Sample Chapter - Versailles State Park - Trail 1
Hiking Trails
Versailles State Park has about six miles of trails that make a wonderful hiking experience. The trails range from moderate to easy. They traverse through impressive hardwood forests. Wildflowers blanket these forests in the spring. My wife and I have hiked the trails at Versailles State Park many times, as the park is near our home. Trail One is a great trail to hike in April and May as the wildflower displays can sometimes be magnificent.
Hiking Trail One
2.25 miles
Moderate
Hiking Trail 1 at Versailles State Park has several access points. One trailhead is near the cul-de-sac at the end of the Old Fire Tower Road. Another entrance is from the picnic area on the right of the main park road that goes back towards the campground. The best place to enter the trail is at Oak Grove Shelter, just past the campground entrance.
The trailhead here is on the south end of the Oak Grove Shelter parking area. You can just head for
the electric pole at the end of the lot. A short distance, maybe twenty feet, and you are on the trail. Right or left, the trail is a loop so it doesn’t make much difference as far as distance. If you turn right, a rather impressive set of stairs is easier to walk down than up. Therefore, if you do not like climbing long sets of steps it is best to turn right.
If you go right, the trail passes close to Oak Grove Shelter, a popular spot on weekends for family reunions and other gatherings. Go left, down the hill at the old stone water fountain. The steps are wood, and are rather steep. You cross a stream over a wooden bridge and go across the road. The entrance to the trail is across the road. On the left is a periwinkle-covered hill that blooms in April and May.
At this point, you cross another bridge and ascend a rather steep slope, climbing the hill. Once at the top, the trail levels off and is an easy walk. In the early spring and autumn, the trail affords a nice view of Laughery Creek. At one point, you can see Versailles Lake off to the right. In April and May, early spring wildflowers blanket the forest.
On the southern portion, the covered bridge across Laughery is visible in spring and fall. Once the trail starts back towards Oak Grove you will be hiking fairly close to the Old Fire Tower Road. Notice at different areas in the forest some rather large sinkholes. These form when water peculating through the ground dissolves the limestone bedrock. The soil above the cavity gradually caves in, forming these sinkholes. This is a common landscape feature in Hoosier forests in this in the southern part of the state.
On this return trip near the end of this portion of the trail, you will cross a rocky stream over a wooden bridge. If it has been raining, off to the right is a rather pretty waterfall. Once you pass this, the trail ascends slightly, and then descends towards the road, which you must cross again. The trail is almost directly across the road. It climbs somewhat, as it works its way back to the parking lot, and you are back where you started.
Hiking Trails
Versailles State Park has about six miles of trails that make a wonderful hiking experience. The trails range from moderate to easy. They traverse through impressive hardwood forests. Wildflowers blanket these forests in the spring. My wife and I have hiked the trails at Versailles State Park many times, as the park is near our home. Trail One is a great trail to hike in April and May as the wildflower displays can sometimes be magnificent.
Hiking Trail One
2.25 miles
Moderate
The trailhead here is on the south end of the Oak Grove Shelter parking area. You can just head for
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| A Visit to Versailles State Park |
If you go right, the trail passes close to Oak Grove Shelter, a popular spot on weekends for family reunions and other gatherings. Go left, down the hill at the old stone water fountain. The steps are wood, and are rather steep. You cross a stream over a wooden bridge and go across the road. The entrance to the trail is across the road. On the left is a periwinkle-covered hill that blooms in April and May.
At this point, you cross another bridge and ascend a rather steep slope, climbing the hill. Once at the top, the trail levels off and is an easy walk. In the early spring and autumn, the trail affords a nice view of Laughery Creek. At one point, you can see Versailles Lake off to the right. In April and May, early spring wildflowers blanket the forest.
On this return trip near the end of this portion of the trail, you will cross a rocky stream over a wooden bridge. If it has been raining, off to the right is a rather pretty waterfall. Once you pass this, the trail ascends slightly, and then descends towards the road, which you must cross again. The trail is almost directly across the road. It climbs somewhat, as it works its way back to the parking lot, and you are back where you started.
