While Indiana doesn’t have many long distance hikes. The main three include The Tecumseh, The Knobstone (KT) and what we are talking about today, The Adventure Hiking Trail (AHT).
The AHT is located in southern Indiana going through O’bannon State Park and Harrison-Crawford State Forest. Depending on where you park to start your hike will depend on the mileage. If you park on the northern part of the trail at the Rendezvous Point your hike will be roughly 25 miles. If you park inside O’bannon State Park your hike will be around 21 miles. We chose to park inside O’bannon State Park.
Navigation
Please be aware that some reroutes may be in progress. We were rerouted from seeing the iron bridge and was unaware of it. While we downloaded a map on All Trails the map was outdated and did not have the reroutes on it. We were still able to navigate properly as the trail is pretty well marked with green and white blazes.
When you are at the O’bannon State Park gatehouse ask for the AHT map. This is a fantastic color-coded map that will help you navigate between stops while showing mileage between each shelter/landmark. Always have a hard copy map along with online GPS navigation.
Water Drops
While this hike might seem like only 20+ miles don’t be fooled into thinking you’ll be fine on water. We hiked this trail after two days of rain and the stream crossings were still mostly bone dry with stagnant water in random spots. Caching water is the most popular way to have a reliable water source. We placed water caches at the road crossings below.
- Pioneer Shelter
- Cold Friday Road
- Old Forest Road
- 462 Crossing ( while we did not cache here its another option)
Shelters
There are plenty of shelters and one primitive site along the way to stop at to camp. These shelters are mainly located in the southern section along the Ohio River. From mid-spring to mid-fall the river is blocked by leaves from the trees so the view is a little obstructed. The Shelters offer lots of room and trees so if you are wanting to sleep in the shelter, your tent, or a hammock there are plenty of options and space for a good amount of people.
The Trail
According to All Trails, this trail is listed as Hard. There are lots of steep inclines and declines. Including a part of the trail known as the saddle. Unless you are in good shape you will want to pace yourself and take frequent breaks.
Day 1:
As stated above we parked inside O’bannon State Park to start the trail. Once you get to the gatehouse you will register ( Free of Charge) you and/or your party and car that you will be out on the trail. This is more for emergencies. (Note the gatehouse opens at 8 am).
We started this trail in mid-May 2022 and while we got an early morning start it got humid very quickly. Once we got to the first water cache (pioneer shelter) we knew it was going to be slow going with the inclines and declines. While we didn’t need this water cache it’s better to have it than not. If you start the trail at the Rendezvous Point this will be a great place to have a water cache.
A few miles after our first water cache we came to our first shelter. The Ohio River Shelter. This was a beautiful shelter with a door and windows thats open and close. While we took a short break here I was a little bummed we were not camping here for the night. After checking out the area and taking a break we headed back onto the trail. With a boosted confidence, it’s amazing what a little break can do for the mind. That spirit was quickly taken away by more declines followed by steep inclines.
We approched what is called the saddle. An up and down section know to be pretty strenuous. Now the first incline of the saddle wasn’t too terrible, but the second part was very strenuous and felt like it was just vertical. Luckily enough with some research we had a water cache shortly after the saddle at Cold Friday Road. While here we took a much needed break and rehydrated and filled up our water bottles and bladders.
After our break we had less than 2 miles until we would reach our shelter for the night The Chimney Shelter. While we were excited to reach our shelter, we were greeted with more uphill hiking. More of a gradual incline, but still incline to say the least. The worst part of this stretch was how bad the ticks were. We were pulling 2-4 off every 100 yards it felt like. Once we used (Off – Deep Woods Spray) it seemed to help until you would sweat or rub it off.
At last we reached the shelter we would be camping at. The Chimney Shelter is a smaller type of shelter, but lots of room for multiple tents and a few hammock spots. Due to the strong wind gusts, we decided to hunker down in the shelter for the night. We enjoyed some food and a small fire at the provided fire ring. All shelters have picnic tables as well which is extremely convenient. We were a little upset we packed our camp chairs as they felt like wasted weight.
Day 2.
As morning came we enjoyed some coffee and energy bars as we were not very hungry. Our main focus was to get packed up and start the trail early to get as many miles in before the humidity would set in. That soon was short-lived, we started feeling the humid air within an hour of hiking. While the breeze felt amazing it reminded us of how sweaty we were from the humidity. Our water was getting low and we still had a few miles to go before our last water cache.
In each shelter we came across we took our packs off and rested while trying to ration our water. This is a good idea to have Salt Sticks. No water is needed, but you are replenishing electrolytes without mixing them with water.
We finally reached the last shelter on our stretch. The Indian Creek shelter. This was another great shelter. Smaller then the Ohio Shelter, but was still really nice with a lot of room for accommodation . We took the most time resting at the shelter, enjoying the breeze and eating another energy bar. From here we only had 3 miles left to reach our water cache. We each had a liter of water to get us to that next resting spot. Luckily this stretch was relativly flat and down hill for us, until we reached the last quarter mile which of course was all uphill.
Once we reached this water cache we had half a liter bottle of water between the two of us. Not the worst, but a little too close for my comfort level. Once at old Forest Road we once again rested and enjoyed the breeze and rehydrating ourselves and our empty bottles and bladders. We had some cell service and seen that a storm was approaching us. We quickly packed up and put our rain pack covers on our backpacks and quickly got back on the trail to try and beat the storm.
We tried to move quickly but were slowed down by you guessed it, more uphill. By this time the humidity was at its worst. We were covered in sweat and felt like we could not move fast enough. My wife’s watch and phone died which was our main navigation. I had a little juice left on my phone and we had the hard copy map to use. I had a power bank but didn’t want to waste time digging in my bag as we were trying to finish up before the storm. Then out of nowhere, we felt a big gust of wind and the sky darkened. The rain was about to hit us. We thought we were going to be able to get back to the car before the rain came. We were wrong! The rain came heavy and it came hard. While my wife threw on a poncho, I decided that I was already wet from sweat and we were so close to the car anyway, I just let the rain cool me off. The rain honestly felt good compared to the constant sweating all day.
Finally reaching the car, the rain was heavy and we didn’t want to drive so we found a shelter in O’bannon State Park next to a pond overlook and enjoyed our post-meal snacks and relaxed in our wet clothes with the rain falling off the shelter. This was probably our favorite part of the adventure.
This trail threw everything at us including a thunderstorm to send us away wet. I underestimated this trail as we had to earn each mile with loads of inclines and declines. Wet and very slippery sections made it slow-moving. Always be prepared and always plan for the unexpected. Happy Hiking!
For more information and questions on the Adventure Hiking Trail, you can contact the O’bannon State Park office. Phone: (812) 738-8232 They gave us lots of information before we made the trip which made it easier to plan our hike.
