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    Touch the Earth Natural Area

    4.0 (1 review)

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    7 years ago

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    Brown County State Park - Brown County campground site.

    Brown County State Park

    4.5(109 reviews)
    10.2 mi

    Our favorite state park in Indiana. My friends and I camp here for a four day weekend at least…read moreonce a year, and sometimes visit for just a day hiking trip and picnic. The campgrounds are excellent, especially Taylor Ridge. But be aware that you need to make reservations ahead of time, especially if you are planning a fall camping trip. Campsites sell out early. Shower rooms are decent, not wonderful. But satisfactory for a campground. Quiet hours are strictly observed, and the park rangers will pay a visit to your campsite if you aren't quiet after 10:00 pm Once we received a visit from a friendly park ranger when we were playing cards around 11 pm. We hadn't realized that we were being noisy at all but the ranger advised us that sound carries throughout the campground. Hiking trails range from easy to moderate. Trail maps are available are the trails are well marked. You will likely see deer and raccoons when hiking the trails. Some members of our group enjoy mountain biking too.

    Love the mountain bike trails. They have trails from beginner to advanced so there is something for…read moreeveryone. Love the very large campgrounds. The only bad I would have to say is twice while staying at the campground the power went out. I do NOT! Recommend staying at the INN, Abr Martin Lodge. It needs a major renovation. The air was out in all 5 rooms they tried to put us in. The beds needed a major cleaning. Two were pee stained sheets. The last had dead bugs. The overlooks throughout the park are breathtaking. A definite visit at sunset or sunrise.

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    Brown County State Park - Brown County State Park

    Brown County State Park

    Brown County State Park
    Brown County State Park - Brown County State Park

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    Brown County State Park

    Selmier State Forest - bridge crossing by the pond

    Selmier State Forest

    4.0(1 review)
    25.5 mi

    When the Selmier family owned the property, Frank Selmier began planting pine, black locust, black…read morewalnut, sycamore, and tulip trees on the land. From 1921 to 1934, he worked on the property and most of the property was placed on Indiana's Classified Forest Program between 1927-1931. After Frank's death, his wife donated the property to the State. This 355 acre property is located just a short distance from US 50 to the northeast side of North Vernon. The park is only accessible form CR 350 N and has the Forest Office/Property Manager's station on the east end of the park. However, if you don't wish to stop by and pick up a brochure, you can take the self-guided trail which starts (and has its own small parking lot) on the west end of the park. That's what I decided to take. The self-guided trail is fairly easy to navigate with wide gravel based roads making up most of the trail. Elevation changes are easy with the exception of one area where steps have been built into the hillside. The trail is roughly 1 mile in length and there are benches for resting or stopping to enjoy the sights and sounds of the park. There are small creeks/runoffs along the way with one spot where a small pond tends to grow after rain fall as it waits to filter through a pipe under the trail to lower ground. For those who like longer hikes, there are additional trails in the park, but none of them are very long. Be advised that hunting is allowed in the park during the season, but hunters should check in at the Forest Office to make sure of any additional restrictions. The brochures list the major items of concern for hunting as well as having maps of the trails. Nothing spectacular to catch your attention as far as terrain, but the forest looks to be in great health and the wide paths make the park more accessible (though not completely) than most. Review #2632

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    Selmier State Forest - Benches and wide paths for hiking

    Benches and wide paths for hiking

    Selmier State Forest - Toad along the way

    Toad along the way

    Selmier State Forest - Dense foliage lines the trail

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    Dense foliage lines the trail

    ECO Lake Park

    ECO Lake Park

    4.4(5 reviews)
    15.2 mi

    This is a nice park. I do not think it gets many visitors due to its location. It is right off of a…read morebusy street. The park spans 127 acres and was previously owned by Cosco Products company, which hoped to create an employee recreational area, but it was never fully developed. The county received the property from the Cosco in 2007. The park's name, ECO, is an acronym derived from Employees of Cosco (ECO). The work "Lake" was added to the name to highlight the lake. The park runs along ECO Lake and has an ample amount of parking available. You will find a nice public boat launch that feeds right into the lake. There are also picnic tables and benches positioned in locations around the lake's perimeter. They provide very scenic views. The park has a sand volleyball court and a basketball court right next to each other. They are in fair to good shape. This park features a lot of green space, a moderate amount of shade, a picnic shelter with picnic tables under it, and a playground area. The playground area is not the most modern, but it is decent. It has a medium sized metal play structure with a bunch of slides, a net climber, and monkey bars. The playground also has a bank of traditional swings, monkey bars, and pull up bars. This is a very nice, low key park with lots of open pace. There is a gravel road that leads to the back of the park. That road will take you to camp sites and only registered campers are authorized to go past the gate. I like this park, but think it is just in a bad location. It could use a little bit of an upgrade such as a new shelter because the current one is in bad repair and maybe a restroom facility. They current have a port a potty there, that is located by the shelter and playground area. Definitely a nice place to visit and get access to the lake. Worth a visit if you are in the area.

    Camped 1st time July 19th weekend. Absolutely loved it. Beautiful area. Quiet. Pond was great for…read morekayaking. Bathrooms are unbelievable clean. May be our 1st go to camp spot. Also so close to Columbus and I had good internet service. Great place.

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    ECO Lake Park
    ECO Lake Park
    ECO Lake Park

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    Touch the Earth Natural Area - parks - Updated June 2026

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