you above that
cliffline. At 3.2 miles, you reach the
narrow rocky spine that is the summit of CumberlandMountain. The CT angles left here to continue its
northeastward journey toward Cumberland Gap, but you
need to turn right to hike the unblazed and unsigned 0.1 mile spur trail to the
overlook.
After scrambling over some white
sandstone rock outcrops, you reach the ridge’s end and the unmarked
overlook. What a view this is! The towns of LaFollette and Jacksboro appear
below you to the south, as does CoveLake. I-75 appears snaking off in the distance to
the southwest. To the northeast you can
look up the ridgeline of CumberlandMountain. Best of all, I was all alone up here in the
early afternoon, but I passed 3 other groups coming up as I was coming back
down. Thus, you should plan an early
start if you want this view to yourself.
View southwest from Devil's Racetrack
LaFollette and Jacksboro
View northeast up Cumberland Mountain
The trail does not loop from the
overlook, so the only trail option is to retrace your steps back to the parking
area to complete the out-and-back.
However, if you do not mind some road walking, there is a way to form a
semi-loop. When you get back to the dirt
road beside BruceCreek,
instead of turning right on the CT and following it up into the boulder field,
keep heading downstream on the dirt road.
In 0.1 miles, the dirt road comes out at Sleepy
Hollow Lane.
From this point, a soft left on Sleepy Hollow
Ln. followed by a right on Loop Road and a right
on Bruce Gap Road will return you to the parking area via 1.5 miles of road
walking. Be advised that part of this
route passes through a residential area, and every house in that neighborhood seemed
to have at least 2 dogs. Also, while the
CT does not have an official trailhead on Sleepy
Hollow Lane, I noticed several cars parked along
the lane near the dirt road that leads to the CT. Starting from Sleepy
Hollow Lane would reduce this hike’s round-trip
distance to less than 2 miles while also substantially reducing the difficulty.
