Turkey Run State Park is a park that takes my breath away every time I visit. While on our Indiana Covered Bridge road trip, we stopped at Turkey Run to check out the trails.

One of the most iconic features of Turkey Run is the swinging bridge that spans Sugar Creek. The fall colors were really popping along the banks of the creek.

Most of the trails lie on the opposite side of Sugar Creek so we crossed the bridge and set out of Trail 3.

We then hiked through the ladders section of Trail 3.

So time for a little side story: the day before, we hiked at Shades State Park and there are also ladders on the trails there. The first ladder Ellie (my dog) came to, she put her front paws up on the first rung and looked back at me like…”what am I supposed to do?”. The second ladder we got to she climbed up about three rungs and then looked back at me for help. So when we got to the ladders at Turkey Run, with a little coaxing, she climbed up the entire ladder by herself! She kept looking behind her to make sure I was still there, but she did it!

We then hiked Trail 9 through Boulder Canyon which I love! It is fun seeing the large, round boulders and picking your path through the maze of boulders. If you hike the trail from north to south, you hike down Boulder Canyon rather than up it.

We circled back around to the suspension bridge and hopped on the trail that goes underneath the bridge.

We then took Trail 4 and hiked to the Narrows Covered Bridge. I love how the large rocks jet out from below the bridge so you can get a neat view of the side of the bridge.

One other side story, LOL…one of my goals at the start of 2016, was to hike 100 miles throughout the year. I wanted to focus on myself and challenge myself to get outside and do what I love. Life can be busy at times, but you always have to make time to do what you love. So right after we crossed the covered bridge, I met my 100 mile goal for the year! I was proud of myself for setting a goal and reaching it!

We rounded out our hiking by taking Trail 2 through Gypsy Gulch and another box canyon.

Turkey Run is a beautiful state park and I hope that if you live anywhere relatively close to this park, you add it to your list of places to go. Be sure to check out my post on Shades State Park and the Covered Bridges of Parke County Indiana for more things to see in the area. You can download a trail map and brochure from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.