Location: West of I-65 at the Seymour (US 50) exit. Take US 50 to Brownstown, then south on SR 39; the Forest Information Center is on the left.
Description: Not Visited. 15,329 acres, possibly in two disconnected parcels. The northern end of the Knobstone Trail is located here at Spurgeon Hollow; the area around the hollow is also the backcountry area of the forest and open to backpackers. The landscape centers around the "knobs", or rugged hills that the glaciers that steamrolled northern Indiana never touched. Heavily forested and little visited much of the year. There are several lakes in the park. The Indian Bitters Nature Preserve is located in the southern, Washington County part of the forest, but there are no trails to it; aside from the Knobstone, there are no trails at all in the washington County portion. To get to the nature preserve, look for information signs going north from Salem on SR 135, or use the State Forest Map to track it down. (Hopefully I'll be able to get a better description of this after visiting). There is a "skyline drive" through the northern portion (which is more developed, with trails as well as campground, shelters, etc.) that is supposed to be very pretty but on a rather tricky road climbing up and down through the knobs.
Nearby Points of Interest: Spring Mill State Park to the west; Hoosier National Forest to the north; Muscatatuck National Wildlife REfuge to the east; Clark State Forest to the South.
Cautions: Sounds pretty rugged. Take them hiking boots. Hunting seasons for deer, squirrel, grouse and, in Jackson County only, turkey.
Facilities: Primitive camping, 2,544 acre backcountry area, backpacking trail.