A week ago, I received my Indiana State Park Pass in the mail. I was excited to use it and start my new adventure. Just 11 miles from my house is Charlestown State Park. Today, I just finally said, it’s time, and I jumped in the car and headed out. It was nearly 6pm, but since it doesn’t get dark until close to 9, I knew I had plenty of time.
The Details
Name: Charlestown State Park
Location: IN Highway 62 just Southeast of Charlestown, IN
Established: October 12, 1996
Size: 5100 Acres
Known For: Rose Island was a hotel and resort until the flood of 1937 destroyed it. You can walk around Rose Island and see the foundations and learn about its history.
The Day
I arrived at the park around 6:15 in the evening. The day had been warm, but not overly hot. It was somewhere in the low 80s as I began my hike. The sun was out and that made for some beautiful scenes of light filtering through the thick canopy. Before arriving, I had decided to hike Trail 3 and Trail 7. Trail 3 is a 2.1-mile loop which leads down to the bridge crossing over to Rose Island. Trail 7 is a.9-mile loop around Rose Island itself.
This was my first visit to an IN state park in over a decade. It is a small park, and I would guess it doesn’t get a lot of visitors. Trail 3 had numerous spider webs stretched across the trail. A sign that know one else had been through there in a while. I spent a lot of the time extricating myself from webs stuck to my arms and face. At one point, a spider and I had to work together in order to get him down to the ground where he went scurrying off. I hope that this will not be the norm for my Indiana hiking.
There were no vistas on Trail 3. It was, however, very well marked and easy to follow. Part of Trail 3 is a paved road which leads directly to Rose Island. Most of Trail 3 is a path through the forest. It felt good to be out in nature. After nearly 3 months of focus on moving or family emergencies, I did not realize just how much I missed the outdoors.
To get to Rose Island, you have to cross over a bridge. The bridge was taken apart, restored, and rebuilt in the 90s and early 2000s in preparation for the opening of the State Park. If you can walk the very steep road from the parking lot down to Rose Island (and more importantly walk back up it), there is a lot to see. This included human-powered boxes at several locations with audio recordings telling about the history of the island and life back in the early 20th century. There is a wheel connected to a small generator. Spin the wheel and multiple audio recordings come to life telling the history of Rose Island. These were spread out across the island, there were so many that I didn’t come close to listening to all of them.
From the parking lot to Rose Island and back, I didn’t see any bathroom facilities. I’m sure there is a reason, but it was surprising to me that with all of the picnic tables and family-friendly activities there were no restroom facilities.
All in all, my first trip of 2023 was a success. Good weather and easy to follow trails. I look forward to returning in the next week or so to hike Trail 4 and continue my journey through the Indiana State Parks.
Hiking the Indiana State Parks 