Hoosier National Forest — Attraction in Paoli

Me, my boys, and a friend were on a quest to find geodes in Indiana. The interwebs pointed to the north/northwestern part of Hoosier National Forest in creek beds as the best place in Indiana to find them...just not exactly where. My triangulation lead us to the Springs Lake Valley trail about 25 miles southwest of Bedford. So here's how it went...

No place to pay, it seemed free. It did say there was a fee to use the trail for horses but no clear place to do so. It probably said somewhere, but alas we forgot our horse at that ranch anyways.(Just kidding.) The route there was beautiful. The heavily wooded, hilly southern Indiana countryside that you never see just driving through the state, was beautiful. There were no signs guiding us there...only gps. It popped out of nowhere when we arrived. There was another vehicle parked...but we never saw anyone else on the trail. The trail was well kept and the woods were beautiful. We got to the first creek after 1.5 miles or so. Lots and lots of sand stone...we actually only found 1 geode and 1 big chunk of sparkling blue quartz with 6 people searching for 6 hours. Alot of what looks like geodes are filled with colored sand. I think they might be the precursor for geodes but I'm not a rockamatician. I know mom...they're called geologists. Anyhoo....we moved to a couple more creeks. We found a nest of baby snakes. That was cool. We also found some miniature beaver dams. 🦫 Eventually we came to a cross between a creek and a river. A kriver if you will. It was a perfect 67° out...marvelous for hiking. But it was the first day above 50° in weeks...the water was frigid so of course...what do my boys do? You guessed it...splash! They braved the cold waters in the name of fun. We dryed off and explored off trail a little bit and found a little cave. At this point...it was already starting to get dark. We hiked back, only bummed we didn't have more time to explore. In the end, we might have only found two rocks....but we had a great time. And according to the map...we didn't even scratch the surface of all the Hoosier National Park has to offer.

Now...we are hearty bunch. I practically grew up in the woods and am an Eagle Scout. But this place might not be for everyone. There are rules...but overall the vibe was do whatever you want, just don't hurt anything. You could just pitch a tent and camp anywhere. 🏕 My kinda place. Totally free. But no bathrooms or running water. No stores...at least not where we went. The park 'office' is located in Bedford and we accidently ended up there by mistake. They should fix that on their listing. If you try to get directions to the park...Google by default will take you to the park office a half hour away. Now if this sounds like it is a little too removed from civilization for you...then it probably is. Now, I've camped in some crazy and dangerous places...and this place is not that. But it's not a 'primitive' campground either. It is just trails, some bridges, and a parking lot. I for one would love to camp here...but if you decide to do the same make sure you take precautions as there is no cell service at all. Would be smart to take 2 vehicles in case one broke down and plently of water.

Reguardless...we had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back. Not as beautiful as the limestone valley at Turkey Run or as spooky as Wolf Cave...no pioneer village like they have at Spring Mill....but if you want a place where you are free to adventure as you please...this...

It's always a good camping trip at the Deam Wilderness. Myself and 4 others arrived yesterday afternoon to enjoy dispersed camping off trail at an area that I and my daughter (shes 1 of the 4) had been to 3 times before.

Folks are going to roll their eyes at what I'm going to write. Sasquatch/Bigfoot is in the park in the area we camped it. It repeatedly happens each time we are there. Not sure if admitting that will scrub my review.

However as far off trail as we were in a Thursday afternoon into Friday afternoon - and seeing one car in the entire vicinity and no one in the parking lot to boot (we were the only car parked for miles in that area) it's impossible anyone would have found us where we were as we were on a workday when literally no one else is there.

I estimate we were at least 100 yards off trail near a steep holler, and people do not magically come out of a holler and walk around hammocks at 3AM either. You could be shot at doing that. Yes I know this is silly to write on a review and doesn't really describe the enjoyable time we had (but I feel it must be put out there publically at least). What I can say is my daughter, myself, and others who heard things walking around our tents/hammocks aren't liars and this isn't posted for entertainment or laughs.

Otherwise, the forecast was much colder than predicted. I wore shorts and a long sleeved tshirt to sleep in my hammock. Were it not for my friend I'd have been shivering all night! It's a reminder to bring pants and a jacket next time so when I'm in my hammock I do not suffer the cold. The hammocks (all 3 of them) had under quilts which made a world of difference! The weather, serene quietness and remoteness was so nice to experience. There will definitely be a 4th visit to that area in the future. Great place to camp, hike, bike, and just take in the calm...

I've only been to the northern part of the Hoosier National Forest (Charles Deam Wilderness), so I can't speak for the rest of it, but it's great! Early spring and early fall are the best times to go: fewer bugs and cooler temperatures. There are some great trails for hiking and I can take my dogs without worrying about a gazillion rules. I've camped out of my backpack and out of my car. There are some primitive campsites along the trails for backpackers. If you go east of the fire tower, there are drive-in campsites that are really nice. No map for the drive-in sites, so you just have to wander a bit on the roads to find them. The drive-in sites afford a good deal of privacy (great to keep my dogs from going nuts!). There are no stores in the forest, but The Fishing Shedd is nearby and you can get any basic stuff (ice, water, etc.) you need there.

There are a couple reasons why I didn't give it five stars. First, it's near Bloomington, so you get college kids having parties. I didn't have any noise problems, but the first few drive-in sites had broken glass on the ground. The farther you drive for a site, the cleaner it will be. Second, most of the trails are open to horses, which means they're basically closed to everyone else. You're allowed to hike all the trails, but the horses make them unenjoyable. The droppings are bad enough, but the low spots on the trail get churned into mud by their hooves. I turned back every time I tried a trail open to horses.

Even with the negatives, I love camping and hiking here. If you're looking for primitive camping and rugged hiking, the HNF is a great...