Shakamak State Park: Trails #2 and #1 (Blog Hike #1018)

Trails: #2 and #1
Hike Location: Shakamak State Park
Geographic Location: southeast of Terre Haute, IN (39.17727, -87.24125)
Length: 4.5 miles
Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: May 2024
Overview: A loose loop around Lake Shakamak passing some old coal mines.
Park Information: https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/shakamak-state-park/
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=962296
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming September 5, 2025)

Directions to the trailhead: From Terre Haute, take US 41 south 17.5 miles to SR 48 and turn left on SR 48.  Drive SR 48 east 9.5 miles to the state park entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, pay the park entrance fee, then turn right and left at the first 2 intersections, respectively, to park in the large blacktop parking lot for the playground and swimming pool.  The trailhead for Trails #1 and #2 is on the right about halfway down this parking lot.

The hike: Opening in 1929, Shakamak State Park protects 1766 acres of fairly flat land 30 miles southeast of Terre Haute.  The park was developed in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), who built many of the picnic shelters, trails, and other buildings still used today.  The park's name comes from the Delaware or Kickapoo name for the nearby Eel River, and it translates to "river of the long fish."

            The park is most famous for its 3 lakes: Lake Lenape, Lake Shakamak, and Lake Kickapoo, all of which are formed by dams on the same waterway.  Fishing is particularly good here, but the park also features a 174-site developed campground, several cabin areas, numerous picnic shelters, and 7 hiking trails totaling over 13 miles.  The route described here combines 2 of the park's most popular trails as it explores the northern section of the park, and it forms a loose loop around Lake Shakamak while also exploring this area's coal mining history.

Trailhead at large parking lot

            The signed trailhead for Trails #1 and #2 is on the north side of the large parking lot near its midpoint.  Turn right at the first intersection, then continue straight where Trail #1 turns left to cross a narrow inlet of Lake Shakamak on a wooden bridge.  These turns start you on a counterclockwise journey around Trail #2.  The large number of lotuses in this inlet would make a great flower show in late summer.

Lotus colony in Lake Shakamak

            Soon you cross wooden trail bridge #201, i.e. the 1st bridge on Trail #2, before climbing gradually.  The difference between maximum and minimum elevations on this hike is only about 50 feet, but the numerous small ups and downs make this hike more challenging than you might expect for this part of Indiana.  At 0.3 miles, you cross the main park road before paralleling it for several hundred feet.

Crossing a creek

            For the next 0.4 miles the trail parallels an unnamed creek with a steep but shallow ravine.  When you cross the creek on a wooden footbridge, look to the left for a coal mine demonstration site.  Although this demonstration mining shaft was built for the park by the CCC, before this park was established miners would crawl into shafts like this one and dig out the coal.  Numerous interpretive signs describe these old coal mines and the people who worked them.

Demonstration coal mining shaft

            Traffic noise from SR 48 comes within earshot from the right as the trail curves left to climb out of the first ravine and enter a second one.  The trail alternates between ravine bottom and rim, creating more down and up than you might prefer.  At 1.3 miles, you cross the park road for a second time.

Intersecting Trail #1

            Near 1.5 miles, you reach the end of Trail #2 at an intersection with Trail #1, which goes straight and right.  You could continue straight if you wanted a hike of only about 2 miles, but this hike turns right to do a full circumnavigation of Lake Shakamak, which reappears to your left at this point.  Some large hickory trees live near Lake Shakamak, and I did some good wildflower viewing including violets and asters when I came here in early May.

Sweet violet

            For the next 1.75 miles the sometimes narrow trail stays within sight of Lake Shakamak as it passes around 3 of its 4 arms.  Only minor ups and downs are encountered, and the lakeside hiking is pleasant if unremarkable.  At 3.25 miles, the trail climbs gradually away from the lake and soon crosses the cabin access road.  The terrain here is flat and the woods scenic.

Hiking along the lake

            At 3.6 miles, you pass a collection of picnic shelters.  If these shelters are not reserved, they make nice places to rest and have a trail snack.  At 3.8 miles, you come out at the cabin and boat ramp road, where the trail seems to end.  Turn left here, then in a few hundred feet angle right to leave the road on a gravel trail that leads to the dam that forms Lake Shakamak.

Hiking across Lake Shakamak's dam

            The trail surface turns to asphalt as you head east across the dam.  Lake Shakamak appears to the left, and Lake Kickapoo appears downstream to the right.  After crossing the dam, turn left to continue Trail #1; the asphalt Pedestrian Path goes straight here.  Quickly Trail #1 comes out at the west end of the large parking lot that contains your car, and a short walk across the parking lot concludes the hike.