Indiana State Park Tour: Prophetstown

4 of 24 in my tour of Indiana’s State Parks

In the afternoon of Oct 25, 2024, I drove back to Indiana from Wisconsin. On my way home, I visited Prophetstown, the fourth Indiana State park on my 2-year tour of all 24. Admittedly, any park I visited during this colorful season was bound to be a favorite, but I’m extremely partial to Prophetstown’s prairies.

The smooth paved paths stretching east and west were decorated with scarecrows for their Halloween Trail that evening. Someone had dressed one up like Beetlejuice while the sequel played in dark distant theaters. As an a perpetual music-listener, bikers on trail often scares me off—and this Purdue-local park is bike-friendly. While hiking around the pond, I listened to “Black Balloon” Radio on Spotify. Something about its dark acoustic strums suits the crunch of autumn.

I drove the length of the park back to the historic 1920s historic farmhouse. The farm reminded me of my grandmother’s childhood home, complete with horses and a tire swing hanging in the front lawn. Unsure whether it was open as the afternoon turned to evening, I poked my head into through the front door. It even smelled like my Great Grandma G’s. The front room was set with tables and a farm-to-table menu for an evening fundraiser. I stayed just long enough to reminisce and capture the fleeting beauty of Prophetstown State Park’s Farm in fall.