The Ladders Trail at Turkey Run State Park

The Ladders Trail at Turkey Run State Park
Today’s hike will be Trail 3 in Turkey Run State Park.
From the Book:
Turkey Run State Park

Transcript:

Greetings, Today’s hike will be Trail 3 in Turkey Run State Park.

Before we start, I would like you to know that this episode is based upon my book, Turkey Run Creek State Park, available on my web site, http://www.mossyfeetbooks.com. While visiting the web site you can subscribe to it and receive email notifications of when I publish a new book or other content, like this video and podcast. You can also subscribe to the Mossy Feet Books You Tube Channel to ensure you don’t miss any of my content.

The trailhead for Trail 3 is at the north end of the Suspension Bridge. Trail 3 can be hazardous for people with disabilities. Small children should not hike this trail, as it can be quite dangerous.

Suspension Bridge
The Suspension Bridge crosses Sugar Creek, connecting Trail 1 on the south side with Trails 3 and 4 on the north side. Completed in 1918 the bridge was constructed by the Lafayette Engineering Company. It replaced an earlier suspension bridge built on the site. The bridge is 202 feet long. Steel cables support the 4-foot-wide deck as they carry foot traffic across Sugar Creek. The 70 Steps Concrete staircase to the bridge was built in 1921. The cables are anchored in a fifty-ton concrete base.

Turning right from the Suspension Bridge the trail passes Rocky Hollow.

Rocky Hollow
Rocky Hollow, located on Trail 3 on the north side of Sugar Creek, is one of Indiana’s largest sandstone canyons. Trail 3 weaves back and forth as it climbs the canyon carved by a small stream at the bottom. Department of Natural Resources staff closed the trail in the fall of 2018 to do some extensive renovation work to the trail. They installed native sandstone steppingstones, rock cribbing and better signage to prevent hikers creating “rogue trails,” and to protect the delicate environment of the canyon. The trail reopened in early summer of 2019. Hikers in the canyon can view many species of lichens, mosses, ferns and liverworts along the trail as well as one of Indiana’s few stands of native hemlock trees.

The next feature, the Punch Bowl, is just a short distance away.

Punch Bowl
Located on Trail 3 near its intersection of with Trail 4, the Punch Bowl is a hollowed-out depression on a stream that empties into Sugar Creek. Formed by glacial meltwater that flowed and swirled through the canyon during the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age, the pothole is a striking feature that hikers can enjoy.

From the Punch Bowl the trail curls away to the east to travel through the deep forest until it reaches the Ladders

Ladders
Located on Trail 3, the “Ladders” trail, the three ladders are secured so they do not move. The ladders allow hikers to ascend out of the canyon next to Bear Hollow or descend into it. The ladders include 140 steps to get to the top. The three ladders are secured so they do not move.

This part of the trail passes through Rocky Hollow Falls Canyon Nature Preserve

Rocky Hollow Falls Canyon Nature Preserve
The 1609 acres Rocky Hollow Falls Canyon Nature Preserve lies entirely within Turkey Run State Park on the north side of Sugar Creek. A portion of the preserve has received National Natural Landmark designation. The terrain consists of narrow canyons that pass through Mansfield sandstone banks. Hemlocks trees tower over the forested canyon while beech-maple in the damper portions while oak-hickory forests populate the drier regions. Old-growth floodplain forests border Sugar Creek. Waterfalls cascade over the sandstone rocks at the base of the canyon. Trails 3, 5, 9, 10 and 4 travel through the Preserve.

From the Ladders the trail follows the stream at the bottom of the canyon called Bear Hollow.

According to historical lore, a noted hunter named Pithoud lived in the area near this spot. Bears in the area were a rare occurrence, however Mr. Pithoud encountered one in the hollow as he was returning from one of his daily hunts. After a struggle with the bear, Mr. Pithoud overcame the bear, bearing many cuts and bruises obtained in the battle. His son usually departed with a sleigh sometime after Mr. Pithoud began his hunt. The son used the sleigh to bring his father’s game home after the hunt and this day added a bear to the daily harvest. Located between Trails 3 and 5, the Hollow’s terrain descends to the shore of Sugar Creek.
A left turn as you emerge from the canyon takes you to the Ice Box.

Located on Trail 3 on the banks of Sugar Creek a short distance from the Suspension Bridge, this is anothor feature, like the Punch Bowl, that has its origins in the vast glacial runoff that occurred as the glaciers melted at the end of the last Ice Age. Aptly named, The Ice Box is always several degrees colder than THE surrounding area. Historical lore relates that a band of thieves used the Ice Box to store pigs they had stolen from local farmers after butchering them. When the thieves had stolen enough hogs to load on a flatboat, they loaded them on a boat and floated them down to the Wabash River and then on to markets in New Orleans.

On the next episode we will hike Trail 3, called the “Ladders Trail,” at Turkey Run State Park. The episode is based upon my book, Turkey Run State Park, available on the web site, http://www.mossyfeetbooks.com. The book is the second book in the 10 volume, for now, series called the Indiana State Park Travel Guide Series. The books contain interesting information about the history, geology and features of the parks as well as tons of information about day trip destinations in the area of the park. I encourage you to visit the web site and subscribe to it.
I hope you enjoyed this podcast and thank you for listening.