It’s a beautiful time of year to start looking beyond the city to find places to adventure and explore. You can find one such destination about 90 minutes west of the city at Brown County and Shades State Parks. Both parks stand beside Sugar Creek, which rushes through them, exposing the gorge system and sandstone bedrock. There’s no better time to visit this weekend: Brown County’s nature center has a special weekend of discovery in store.
On 10 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, visitors get the chance to join park staff in a bird feeding program, putting out feeders and spreading food on the rocks for local fowl to enjoy. On Saturday only, at 10:45 a.m., experience a hands-on activity – with live snakes! “We’ll show you some of the native snakes in Indiana, and give you a chance to see what some of them feel like,” said a park representative.
Make sure to reserve a seat for the planetarium star show at 2 p.m. Saturday or Sunday, as well. Lights are turned off, and you can learn to find your way around the real night sky. 8 p.m. Saturday night, there’s also a night hike at Shades State Park (about a 15 minute drive from Turkey Run). Experience nature up close; hunt for frogs, tadpoles, and more. 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, come see an underground adventures show to learn all about animals that live below earth’s surface. It’s a promising weekend of fun for the whole family to enjoy.
Turkey Run State Park is Indiana’s second state park. Purchased in 1916, it now encompasses over 2,000 acres. The exposed bedrock in the park is Mansfield sandstone, named for the city of Mansfield, Indiana. Turkey Run also holds the Colonel Richard Lieber Cabin, in memory of the Indiana state park system’s patriarch.
