Earlier this fall, my friend Michelle and I set out on a road trip to tour several covered bridges and visit Shades and Turkey Run State Park in Indiana. Parke County, Indiana is known as the Covered Bridge Capital of the World since it has approximately 31 covered bridges. Below is a recap of all the bridges we visited, in order!

Bridgeton Mill & Covered Bridge – Bridgeton, Indiana

We just so happened to be visiting during the week long Covered Bridge Festival and this location is the epicenter of the whole event. The bridge and mill create a beautiful setting on the Big Raccoon Creek.

Neet Bridge – near Catlin, Indiana

Built in 1904 and crosses the Little Raccoon Creek.

Nevins Bridge – near Rockville, Indiana

Built in 1920 and also spans the Little Raccoon Creek.

McAllister Bridge – near Rockville, Indiana

Built in 1914 and also spans the Little Raccoon Creek.

Crooks Bridge – near Rockville, Indiana

I really liked this bridge because it was a bit crooked and there was a farm implement crossing next to the bridge so that you could get a good view of the side. This bridge was built in 1856 and also crosses Little Raccoon Creek.

State Sanitorium Bridge – near Nyesville, Indiana

This bridge was actually the third covered bridge to stand at this location. This was also the first white colored bridge that we saw! Built in 1913, this bridge spans Little Raccoon Creek. This location also has a farm implement crossing so that you can walk along the side of the bridge.

Portland Mills Bridge – near Waveland, Indiana

I loved the setting of this bridge. It felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. This covered bridge also crosses Little Raccoon Creek and was built in 1856.

Deer Mill Bridge – Waveland, Indiana

This was another one of my favorites. This was one of the longest bridges we saw and I really liked looking out the windows to the west and seeing the large, rocky bluffs lining Sugar Creek.

Narrows Bridge – Marshall, Indiana

We hiked the trails at Turkey Run State Park to this bridge that was built in 1882. I loved that large, flat rocks lined Sugar Creek just below the bridge. You can also get to this bridge since there is a small parking lot just off of the road in case hiking isn’t your thing.

Cox Ford Bridge – Marshall, Indiana

This was built in 1913 to span Sugar Creek and is located just west of Turkey Run State Park. After a day of hiking, be sure to check this bridge out!

Wilkins Mill Bridge – Bloomingdale, Indiana

Also sitting on Sugar Creek, this bridge was built in 1906.

Jackson Bridge – near Annapolis, Indiana

This bridge has a beautiful view along the side of it with the bright red and green of the fall foliage. There was even a rope swing dangling from a tree! This bridge was built in 1913 and also spans Sugar Creek.

Rush Creek Bridge – Kingman, Indiana

Crossing Rush Creek, this covered bridge was built in 1904. We also did silly poses in front of each bridge…as shown below 😉

West Union Bridge – Montezuma, Indiana

Built in 1876, this is the longest standing covered bridge in Parke County. This bridge was unique because when looking at it from the side it looked slightly bumpy! This two span bridge crosses Sugar Creek.

Melcher Bridge – near Montezuma, Indiana

This bridge, that spans Leatherwood Creek, was built in 1896.

Sim Smith Bridge

Phillips Bridge – near Coloma, Indiana

Mecca Bridge – in the heart of Mecca, Indiana

Sadly, this was the last covered bridge on our road trip. Home was calling our name. I just took a quick picture of this bridge as it was starting to rain pretty hard. I remember I loved how the windows looked since the awnings had bright, green moss growing on top of them. Built in 1873, this little covered bridge spans the Big Raccoon Creek.

We had a really great time finding all of the covered bridges! A big thank you to my best friend Michelle for saying “umm do you want to go to Indiana to hike and see covered bridges?” LOL! We also hiked at Shades State Park and Turkey Run State Park. Be sure to stay tuned for those posts!

 

Update: In July of 2022, my brother and I visited a couple more bridges in Indiana. Our first stop was Bowsher Ford Bridge just outside of Kingman. It was built in 1915.

Next, we drove to Mill Creek Bridge which was built in 1907. This bridge is also located in Kingman and spans Mill Creek.