Fall Road Trips Our 10-Stop Program Guaranteed to Put You on Road to Autumn Bliss

By RICH DAVIS, Courier & Press staff writer 464-7516 or davisr@courierpress.com

A tank of gas or less will let you cruise for color during a fall road trip. Here are 10 of our favorite leaf-peeping places in Southern Indiana, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky.

Garden of the Gods Wilderness Area: Amazing sandstone formations such as Camel Rock – considered “the image” of Southern Illinois – are 320 million years old. The camel’s head seems to stand guard over the hollows and hills of Shawnee National Forest. A quarter- mile-long flagstone observation trail follows the high cliffs and a Pharoah campground has a dozen campsites, tables, fire grills, drinking water etc.

Nearby Cave-in-Rock, where Illinois 1 ends, has a free Ohio River ferry boat and famous cave, plus a bluff-top dining lodge.

Take Indiana 62 to the Wabash River (it becomes Illinois 141), continue west to Illinois 1, then go south for 30 miles, watching for Karber’s Ridge/Garden of the Gods tourism signs.

Leavenworth, Ind., 70 miles east of Evansville via Interstate 64, has one of the area’s grandest views of the Ohio River. From a high bluff at the Overlook restaurant, sit in a rocking chair on the deck or eat a down-home meal next to a window. To the east is Harrison- Crawford State Forest and Wyandotte Caves.

Bernheim Research Forest & Arboretum: Ever heard of a tree canopy walk? Imagine a long pier 75 feet above the forest floor, giving you a treetop view of hilly “knobs” across 14,000 acres of oak, beech, maple, dogwood, black gum and other colorful trees. Bernheim, 25 miles south of Louisville, Ky., off Interstate 65, includes 12,000 acres of native woods, 35 miles of hiking paths, 2,000 acres of picnic area and a 250-acre arboretum. This nonprofit attraction (a gift from a whiskey baron) is free weekdays, $5 per car weekends.

The canopy “is a pretty unique perspective, one that people don’t get very often,” says Bernheim spokesman Barbara Hurt. Coming the afternoons of Oct. 20 and 21 is Colorfest, with hayrides, music and food. Call (502) 955-8512.

Parke County, Ind.: You can span time in and around Rockville, Ind., about 21/2 hours north of Evansville on U.S. 41. This covered bridge mecca features 30 spans built from 1856 to 1920. They’re the focus of the annual Parke County Covered Bridge Festival Oct. 12- 21. Drive the routes yourself or take a bus. Stop at Bridgeton, one of the few places in America that combine all three elements (bridge, mill and water dam). Call (765) 569-5226.

Story, Ind.: Here’s the story on this Brown County hamlet (1851) on the edge of the Hoosier National Forest. It doesn’t have a mayor, sheriff or town council. In fact, horses, cats, dogs and idiosyncrasies outnumber residents. But each April 1, the six townspeople and patrons of the Story Inn (restaurant, bar and bed and breakfast) elect a village idiot. This year’s title went to a woman who dropped her cell phone in water four times in one year and forgot to buy a concert ticket before flying to Vegas to see Prince.

Attorney/Indianapolis preservationist Rick Hofstetter, 51, bought the town at a sheriff’s sale in 1999. Today, the inn is known for its fine accommodations and “Hoosier cuisine.” It banned hydrogenated oils four years before New York City, and practically every menu item is home-grown, from biscuits and apple butter to the pancake syrup. Dinners get a little pricey.

On Oct. 7, there will be a Mozart Festival with chamber ensembles from Indiana University. Call (800) 881-1183.

Brown County: Just 15 miles north of Story via Indiana 135 is the artists colony of Nashville, the hub of Brown County tourism that draws hordes of Midwest leaf peepers. There’s a state park and more than 100 shops and galleries.

Kentucky’s obelisk: In tiny Fairview, Ky., on Highway 68E northeast of Hopkinsville is the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site, home to a smaller version (351 feet tall) of the Washington Monument. Ride an elevator to an observation room or tour a visitors center to learn about the local boy who became president of the Confederate States. Call (270) 889-6100.

The fire tower at Lincoln State Park provides a 360-degree picture of autumn, if you don’t mind huffing and puffing up 100 steps. While such towers are disappearing from the landscape, this one is particularly sturdy. The park near Gentryville, Ind., is about 40 miles east of Evansville in Spencer County. The rooftop or “cab” of the early 1930s tower is visible from the park beach. A mile-long hiking trail around the lake leads to the tower hill inside the woods.

Whistle stop: Never ridden a train, especially one robbed by Wild West bandits? In French Lick, Ind., 90 minutes northeast of Evansville, the French Lick Scenic Railway has excursions at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. EDT on Saturdays and Sundays and 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays (through October). That includes Wild West holdups today and again Oct. 20 and 21.

The two-hour trip using diesel locomotives goes through 20 miles of Hoosier National Forest, including the 2,200-foot Burden Tunnel; $12 adults, $6 ages 3-11. Call (800) 748-7246.

Illustration by

MARK COOMER

(c) 2007 Evansville Courier & Press. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.