Tippecanoe 22

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Fishing · Geological Significance · River/Creek · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

This route starts off on River Bluff Trail #5 and Oxbow Trail #4 taking you up the Tippecanoe River. Once you reach where #4 Ts off to Sand Ridge Trail #1, you start getting into some of the horse trails and the trail becomes a bit more sandy in areas until you get past the Pine Oak Trail #2 loops.

When you get to Homestead Trail #3, you could take a left and cut some of the 22 miles off, but I was looking for a good simulation to a day of backpacking distance.

When you enter the State Park, take the first left and follow the road all the way back to Tepicon Hall and park in the parking lot near there. You'll start with River Bluff Trail #5, which is toward the Tepicon launch and took me a bit to find initially.

Once on the trail, you'll follow #5 into Oxbow Trail #4 along the Tippecanoe River for a ways that will take you through the Tippecanoe River Nature Preserve where there's a lagoon left from 1,000 years ago when the river shifted. The end of #4 gets a little odd as you'll cross through a parking lot then follow up the road for a bit.

When you see the road T, there will be a trail marker for #4 just to the side that will take you a little further where you'll turn left onto Sand Ridge Trail #1. Keep following left on #1 to The Barrens Trail #6 and more lefts to get to Black Oak Trail #9 then Sand Blowout Trail #10.

Trail #10 begins the backside loop of the park, connecting back with #9 to White Pine Trail #7. #7 seemed to be a lesser-used trail in the park. Follow #7 until you can get to Sand Ridge Trail #1, where you can get to Pine Oak Trail #2 (another left.) #2 has a couple of loops, more for horse riding but are quiet areas worth the extra couple miles if you feel like the steps.

Hairpinning back off the 2nd trail #2 loop, you'll meet with the River Bluff Trail #5 interconnector, follow that to Homestead Trail #3 and go right (if you want a shortcut out, keep following #5). #3 loops back up to #4 where we originally cut over onto #1. Follow #4 and #5 back until you get to Tepon Hall then cut across and take the Bluestem Trail #8 loop where you'll end up back at your car.

Pines, typical Indiana.