Shades State Park, Waveland

There are almost no picnic tables. Fortunately I brought Little folding table stand and folding chair. Maps are not very descriptive, especially not showing differences in elevation. The trail down to the creek really is Rugged. Better to take stairs trail. Beautiful wading creek with people fishing and wading around. Lots of nice scenery Good program about history of Shades. Some trail stairs are closed and cause backtracking. Modern restrooms are too far from picnic area. This is a less visited park than Turkey Run so you won't see so many people. Some trails are steep. Inspiration Point is worth seeing. The park is out of the way and hard to access from southern cities. At entrance rangers stayed in their little shack and didn't engage much for greeting. All this reminded me why I never liked going there. Some signs are worth out and need replacing. I don't plan to go back anytime soon.

This is one of the best hiking spots and most beautiful parks I have found yet in Indiana. The trails are relatively short but have a great combination of scenic vantage points and the most rewarding rugged hiking up gorges in the stream beds. I highly recommend a pair of sturdy hiking boots or hiking sandals as there is plenty of mud and water on the fun, rugged portions of the trails. Their waterfalls and everything are spectacular, extremely well-built ladders to scale right alongside some of them and an abundance of breathtaking views. There is a wonderful little playground for children and plenty of spots to refill water bottles. The public restrooms were extremely well taken care of and all the facilities looked quite nice. I will certainly be visiting here again whenever I can! Update: winter is an amazing time to visit Shades! It'll take some equipment to be prepared but well worth it for the spectacular views and technical tracks.