Chain O' Lakes State Park: Trail #5 (Blog Hike #909)

Trail: Trail #5
Hike Location: Chain O' Lakes State Park
Geographic Location: south of Albion, IN (41.33014, -85.38315)
Length: 1.8 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: October 2022
Overview: A circumnavigation of Sand Lake.
Park Information: https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/chain-o-lakes-state-park/
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=924074
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: In northeast Indiana, the state park entrance is located on SR 9 4 miles south of Albion or 3.7 miles north of SR 9's intersection with US 33.  Enter the park, pay the park entrance fee, and drive the main park road 1.6 miles from the gatehouse to arrive at a Y-intersection.  Angle right and drive another 0.3 miles to the large Nature Center/beach parking lot.  Park as close to the Nature Center as possible.

The hike: For my general comments on Indiana's Chain O' Lakes State Park, see the previous hike.  This hike offers a fairly flat circumnavigation of Sand Lake, which is the largest and most developed of this park's 9 connected kettle lakes.  What this hike lacks in solitude it makes up for in ease and aquatic scenery.

Start of Trail #5

            Start at the left (west) side of the Nature Center, and turn left to begin a clockwise journey around Sand Lake on Trail #5 with the lake to your right.  At the first intersection, where Trail #12 continues straight and uphill, turn right to remain on Trail #5.  The first part of the trail passes through nice lakeside forest; this forest is dominated by sycamore and hickory trees.  Also, this hike is part of the Indiana Birding Trail, and I did some nice late afternoon bird watching here that included robins, woodpeckers, and juncos.

Rounding the west side of Sand Lake

            At 0.6 miles, the trail curves right to round the west end of Sand Lake.  Sand Lake has a kidney shape, and some of the longest views down the lake can be had near the lake's western end.  Trails #12, #4, and #7 exit to the left in that order, but in each case you want to stay right to remain on Trail #5.

Sand Lake near channel to Weber Lake

            At 0.9 miles, you cross the channel that connects Sand and Weber Lakes.  After tracing Sand Lake's north shore, you enter a more developed area of the park.  Stay close to the water as you pass the fishing pier, boat launch, and paddleboat rental areas while rounding the east end of Sand Lake.  There are few trail markers here, but Trail #5 just follows the edge of the lake.  The last leg of this hike uses asphalt trail that ends at the east side of the Nature Center.  Returning to the Nature Center signals the end of this hike.