Hike the Devil's Punch Bowl
Waveland, Indiana
Details
Distance
1.5 miles
Elevation Gain
320 ft
Route Type
Loop
Description
Added by Dan Barr
Western Indiana is home to a series of parks home to deep sandstone canyons and ravines, and one of the best places to experience these natural wonders in solitude is Shades State Park and the loop around the Devil's Punch Bowl.
Starting at the central parking lot near the pond, follow the signs for Trail 1, which will take you down through a set of steps and boardwalks to the bottom of a steep canyon. From there, simply follow the canyon downstream.
The canyon trail terminates at Silver Cascade Falls, a unique convex waterfall that flows over a series of siltstone before dropping to the river valley floor below. From the waterfall overlook, backtrack less than 0.1 mile to a series of stairs that climbs up out of the canyon atop a forested plateau with fantastic views of Sugar Creek below from Inspiration and Prospect Points. From there, simply follow Trail 1 back to the pond trailhead.
The trails within the canyons in Shades State Park follow the streambed for the majority of the hike, so be prepared with appropriate footwear. YakTrax/Microspikes in the wintertime are almost required, as ice is still present even when temperatures are are in the 50s within the shady ravines.
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Hike the Devil's Punch Bowl Reviews
Quite enjoyed the shady atmosphere and The ravines. Some of the stairs were in need of maintenance or repair. We just went for a Day hike and completed the six ravine challenge took about 4 hours because we got lost and had to backtrack a couple of times. The trail maps are somewhat deceptive and not to scale and the trails could use a little bit more distinct marking other than that a really pretty example of a civilian conservation corps Park. Took a drive around the campground and it appeared to have lots of openings despite the sign saying campground full. Most spots were pleasant and shady looks like it would be a nice place to stay easy access to sugar Creek and through rest of the park. Camp store was very compact but well equipped and firewood was amply available on site. Especially liked trails 4 and 5 advise going down the easy way and up the rugged way as going up the ravine affords some really pretty views of the streams coming downhill there are ladders on these two hikes not very tall though.
4.0
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