Collocations: Outdoors in Indiana 7: Salamonie State Park and Reservoir

I am writing this week’s article in my notebook, sitting at a picnic bench in the Salamonie State Forest. The Salamonie Lake is glistening before me in the afternoon sun, and I’m wishing I had brought a picnic.

The Salamonie State Forest and Reservoir are only about a 30 minute drive from campus, which makes me wonder why I haven’t been here sooner.

The forest is huge, and there are two separate boat docks; one is on the Salamonie River and one is here, on the Salamonie Lake. Within the last week I have kayaked on both. For what it is worth, I preferred kayaking on the river, although the lake has a better vista. It is a windy day today, and I must say that kayaking into the wind (or worse, perpendicular to it) was a rather… interesting experience.

There are two entrances into the forest, one on Lost Bridge Road off of 105 and one off of 524. The Lost Bridge area, where I am currently writing, offers camping, boating, hiking, areas for picnicking, and snowmobile trail for use in the winter months.

The picnicking area here is, without hyperbole, sublime. There are several picnic tables, spaced several hundred feet part, each with its own grill. Most of these tables are long the crest of a hill that overlooks the lake, but there is one below me that is directly on the lake’s shoreline; it is only accessible by going down to the boat launching area and walking southeast along the shore about 400 yards.

Yesterday, I visited the area of the forest that is accessible off of 524. There, you can find horseback riding trails as well as a primitive horseman’s camp, hiking trails, primitive and family camping, and (as previously mentioned) a boat ramp onto the Salamonie River.

As I drove into that area of the forest, I noticed a sign marking the entrance onto the “Three Falls Trail.” This trail is not mentioned in the Salamonie State Forest map and info brochure, and sounded intriguing, so I decided to hike it after my kayaking adventure.

Kayaking down the river was a peaceful and invigorating experience. The only sounds were the “Gluck! Gluck! Gluck!” of my paddle entering the water and the “Tschhuhhh” of the wind blowing through the trees. It was the warmest day in over a week, and I worked up a bit of a sweat before returning to the dock.

I did learn a very important lesson, however; if you plan to be boating down a river in a westerly direction, don’t plan on doing it while the sun is setting. The light that gleams beautifully when filtered through the trees can become a bit blinding when reflected off of a body of water.

After I got the kayak strapped back on to the hood of my car, I went to the trailhead of the Three Falls Trail. I hiked through a beautiful stretch of forest, with a lovely open clearing along the way, before I heard the water.

And, after a slight curve in the trail, I saw the falls. They were rushing and white and bubbly and musical, and I couldn’t help but smile. The trail at that point travels alongside a drop off of about 100 feet, the river with its occasional rushing falls flows below it.

It had rained the day before, and the ground was soft underneath my shoes. The wind was still playing with the leaves, and the surroundings could not have been more beautiful. It was by far the nicest hiking trail that I have ever found in Indiana thus far.

All of this, a mere 22 miles from campus! The world is right outside your door... let's go!