This Amazing Hiking Trail In Indiana Takes You Through An Abandoned Train Tunnel
By Courtney Johnston|Published January 13, 2018
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Courtney Johnston
Author
Courtney's originally from the East Coast, but has found a charming new home in Indiana. She loves checking out local music, reading, and trying new food. She's also a little too addicted to coffee and has a Maine Coon cat she answers to.
Indiana is full of gorgeous hiking trails that are worth exploring any time of year. From the sandy dunes to scenic Brown County, Indiana’s state parks, forests, and nature preserves offer some of the best hiking spots in the Midwest. In fact, there’s even an amazing hiking trail in the southern part of the state that will take you through an abandoned train tunnel.
Clifty Falls State Park is a stunning state park located in Madison. This gorgeous state park is located along the Ohio River and contains lots of opportunities for hiking, camping, and family fun year round.
Clifty Falls has 10 hiking trails in total, and 6 of the trails are considered extremely rugged, due to climbing up and down canyons. You can also hike to Clifty Creek, where you'll find rocky creek beds littered with unique fossils. Though it's illegal to collect these historical artifacts, they're wonderful to behold.
Clifty Falls is well known for it's incredible waterfalls, which seemingly change their moods with the seasons. Wintertime and spring are considered the best times to explore the falls, in order to see stunning frozen falls or rushing, warm waters, depending on the weather.
One of the most exciting attractions in Clifty Falls is the old railroad tunnel that hikers can explore. Just follow Trail 5 (which is less than a mile) to the tunnel's entrance. This tunnel, known as Brough's Tunnel is a man made tunnel that was started in 1852, with hopes to become part of the railroad route between Madison and North Madison.
The tunnel is only open to the public between May and October, in order to protect hibernating bats from white-nose syndrome during the winter and spring. While you can't explore the tunnel for a few more months, you can still investigate around the canyon and plan out your route for the summertime.
Clifty Falls is easily the most unique state park in Indiana and well worth exploring its canyons, caves, creeks, waterfalls, and tunnels. You'll find this stunning park at 2221 Clifty Drive, Madison, IN 47250.
Be sure to add this abandoned railroad tunnel to your bucket list once the weather gets warm. In the meantime, go explore Clifty Fall’s frozen waterfalls before they start thawing!
For more great hikes in the Hoosier state, check out some of the best trails in the state.
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