Shades State Park Travel Guide

Pine Hills has several formations called backbones. These are very narrow cliffs with sheer sides. You enter through a hemlock forest. Hemlocks are evergreens with feathery leaves; they are not very common in Indiana. You'll walk out onto a ridge with sheer drops on both sides. A stairway down to two loop trail.

The loop to the right wanders around the valley floor with some good views of the cliffs and a former mill site.

The loop to the left takes you right up to Devil’s Backbone. The trail goes up and along the top of the ridge. There are no handrails and the top is very narrow (4-5' or 1.2-1.4 m). The trail follows the botton of the river bluff part of the way.

Built in 1878, now decomissioned, Deer's Mill covered bridge crosses Sugar Creek at the northeast part of Shades. IND 234 runs right next to it.

Ten trails, ranging from easy connector trails to very rugged tramps through creek beds and ravines, make for ten miles of hiking in the park. Here are some highlights:
Trail 1, a .75 mile rugged that traverses forest, ravines and creek bed. Two stops along the way, Prospect and Inspiration Points offer nice views of Sugar Creek and Canoe Island. Stairs from the trails lead to very rugged hiking along the creek.
Trail 2 is a very rugged 1.25 mile hike through a creek bed and is impassible in high water. Interesting sights along the way include a Lover's Leap, Sugar Creek, the sloping Steamboat Rock and a small waterfall, the Maidenhair Falls. The best hike in the park.
Trail 10 is probably the easiest in the park leads through forest to the Pine Hill Nature Preserve.