Best Trails of Indiana

This list represents the most popular trails in Indiana (learn more about Top Trails). Use this list to plan your next Indiana outdoor trip. Select a state and/or activity below to find even more top trails.

Learn more about Top Trails

Activity: State: Reset

#1. Adventure Hiking Trail

This is a long-distance loop trail along forested river bluffs, ravines, sinkholes, and caves. The Adventure Hiking Trail—or AHT—keeps getting shorter, but it is still the second-longest trail in the…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Corydon , IN - Hiking - 23 miles

(About Top Trails)

#2. Low Gap Trail in Morgan-Monroe State Forest

This is a loop trail covering steep, forested ridges, ravines, creeks, and the Back Country Area of Morgan-Monroe State Forest. It is almost impossible to imagine this area devoid of trees, but it was…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Martinsville , IN - Hiking - 10 miles

(About Top Trails)

#3. Clifty Falls State Park

This is a combination of park trails forming a loop hike through Clifty Falls Canyon. Most of Clifty Falls State Park’s highlights can be seen by combining elements of five different park trails. In d…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Madison , IN - Hiking - 7 miles

(About Top Trails)

#4. Two Lakes Loop

This is a double-loop trail around Celina and Indian lakes. Restricted to hikers only, this trail is as easy to follow as those in state parks, but without the traffic. There are several stream crossi…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Tell City , IN - Hiking - 13.5 miles

(About Top Trails)

#5. Turkey Run State Park

This is a combination of park trails looping through canyons and along scenic Sugar Creek. The sandstone cliffs of Turkey Run State Park have their origins 300,000 years ago, when the ancient Michigan…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Crawfordsville , IN - Hiking - 3 miles

(About Top Trails)

#6. Knobstone Trail: Deam Lake to Jackson Road

This hike is the shortest leg of the Knobstone Trail, and is a good warm-up for more challenging legs of the trail. This can be hiked as a point-to-point (with car shuttle), reducing the distance in…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Sellersburg , IN - Hiking - 5 miles

(About Top Trails)

#7. Southern Indiana Amish: Amish Settlements and into Washington & Orange Counties

The 68-mile route traverses several areas of Amish settlement from Montgomery in Daviess County through the Amish farms of Orange County and Washington County. Special attractions: Gasthof Amish Resta…

From the guidebook "Scenic Driving Indiana"
Shoals , IN - Scenic Drives - 68 miles

(About Top Trails)

#8. Beach Trail

This is a loop trail through woods and along Lake Michigan, concluding with a climb through dunes. Established in 1925, Indiana Dunes State Park is one of the oldest parks in the state park system. Th…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Chesterton , IN - Hiking - 7 miles

(About Top Trails)

#9. Fall Creek Trail at Fort Harrison State Park

This is a loop trail along the banks of Fall Creek. Fort Benjamin Harrison, or “Fort Ben” for short, is Indiana’s newest state park, established in 1996 after the Indiana Department of Natural Resourc…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Indianapolis , IN - Hiking - 2.2 miles

(About Top Trails)

#10. Knobstone Trail: Elk Creek to Spurgeon Hollow

This section of the Knobstone Trail crosses ridgetops, ravines, and roads, plus offers optional segments at its north end. From one of its most remote stretches (Leota to Elk Creek), the Knobstone Tra…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Salem , IN - Hiking - 15 miles

(About Top Trails)

#11. Three Lakes Loop in Morgan-Monroe State Forest

This trail visits the steep, forested ridges, ravines, creeks, and lakes of Morgan-Monroe State Forest. The name for this trail is no longer accurate because it actually only goes to two lakes—Bryant…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Martinsville , IN - Hiking - 10 miles

(About Top Trails)

#12. Parke County: Covered Bridge Capital

The 50-mile drive loops through the rural beauty of Parke County, home of the largest collection of covered bridges in the nation. Located on the edge of the last great glacier advance, the county is…

From the guidebook "Scenic Driving Indiana"
Rockville , IN - Scenic Drives - 50 miles

(About Top Trails)

#13. Sycamore Loop

This is a trail that leads along a creek and to ravine overlooks of the Charles C. Wilderness. The Forest Service maintains very few hiker-only trails in the Hoosier National Forest, and this ranks ne…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Bloomington , IN - Hiking - 6.3 miles

(About Top Trails)

#14. Prairie Creek Reservoir

Motorcycles and ATVs have long used this trail system. The result is a honeycomb of paths bent on criss-crossing each other. The good news is that Muncie-area mountain bikers have trails near town.…

From the guidebook "Mountain Bike America: Indiana"
Muncie , IN - Mountain Biking - 5 miles

(About Top Trails)

#15. Lakeshore Cruise

The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is the destination of the annual Lakeshore Century. Held on the first Sunday after Labor Day, the tour offers four loops, ranging from 25 to 100 miles in length. T…

From the guidebook "Best Bike Rides in the Midwest"
Chesterton , IN - Road Biking - 43.9 miles

(About Top Trails)

#16. Town Run Trail Park

Even with losing its premier northern trails (gaze affectionately at the glistening strip mall), Town Run Trail park still offers Indy cyclists the best singletrack in town. The remainder of the trai…

From the guidebook "Mountain Bike America: Indiana"
Indianapolis , IN - Mountain Biking - 8 miles

(About Top Trails)

#17. Cope Hollow Loop

This trail leads through the Charles C. Deam Wilderness of the Hoosier National Forest. It takes a degree of tolerance for horses to appreciate this hike, because the trail is a multi-use venue, and i…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Bloomington , IN - Hiking - 9.5 miles

(About Top Trails)

#18. Peninsula Trail

This hike through the Charles C. Deam Wilderness leads to a peninsula jutting into Lake Monroe, the state's largest lake. Although this trail is shared with horseback riders, it is a worthy stretch be…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Bloomington , IN - Hiking - 9 miles

(About Top Trails)

#19. Knobstone Trail: Jackson Road to New Chapel

This is a demanding stretch of the Knobstone Trail along ridgetops and through ravines. This can be made a point-to-point hike (with car shuttle), cutting its distance in half. Bartle Knobs, Bartle K…

From the guidebook "Hiking Indiana"
Deam Lake , IN - Hiking - 12 miles

(About Top Trails)

#20. Amishland Ramble

You'll find the Amish as you ride south and west on this route. Their boxy, black, horse-drawn buggies are a common sight on the roads. Don't be surprised if you see a whole row of them tied to hitchi…

From the guidebook "Best Bike Rides in the Midwest"
Lagrange , IN - Road Biking - 31 miles

(About Top Trails)