Fall Leaf Peeping and Covered Bridges in Southern Indiana
The last time I took a fall leaf peeping trip was with my daughters when we headed to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. That’s the weekend my son’s wife gave birth to their daughter Charlotte. This year, hubby and I are headed to southern Indiana to catch the Covered Bridges Festival in Parke County. From there, we’ll head further south to Brown County. If you’ve never visited southern Indiana, it’s worth a trip.
This trip will be my first time back to Parke and Brown counties since I was in grade school. My parents took me down there a couple of times for short family vacations in the fall. It’s slightly hilly and the fall colors are spectacular.
Parke County is on the way to our final destination so we’ll stop there first for the annual Covered Bridge Festival that runs for a couple of weeks every year in October. The festival celebrates 31 historic covered bridges in the county. Grab a map and you can see a few, or all of them.
The bridges were built in the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Each one is unique in its own way. I might have to go back in the summer to kayak down this river.
The slightly hilly, winding roads surrounded by autumn trees will make a great venue for leaf peeping. I checked the fall foliage prediction map to make sure we’d be visiting during peak autumn colors. It truly comes in handy.
In addition to seeing all the historic covered bridges, there’s 10 festival locations since the entire event is held throughout Parke County. My mouth is already watering for festival food.
After we leave Parke County, we’ll head to the Airbnb we rented in Bloomington, which is home to Indiana University and sort of in the middle of everything we want to see and do. This is one of the entrances to the university. I’ve always been a fan of college towns.
We’ll spend some time hiking trails at Brown County State Park located south of Indianapolis. And we’ll be sure to visit Nashville (Indiana, not Tennessee). These are all places I remember from my childhood. I’m anxious to see if they’re the same as I remember.
I do remember that Nashville is quite touristy, so we’ll stick more to places off the beaten path.
Do you have any fall leaf peeping adventures planned?
See More Fall Inspiration:
Autumn Hygge Ideas and Inspiration
Girls’ Fall Trip at a Cozy Lake Condo
Golden Autumn Days Table Setting
Thanks for sharing beautiful places I’ll never get to see.
Hi Susan! I’m always looking at travel articles and think that, if I never get to see places personally, at least I can imagine them in my mind when I see the photos and read about them. 🙂
I actually live in southern Indiana and the beauty is all around me. I hope you find that Nashville is the same as you remember it. Our little county has a couple of standing covered bridges left, neither of which is safe to cross but just seeing them still standing reminds me of when our children were small, we would take them over the many we had in the county and it was so exciting to them.
Hi Rebecca! You’re so lucky to live there. I also remember going to Turkey Run when I was younger. I went to college in Upland, Indiana, if you know where that is. It’s a pretty small town but has the most amazing milkshake place called Ivanhoe’s. I’m anxious to get back to southern Indiana next weekend. I’ll probably write a follow-up post about the trip.
Jennifer
We visited Brown County many years ago and Turkey Run. Enjoyed the antique stores too. Looking forward to your post about your trip. We are headed to Sault Ste Marie in a few days. I’m sure we missed their peak in color, but expect it to be beautiful but cold nonetheless!
I remember a small town while visiting the Parke county covered bridge festival years ago called Bainbridge..I think. It was the town with the old store in the center. To me it was the best part. I bought an old wooden door that was hanging on the stores ceiling. I’d like to go back as it was such a fun and beautiful day…Oh and the kettlecorn!
Always wanted to visit Bloomington. I’ve been told they have wonderful quaint food cafes and eateries.
Wish I could take off and do some hiking about now. Enjoy Jennifer and please post some photos!
Thanks for sharing that would be a great place to visit, I love old covered bridges.
Oh my, Jennifer! This is probably my favorite post you have ever had. All those shots of those beautiful bridges with the fall colors are spectacular. Can’t make it to Indiana, but seeing it through your eyes was quite a treat. Thank you.