Prophetstown State Park and Biking Trail Ride

This post is a jump forward to real time (Aug 24th) versus my blog updates that are about three weeks behind.  I am looking to get them caught up soon. We are currently camped at the Prophetstown State Park located near Lafayette, In. It is a real joy to be back in a state park after camping in a few private parks the last few weeks.  We just love the acres of green space, wide enjoyable campsites, the miles of trails, and all the natural beauty.

Prophetstown State Park, named after Tenskwatawa (“The Prophet”), a religious leader and younger brother of Shawnee leader Tecumseh, is located near the town of Battle Ground, Indiana, United States, about a mile east of the site of the Battle of Tippecanoe. Established in 2004, it is Indiana’s newest state park. The park is home to the Museum at Prophetstown, which recreates a Native American village and a 1920s-era farm.

The park is basically a large prairie with some wooded sections dividing the plains.  The DNR has taken large farm fields and removed the drainage tiles, added wild tall grass and wild flowers, and has created an environment that looks the way the land looked to the Native Americans.  The only thing missing was the buffalo herds!

We brought our bikes with us on this journey and have only used them a few times.  Mostly to ride around a campground on a leisurely tour, but yesterday morning and this morning I grabbed my helmet, backpack with water, and cell phone/camera and hit the trails while Pat was attending to a hair appointment in town.

The park has a combined total of over 10 miles of hiking and biking trails.  Most of the bike trails are paved and about 8 feet wide and run through the prairie, down one side and back up the other side.  I rode the “bike” paths and then ventured off on the serpentine, dirt, hiking trails through the woods.  This was an awesome experience with beautiful sights and some great exercise.  I have most definitely got to do more mountain biking in the future.  The wide paths were very scenic, but the winding dirt trails up and down the terrain were some great fun.  Especially along the river bottom area that was part muddy, part sand, but provided some challenges.

I may have used adjectives such as amazing, incredible, and awesome in past updates to this blog because we do tend to seek out these places to visit.  Some may say that every place we visit certainly cannot be incredible.  That is true, but every place we have stayed will usually have some gems if you take the time to seek them out.  We certainly do have the time now.  In this park, the back to nature is truly incredible.

Back to the bike ride.  I rode the 10 miles of trails in just less than 2 hours with many stops to take photos and just to let the scenery soak in a bit.  I tend to get to someplace, look at it, take a photo, then go.  It’s great to just observe the scenic wonders with the only sound being crickets.  This park is very quiet.  Very few people during the week.

I hope the photos capture the essence of this park.

Have a great day!