When Lisa Anderson moved to Indiana from Colorado over 20 years ago, she was a bit underwhelmed by the local trails. An avid hiker – as well as a cyclist, mountain biker and member of the local chapter of Black Girls Do Bike – Anderson was eager to explore.

But her first hike at Eagle Creek Park fell short of expectations. 

“I was mad because I didn’t feel high – I didn’t have that Rocky Mountain high,” she said, laughing. Indiana’s humid climate didn’t help, either. “The air was too thick, it wasn’t thin enough,” she recalled thinking. 

Anderson also said she didn’t feel entirely safe because so few people were on the trails. The experience soured her initially, but Anderson, 53, who lives in the Meridian-Kessler area, sees things differently today. 

She also thinks more diverse people are using the trails. Generally, hikers of color find that’s been a slow progression locally and nationally, but Black women, in particular, have been actively changing that dynamic.

While Anderson doesn’t get the mountaintop thrill, “Indiana has its own unique features that I can appreciate,” she said. Many can be glimpsed on an abundance of wooded hikes that include the 1,300-acre Eagle Creek reservoir. 

With nearly 4,000 acres of woods, the park is dotted by ponds and cut through with ravines and creeks that feed into the main event. As one of the 10 largest municipal parks in the U.S., Eagle Creek sees more than 1 million hikers annually – so the problem now isn’t getting out in the woods with others, but finding solitude. 

The good news is that you’ve got options – you just have to know where to look. Below are a few off-the-beaten-path hikes you can enjoy, while still staying on the trail to preserve nature for everyone else.

1. Hiking “the far side” of Eagle Creek

You’ve not truly seen Eagle Creek until you’ve crossed to the far, west side of the reservoir, where big views of the park’s namesake reservoir await. It’s here that Fishback Creek snakes its way through woods and meadows in sweeping semi circles before joining Eagle Creek on the northwest side.

Access it: Take a nice, easy stroll along the north side of the creek from the Scott Starling Nature Sanctuary in Eagle Creek Park.  From the trailhead on Wilson Road, this is a roughly half-mile out-and-back. 

Ready for those big, up-high views? Take a connector trail, starting near the beginning of the above hike, to join a moderate-to-difficult 1.7-mile trail in the adjacent Eagle’s Crest Nature Preserve that, after passing by a white rental house atop a hill, continues to wind east through upland, hardwood forest of sugar maple, beech and oak trees, until you’re high above the loopy Fishback Creek where it empties into Eagle Creek. 

2. Follow the mountain bikers at Fort Ben

If you want to witness another prominent Indiana water feature from your own seemingly private leafy perch – depending on when you hike it – it’s hard to go wrong with the 1.1-mile Fall Creek Trail at Fort Harrison State Park.

“Fort Ben,” named after the former Indiana territory governor and 23rd president Benjamin Harrison, offers great, hideaway views of Fall Creek. 

But for a deeper dive into the northeast side’s rolling woods, check out the hiking trails shared with mountain bikers – as Anderson does. Don’t worry, they’re not overrun by tire treads. Just make sure to keep an eye out, and let any two-wheelers you encounter pass. 

Access it: Anderson suggests trying the four-mile Lawrence Creek loop trail, which weaves through 242 acres of that upland forest. Think classic, Midwest hardwoods like oak, hickory and maple, on a spaghetti – never-straight, rarely flat – trail over challenging steep, up-and-down terrain. 

“I can just be back there for hours,” she says. 

3. Head east from the Holliday Park everyone else knows

If you’ve done any hiking on Indy’s north side, you probably already know about Holliday Park. Follow the crowds and you’ll find a mall of green with massive playgrounds, stonework and a nature center. It’s the venue of choice for everything from outdoor weddings to some big-ish-name concerts. Even so, as all hikers know, when you hike away from the noise you can still find a few secrets.

At Holliday, you need only hike down the hillside, through the sun-dappled trees rising above the White River to a small snippet of quieter trail along the river and east of Meridian Street.

Access it: Take Trail #8 below the Meridian Street bridge, or park on the east side of the street, north of the river, and take a paved walk to Trail #8. The total distance is a mere one-quarter of a mile, but from there you can access more riverside trails.

4. Experience a beloved urban woods: Marott Woods

Williams Creek is a coveted place to put down roots for a reason. The name isn’t a mirage – like those “seaside” neighborhoods in the landlocked Midwest either – i.e. there’s a real creek here, it’s a beauty, and it slices through an equally picturesque wedge of urban woods, Marrott Woods Nature Preserve. (The name was recently changed from Marott Park, to reflect its true nature.) 

Planted on the city’s north side, it’s easy to drive right past this preserve en route to nearby Holliday Park, but its quiet splendor has endeared the woods to neighbors and everyone else who’s discovered it along the way.

Access it: Head straight into this quintessential urban woods via a 2.4-mile figure eight-double loop trail starting at the parking lot on 75th Street, between College Avenue and Westfield Boulevard. You’ll cover two sections of woods, flank Williams Creek, join the Monon Trail briefly to cross an oxbow of the White River, with nice 360-degree views, then dip back into the woods to escape from the bustle of the city once more.

5. & 6. Access the “-eastways”

Let’s face it. One reason many people pass on trails – especially dirt ones – is the physical challenge. Fortunately, in addition to multiuse trails made accessible to people who rely on mobility devices, many local trails are relatively flat and can be hiked by individuals of different levels of fitness. That includes Southeastway and Southwestway parks. 

Both are ideal for beginning hikers, according to Latrina Wagner, founder of the Indy-based Facebook group Black Women Hike. “They are small, kind of hidden, not a huge challenge to do, but still beautiful in their own right,” she said. 

Access them: For the real newbie, Wagner suggests checking out Southeastway, and go any direction your heart desires. 

“It’s relaxing, but it’s not challenging,” she said. “There’s this big open field right across from this cute little pond that has a bridge over it.” Ready to step it up a little? Try the 2.1-mile Southwestway Park Loop that skirts the Winding River Golf Course, and curves around to wooded views overlooking the White River. 

7. Escape the hustle and bustle – mostly – at Skiles Test Nature Park

Pro: You can get your fix for hiking on hilltops and in floodplains beneath the broad leaves of sycamores, buckeyes, oaks and other mighty hardwoods at this 81-acre retreat from industrial parks, busier residential areas and traffic that’s barely off the interstate. Con: You’re still within earshot of said interstate, 465, on the near northeast side.

Access it: Today, though it’s hard to get away from the roar – or din – of the traffic, depending on where you’re hiking, once you head up the trail from the trailhead on Fall Creek Road, you’ll be immersed in nature on a 2.2 mile loop. 

Businessman Skiles Test, who died in 1964, willed the land for the 81-acre park. It’s made for wandering – with lots of side trails to get lost – but not really – in the woods away from the stresses of modern life.

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