Did we survive Trail #3 at Turkey Run State Park?

This was our first time at Turkey Run State Park! We came for the hiking but found so much more to explore! The state park campground was fantastic and our site (#54) was huge and mostly level. Be careful with any sites in any of the wooded loops - many are not.

You can hike right from the campground, from trail #7 and then connect to #6 past the cabin and over to #1. We opted to drive over, but a few of us hiked back on this trail and it was worth it.

Everyone wanted to do the trail with the ladders, except maybe The Captain. He was a trooper though and conquered trail #3. We even got him a sticker that said so! It’s been very dry, so the trail was only a little wet and the water was a small stream. I could imagine though after a heavy rainfall, you might want to wear waterproof shoes for trail #3. Lots of rocks, boulders, canyons and stairs! The ladders added an extra layer of fun to the hike. If you are not steady on your feet or have a fear of heights, you might want to skip this one. If you have an average level of fitness, the ladders are no problem at all!

In total, we hiked a little over 3 miles to complete the trail one way back to the campground. The hike definitely left us wanting to come back for more.

We also took a side trip to see a few covered bridges. While you can’t drive over The Narrow’s Covered Bridge, we found it to be the most picturesque of the three we saw. It’s also the oldest we went over - from 1882! Definitely go down below and take some photos from afar. The next two are close to each other and you can drive over. First was Cox Ford Bridge (1913) and then was Wilkins Mill Bridge (1906). If you visit this area, finding a few covered bridges. We did not know this before our arrival, but Parke County is awarded the title of the “Covered Bridge Capital of the World” with 31 historic covered bridges!