Turkey Run State Park

Turkey Run is a great state park close to Champaign-​Urbana. There is a lodge, cabins, gift shop, restaurant, and campground. The only down side is the price. It’s in Indiana so that means you pay the «not-​from-​Indiana» fee, plus the park entrance fee. The entrance fee is per car so if you have a friend with Indiana plates pile as many people as you can in his/​her car and save a few bucks. Coming from Illinois were none of the state parks have entrance fees, I’m a bit put off by Indiana’s entrance fee structure.
My review is of the hiking trail.
My group and I hiked the trails in early March. It’s not a well-​defined, one-​path trail, but rather a network of smaller trails you can hop between to add or remove challenges. We crossed a large pedestrian suspension bridge, trekked through mud and slide down ice-​covered stone steps. I highly suggest wearing waterproof boots with a good tread, and bringing a second pair of socks and shoes to change into when you’re done. What I found most fascinating about this short hike was the changes from shoreline, to forest, to covered bridges, to canyons. Yea, canyons, honest to god canyons! Large portions of the trail follow a stream of water so be prepared to get your feet wet if you’re not wearing proper shoes.
If you’re daring, you can try to ascend the WPA-​style ladders (though they’re obviously made more recently). Our accession was made all the more challenging (and dangerous) because the rocky ledge between the ladders was covered in wet ice that made it quite easy to slide over the edge and fall the 15 or so feet on to the rocky canyon floor.
The trail would earn more stars if it was longer or free. It’s a super-​fun time and a good change of pace from other trails closer to home. I would recommend it for a romantic weekend with your mate or an afternoon out with the guys. If you avoid the ladders and ice-​covered stairs (which is easy) it’s pretty kid-​friendly too.
It’s about a 90 minute drive from Champaign and the trail takes 2 – 3 hours.