During a recent trip to Turkey Run State Park for a meeting, I had some extra time to explore a…read morebit. While you might think that's what led me to Shades State Park, to be honest I landed here because I got lost. So, I figured "What the heck?" and decided to snag a second Indiana state park in one day. Located about 17 miles southwest of Crawfordsville off SR 47, Shades State Park is an ideal location for camping, hiking, and canoeing. As Katy E. notes in her review, Shades is less popular than the pretty close by Turkey Run. With sandstone clicks overlooking Sugar Creek, this is the place for those who want more nature and less activity. You can also check out the Pine Hills Nature Preserve while here. Shades is definitely not built necessarily for someone like me (a wheelchair user) precisely because it's not "built." It's a pretty natural setting, though it does have a picnic area with shelters, a 6-ravine hiking challenge, 10 trails (plus a backpacking trail), fishing, interpretive naturalist services (seasonal), and it's a favorite spot for a number of astronomy groups due to its dark skies. While I found the entrance to Turkey Run (which I love) a little too developed, such is not really the case here. There are 105 non-electric camping sites, 7 backpack camping sites, 10 sites for canoe camping, youth tent areas, and a dumping station. For hikers, the trails range from about .5 miles to about 2.5 miles. A couple of these trails are genuinely rugged, and probably not best for beginners. There are a couple shorter trails that are considered easy, though obviously "easy" means different things - especially for wheelchair users. Trail #7 is currently closed due to recent rains/floods. A few fun facts: Shades State Park opened in 1947. It was the state's 15th state park. This area was originally known as "Shades of Death" due to its darkness and deep forest. In the 19th century, there was a mineral springs resort here. Joseph Frisz, the owner, actually sold the land to the state for a park to preserve the area. Shades does not have a hotel or inn, however, you're close to Crawfordsville. Turkey Run Inn is about eight miles away for those not into primitive camping. I'm a big fan of this park. While there are certainly trails here I can't really do in the wheelchair, there's enough places to go that I can easily still spend the day here. Including Pine Hills, Shades covers about 3,000 acres.

What a serene and beautiful state park! Went during memorial weekend which was the perfect…read moretime/weather. We brought 2 dogs (small and medium size) with us. Recommend bringing plenty of water, bug spray, a packed lunch/snacks, a bag for trash because you must pack in and pack out - leave no trace behind. Wear hiking boots for ample ankle support and when you cross creeks/streams of water. For hiking - we hit up trail 2, then 1 and ended with 9. I'm glad we did it in that order because we did the most challenging trails in the beginning and ended with a nice walk. Easily hiked ~6 miles. We went when it wasn't crowded so we were fully immersed into nature without big groups. This park doesn't have much foot traffic compared to Turkey Run, which is what we enjoyed the most here. We went around noon and left before it got dark. PROS: $7 for Indiana residents, modern restrooms, playground for kids and benches for lunch. CONS: No trash cans

Beautiful, fun place to take the kids for summer!!! We had an absolute blast & can't wait to go…read moreback again. Perfect day!

Hi just finishing up camping this weekend and obviously too hot in this area, words the wise if you…read morewant to go and take a shower and cool off there's no adjustment in the heat the best thing to do if you want to cool shower as when you notice a whole bunch of people are using a shower go then cuz the lukewarm water gets slightly cooler instead of a 9:00 a.m. shower that the water's almost hot and for me I don't like a hot shower when it's 100° out, and if you're handicap obviously use the handicap shower it's got a two little room a bench inside a bench in the second room and plenty of body room to get dressed

This is a wonderful place to go on family hikes. I love the nature center there is lodging and a…read morebig swimming pool my favorite thing is going to Clement's and renting tubes. They have canoes and kayaks as well your Adventure awaits!

When you're polite to someone, it goes a really long way in customer service…read more We made a mistake and booked a campsite for the wrong day. They do not answer their phones and their policy says you must talk to the office for a cancellation. I called several days with no ability to speak with anyone. We did however book our tubing trip for the correct day. When we arrived we tried kindly explaining to the woman our situation. She was immediately combative and argumentative. She immediately went in defense mode. It was incredibly unprofessional and abrasive. We understand we made a mistake however we didn't deserve to be treated that way. Naturally we firmly and persistently argued back as we were approached in such a manner. Ultimately she did end up refunding us (allegedly - we did not receive it yet. But did get confirmation email we were refunded) but it was after a long awkward argument for really no reason. If the woman at the front office was polite from the get go we would have had a much better experience. The gentlemen who ran the tubing, said his name was Kim. He was very kind and professional. I would give this place another go because of his efforts in trying to make the situation more comfortable.

If you had been to Turkey Run you can skip Shades SP and go directly to Pine Hills. Amazing trail…read more#10 with a few gorgeous spots along the way. From stunning cliffs to tall slides to peaceful creeks... Wonderful place to hike on a weekend.

This review is based just on the surprise of finding a clean playground in the middle of no-where…read moreto help give the kids a chance to stretch legs during a long road trip.... Surrounded by corn fields, this small-town community park is a very quaint little picnic area and playground, complete with a baseball field flanked by a tattered American flag waving in the late summer breeze. This was such a picturesque classic place of americana, reminiscent of that "field of dreams" magic. This was a great place to bring the littles (ages 6 and under). Don't forget to stop by the Lizton Dairy Bar at the corner to bring a delicious ice cream shake for that perfect touch. We didn't go into any buildings, as everything was closed/locked at 6 pm on a Saturday. It would likely be a good place for a summertime family gathering or birthday party. My husband said this location is also a Hendricks County voting precinct location.

This park is situated between the the high school and middle school for Tri-West and is supported…read moreby the local Lions Club. The park has multiple baseball diamonds with gravel parking lots where some folks stay in their cars to watch the game with better comfort than those braving the seating around the fields. Beyond the outfield of the southwestern field is a small playground, hopefully out of range of any homers headed that way. There are a variety of pieces for kids to play on, but it seems a bit odd that they are stretched out instead of clustered for easy transitions between pieces. There is also a basketball court that doubles as a parking surface during morning games where finding a spot to park is a challenge. Review #822

Love it here. Small and quiet. Not far from other parks and don't have to deal with the camping…read moreissues that other parks have. It's very relaxing.

We are there everyweekend! Fishing on the lake is great…read more Well stocked baitshop. Modern sites large and, small with water and, electric. 2 Shower houses. They have abundant primitive campsites.

Great park that has amazing playground equipment. I love the historical references from the…read moreunderground RR. Only thing that was lacking was sidewalk or walking path around perimeter of the fence. I visited this park just to get my steps in & view the historic site. The sidewalk leading to the nice pavilion was appreciated tho.

This pocket park looks bright, shiny, and new. The patriotic colored playground has mini slides…read moreand climbing equipment for the little ones. A shelter with a picnic table offers some shade. There is street parking next to the park, but it all appeared to be zoned of for handicapped parking. So, if you don't mind a walk, this is a nice place to relax with the young-uns. Review #982

Great staff , very helpful. We had a great time tubing with the pontoon…read more ..we plan on coming back soon.

Incredibly easy, seamless boat rental from start to finish!…read more Online rental makes it easy to see what rentals they have, the days available & the times available. We live an hour and a half away & would not have come to Raccoon Lake if it wasn't for their boat rental! Unlike most boat rentals who only do pontoon rentals, Raccoon Lake also has ski boats & jet skis too. This is a fun thing to do with friends or even just as a couple. Staff is extremely easy-going but keep in mind that they still have rules you need to follow. Just don't be dumb & you'll be fine. We saw people trying to take their dog on the boat (which there are signs everywhere that say not to) and also saw people jumping off their boat while it was in motion. Don't be like those people. Be a smart human. You'll get a fine if you are stupid like this, so if you are hella rich then by all means, be stupid. The Lake is extremely large, so you won't get bored easily. We did 2 hours & thought that was the perfect amount of time! Keep in mind that in addition to your boat rental, you'll also need to pay for gas top-off (for reference, we used a quarter tank & paid $34 for a top off. They set their own gas prices). And you'll also need to pay to get into the State Rec Area ($7). Have fun, it's a blast & will definitely do the three hour round trip to go again!