Hidden Hikes
Spring has a way of bringing Hendricks County’s trails back to life. As trees begin budding and wildflowers start blooming, miles of scenic public trails offer the perfect reason to step outside and explore. To help narrow down where to start, I turned to some of our county’s park leaders for their recommendations on the best parks and trails to explore.
All locations listed below are free to enjoy and offer breathtaking views. Each trail also provides a healthy exercise option while allowing you to be one with nature any time of year.
Below are seven locations I’m calling Hendricks County’s Hidden Hikes, as they are secret gems some locals may not know about. To learn more about all the county’s parks and trails, go to VisitHendricksCounty.com.
Blanton Woods
This scenic path in Danville offers great opportunities for both inexperienced and experienced hikers. You can enjoy tranquil and relaxing views of White Lick Creek, wildlife, or even take in a little mushroom hunting.
Follow any number of trails that fork off the main trail to experience creek crossings, hill climbs, bird-watching podiums, bat houses, wildflowers and more.
Burnett Woods Nature Preserve
This nature preserve, hidden in plain sight in Avon, boasts two trails with mostly natural surfaces, so you’ll want to wear boots or shoes you don’t mind getting muddy or dirty. Boardwalks were recently added in low spots along both trails, alleviating some of those issues.
The two trails (Red and Blue) provide mostly flat, easy walks, with the Blue pathway exploring the mature woods in the southern section of the preserve. The Red Trail winds through new growth and mature woods in the northern section.
Echo Hollow Nature Park
The newest trail at this beautiful park in Plainfield might be the most scenic and is definitely the most accessible. The Lake Loop Trail, which opened last November, encircles Sodalis Lake with a boardwalk, offering visitors a continuous scenic route around the picturesque body of water.
That trail, along with other future pathways, will eventually make Echo Hollow’s 1,800 acres of parkland accessible. Town leaders envision this park eventually rivaling some of Indiana’s state parks.
McCloud Nature Park
One of the most scenic of all the parks in Hendricks County, McCloud, located near North Salem, is worth the trip as it has so much to offer. Talking to local park naturalists, Red-Tailed Ridge Trail offers hikers the most spectacular views as it passes over the centerpiece of the park, its historic iron truss bridge over Big Walnut Creek.
The trail then traverses mature woodlands and crosses through grasslands and prairie, providing a varied hiking experience that can be enjoyed by hikers of all abilities.
Washington Township Park
This amazing park in Avon boasts two levels and is home to the Avon Haunted Bridge and the park’s Pavilion Center. But it also features numerous trails, ranging from easy to hard.
The Bluebird Trail receives the highest recommendations, offering a picturesque, leisurely stroll through the woods. It also provides easy access to some of the park’s intermediate trails and to the historic Iron Whipple Truss bridge, built circa 1876.
Williams Park
This park in Brownsburg may be best known for its popular Blast Off Playground or its splash pad, but tucked away in the back of the park is a wooded area worth exploring. The main connector to that wooded area is Maple Ridge Trail, with its main section consisting of crushed stone.
That main trail isn’t rigorous, though a few secondary trails that lead off it are a bit more challenging. The natural trails cover 45 acres and offer a nice hike with elevation changes and ravines that lead to White Lick Creek. You may stumble across a morel mushroom.
W.S. Gibbs Memorial Park
Gibbs currently offers about 3 miles of trails of varying surfaces. A paved loop meanders around both ponds, and there is an ADA-accessible concrete switchback trail to the top of the hill inside the park.
Two of the more exciting and newer features at the park include the Bicentennial Tree Trail, where nearly every tree native to the state has been planted around a crushed-stone pathway in the shape of the number 200. The park also recently added a GRIT Freedom 3.0 Mobility Wheelchair that is available to borrow at no charge. The chair can be self-powered or pushed by someone else, and it can navigate all trail surfaces, including natural and crushed stone, making the entire park accessible to everyone.
