Twin Caves located in Mitchell, IN inside Spring Mill State Park. There are several great trails…read moreand these caves are located not to far away from the parking lot. So, it's not a bad little hike to take. This particular day it was gloomy and sort of wet. I was chilly, and couldn't seem to get warm. This particular Park cost a fee to enjoy but because its not in season the shacks gate was open do no charge. I definitely would recommend and go back again.

Guided boat tours of the twin caves are offered every 30 minutes from 9-5 each day for only $3 a…read moreperson! The tours are in high demand, so make sure someone from your group gets there a few minutes before 9 to line up to schedule your time slot for the day. We did a tour with tour guide Morgan a few weeks ago, and it was awesome! Very interesting and educational. The tour takes about 20 minutes and you get to see a lot of different areas of the cave with different features, as well as some crayfish! There is one part where you can reach out and touch the cave as well. The boat is small and all riders straddle the bench inside for the duration of the tour. Could be difficult for older people and a little scary for some folks, especially those who have claustrophobic tendencies. You also need to be able to go down 85 steps to get to the boat and back up those steps after the tour. Life jackets are provided! Important to mention that my family is NOT outdoorsy at all, but we really enjoyed the tour! I recommend wearing a hat of some sort to prevent panic if any water drips on you as you go through. Highly recommend to those visiting the park!!

Beautiful waterfalls specially, if you go right after a storm with a lot of rain, trails, and then…read morethere's a patokah four seasons not too far are you can stay in a cabin.

Sometimes, if you are patient, you get rewarded. While exploring the countryside south east of…read moreBedford, I crossed into Jackson County just west of Leesville and wondered whether I would find this preserve or not! Fortunately, I could tell I was on the right path as I headed uphill, losing site of the Guthrie River as I headed upward. Fortunately, before I lost patience, I finally saw the pull off on the north side of the road for the reserve. From the gravel parking lot, I followed the most visible path northward and saw the sign in box. The natural footing trail headed to the west and was marked by blue plastic markers on the trees. The forest is a mix of Eastern Hemlock and hardwood trees that line the bluff that overlooks the lowlands to the north of the river. The largest hemlock in the state is located within these woods at nearly three feet in diameter. The trail makes a turn to the north after about 250 yards. The new trail path walks much closer to the dropoff and offers some better views of the river and lowlands. There is a bench to relax upon. I will say that if you are afraid of heights, then you may feel a bit uncomfortable with the view, but the trail is set on fairly level footing, so using common sense and being aware of your surroundings should keep you safe. I didn't walk the entire trail around the 44 acre preserve, but chose to double back on the original path. It is a remote and very private setting where you can experience a stand of trees that date back before the glacial clearing. Review #2014

Midwest Trail Ride is one of my favorite places to go horse camping. Midwest has electric sites,…read morecabins, and primitive camping. They have plenty of stalls for the horses of their patrons, and they provide all the needed amenities necessary for horse campers. What's nice about Midwest versus regular camping is that it is really set up for horseback riders, and they make it very convenient to bring your horse and trailer. My wife and I have visited Midwest annually since she got me into horses and we have not had a bad visit. With Midwest being on the edge of Hoosier National Forest, you have no shortage of trails to ride. The Midwest trails are well maintained, better maintained than in the national forest in fact. Best part of visiting: no cell phone signal. You are in a nice quiet place you can relax and enjoy yourself without the stress of the outside world.

I have been a patron of Midwest Trail Ride for years. Unfortunately I have to say with the passing…read moreof time and changing of hands the magic of the place is gone for me. I had the privilege of meeting the wonderful folks who started MTR. What wonderful people. I remained impressed as the business changed hands. However, the current management has a lot to learn when it comes to how to treat the people who pay their hard earned money to travel and stay there. I was unpleasantly surprised at how rudely I was asked to move my rig. Courtesy goes a long way with me. Just be polite and remember --we are the customers. I have spent a lot of money in their tack store and have been a weekend and day rider as well. The people who run it now need to remember that they are not the only access point into Hoosier National Forest. Sadly this will be my last visit. I have absolutely loved meeting horse campers from all around....it's just the disrespectful and rude treatment from the female manager/owner that has convinced me to go elsewhere.

My sister came across this Forest by reading through a book about hikes in Indiana. Our first visit…read morehere was in April and we hiked along trail 7 which was a rugged 1.7 miles and took us up along a number of overlooks. We then hiked along Knob Lake- trail 5- only .25 miles but beautiful views of the lake. Plenty of people were fishing here. There are 10 trails overall and most range from 1-3 miles. We noticed that there were primitive camp sites and someone told us that it is very rarely full. We decided to come camping here in September after Labor Day. It is only $13 a night and self registration. The camp sites have plenty of room for car and tents. The sites each have a fire pit and picnic table. There are only pit toilets but they all had plenty of toilet paper. There were a handful of people camping so it was a very quiet evening. This time we hiked trail 2 which was 1.75 miles moderately rugged. This takes you up 985 feet above sea level. There are horse trails, hunting, archery range and plenty of picnicking spots. If you enjoy the outdoors- this is only about an hour and 30 minutes from Indianapolis.

Found this park by way of AllTrails app, and I'm so happy I did! My sweet spots are national and…read morestate parks, but I'm so happy I stumbled upon this state forest. Being a state forest, it's free entrance, for one. It's about 1.25 hours from downtown Indy, so not too far of a trek and about the same distance to Brown County area. I came for the purpose of a day hike on the Knoblake and Pinnacle Loop Trail. It's labeled "hard" on AllTrails. As with most Indiana "hard" trails, if you're an experienced hiker, it means they're "easy-to-medium" challenge. However, I will happily say that this trail kicked my booty. It was a challenge. The elevation gains/descents are no joke. Bring hiking poles if you can! The final views were incredible and a great place to feel the spring sunshine and breeze to reward our hard work. It meanders through some creek area as well. I can't wait to come back and take advantage of their buddy camping system. $13 a campsite - an absolute win compared to other nearby campsite prices. Would highly recommend for camping, fishing, hiking and general nature time!

Went to the beach area it's very large and just like an ocean plenty of room we built a sandcastleread more

Nice Indiana State Park…read more HUGE lake. Nice and clean campgrounds; well-groomed grounds. Not big on hiking trails but not bad. It's more about the watersports, fishing, and perhaps hunting. There are two campgrounds, one primitive/tents and the other for mostly RVs and trailers, with a few spots for tents. Everything was clean, given it was a holiday weekend. There is no store or restaurant close by, so bring EVERYTHING YOU NEED, including fuel-- as their marina wasn't pumping when we stayed there (not that we needed it). When it's not a holiday weekend, it's reasonably quiet, but expect a lot of boat traffic noise and loud music on the holidays-- we tried both a holiday and a non-holiday adventure. The signage to the park gates from the county roads stinks, but inside the park, it's not too bad. Get the downloadable map from the IN DNR before you go. Cell service is spotty, and thank heavens!

Clean, lots for kids to do. They seem to have increased their price to $15/child? That's a little…read morehigher than expected, but still a nice place to take your kids when they can't play outside

worst daycare in North Vernon. treats kids like crap if they have bad days, forgetting kids are…read morehuman too. only care if they get grants, money and voucher parents. money money money. that's all this company and owner is about and cares about. sure, they have decent open hours that do cater to a lot of working parents which is unfortunately why we had to put our child in this facility. they hire people off the streets just to fill positions and don't actually put the children first. they lie on the app to meet the needs they need to get paid! that's it. i don't know what goes on in there, and if i did, i would probably raise absolute hell. they don't deserve anything. the children deserve better.

Why is it so nasty looking now? The fountains are never on. There use to be I believe three…read morefountains that ran all the time then it went to two then one now none. The water looks awful and the vines are taking over and also the round area in the middle of the pond would always be mowed now it looks like a Jungle. What happened? Sad. Very very Sad

While driving along US 31, I noticed this park, particularly the well maintained pond with…read morefountains. So, I found a place to park (there is a dedicated lot on the far side of the pond via the neighborhood.) Near the highway, there is a small bridge, a paved walking path around the pond, and a sandy bottomed shelter. Unfortunately, there is no parking near the shelter, so if they do put picnic tables up during the warmer months, visitors would have to haul their coolers quite a way. I didn't see any onsite grills either. On the far side of the pond by the parking area is some seating with picnic tables for convenience. That end of the pond has an island in it too which not only looks nice, but because it isolated without access, the geese that find the pond prefer to congregate there instead of shore around the pond. Less clean up needed! Overall, there isn't much to do here, but it is a nice looking setting for a stroll. Side note: I noticed an unpleasant odor in the air, most likely from some commercial/industrial businesses in the area. I hope that isn't a constant thing. Side note 2: Despite the negative publicity the town has taken on recently, the park was clean and seemed maintained. Review #3383

I have lived in Indianapolis my entire life, and never heard of Fairfax State Recreation Area at…read moreMonroe Lake. From what I understand, it's even fairly well-kept secret from the locals. My friend visits the beach every weekend with her boys and others join her from time to time. She had lived in the area for several years before she knew it was there. We drove down for the day earlier this month and really enjoyed it. The beach is a little rocky and muddy, but I suppose that's to be expected in Indiana. It's a nice little spot to lay out, hang out with friends and family, or take out your floats, paddle boards, kayaks, etc. I would visit again. I give it four stars for a couple of reasons. 1. The difficulty in getting down to the beach area since there is only one small walkway. 2. The restrooms are not well-marked, and are thoroughly disgusting. Although a DNR employee sits near the restrooms, they don't seem to do a whole lot. There were people using one of the grills near the restrooms who thought it would be a good idea to play soccer on the sidewalk instead of the grass. They made no effort to move or stop playing as people had to walk by to the restrooms, and the DNR employee cared more about asking someone to move their vehicle than ask those disrespectful guests from hitting others with their soccer ball.