After a delightful evening at the furnished apartment, we made a breakfast stop at the White Horse Cafe. It seemed to be the place all the locals go on weekend mornings, and it was good. We each had cups and cups of coffee, eggs, hashbrowns, bicuits and gravy, and ham. This we got for around $18.
We then headed up Marshall Rd., through the town of Marshall (where's the arch?) and to Shades State Park. We outfitted the dogs with their backpacks and started on our first hike of the day. We found Shades to be a smaller, more basic park, without the amenities of TurkeyRun. There is no inn, nature center, or pool. However, the trails were perhaps even better and there was hardly anyone there! With the dogs, we navigated trails 1, 6, 2, and a bit of 9. Highlights included Devil's Punch Bowl, Lover's Leap, and the entirety of trail 2. It was the best trail we hiked all weekend by far! A word of advice for trail 2: it is somewhat poorly marked as it seems to be a new addition. Start 2 at the Dell Shelter and when it splits, stay left and head down the giant stairs. Go out to Sugar Creek and see Steamboat Rock. Then, you will be standing in a small stream or ravine. Even though there is no sign, this is actually part of trail 2, so go on. This was a very rugged hike and may be impassable if it's been raining a lot, but it was totally worth it for the views of Maidenhair Falls and Pearl Canyon.
We then dropped the dogs off at the trailer (Thanks again Noah and Holly!) and hit trails 4 and 5. These trails featured ladders and some rugged parts, but were no #2. Dogs should not go on these trails due to the ladders.
Shades used to be called Shades of Death because of its history of bloody Indian wars and also because of the crazy shadows created by all the rocks and trees. We really enjoyed it, perhaps even more so than its more popular neighbor Turkey Run due to smaller crowds and cooler trails.
Shades State Park
Route 1 Box 72
Waveland, IN 7989
765.435.2810
White Horse Cafe
287 S. US Hwy 41
Rockville, IN 47872
765.569.9450
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