O’Bannon Woods State Park is located on the southern border of Indiana about 3.5 hours away from St. Louis. My friend and I spent a day exploring this unique Indiana state park. Our first stop on the way to the park was the scenic overlook in Leavenworth. This view captures a bend in the Ohio River. I had previously been here when the sun was setting and it was beautiful!

O’Bannon Woods State Park is more spread out than most parks so as you are traveling east along Highway 62 from Leavenworth, the first interesting feature to stop at is the Iron Bridge Boat Access area. Everyone knows I love bridges so this was a must stop!

The bridge spans the Blue River, Indiana’s first natural and scenic river.  I think this was the first bridge that I have seen that did not have any floorboards! I loved the stone support pillars.

Still traveling east on Highway 62, our next stop was the Wyandotte Wetlands. This pull off is not really marked, but you can see an open marshy area and a shelter so you know you are in the right place. This place may not look like much, but do not miss it!

At the back of the parking lot is the Sharp Spring Trail. The brochure lists this trail as 1 mile in length. We headed off into the woods not really sure what this trail was all about.

About half way through, we came upon a gorgeous, lush spring! Turquoise blue water rushes out of the spring opening. BEAUTIFUL!

I know that this trail is a loop trail, but we could not figure out how to get across the creek, so we back tracked the way we came. This trail was probably the highlight of O’Bannon Woods State Park so don’t miss it!

Further up Highway 62 is Wyandotte Caves.  Cave tours are offered Memorial Day through Labor Day, but we skipped this since they were closed for the season.

We finally entered the main part of the park. Reminder that Indiana charges a fee to enter their state parks which I will gladly pay since their parks are so nice. Immediately after the entrances is the fire tower. Be sure to hike to the top and see the rolling hills of southern Indiana!

Next, we made our way to the other end of the park to hike the Ohio River Bluff Trail. This is a 1.5 mile loop trail located along the Ohio River. As you are hiking the loop clockwise, tall bluffs loom to your right.

I had high hopes for this trail since I thought we would be hiking along the bluffs, but the trail begins to loop back and climbs on top of the bluffs rather than alongside of them. However, a neat feature at the end of this trail is the rock staircase built into the bluff by the CCC.

We then stopped at the 1830;s farmstead and walked around. This area was pretty interesting since it had old cabins, barns and even livestock. This was a neat addition to the park.

Our last stop in the park was the Post Oak Cedar Nature Preserve. This loop trail is under a mile long and is mainly a nice hike through the woods with a few rocky outcroppings.

Overall, I am so glad we had a chance to visit O’Bannon Woods State Park. We didn’t have a chance to hike all of the trails, but of the trails we did hike, the Sharp Spring trail was by far the best! Also, on our way here, we stopped at Hemlock Cliffs. Be sure to check this trail out as it was amazing!