A Visit to Brown County State Park - Indiana's "Little Smokies"

Brown County State Park Vista

A Visit to Brown County State Park

Brown County State Park - Indiana's "Little Smokies"

Lovely vistas, great hiking and horseback riding are just three reasons to visit Brown County State Park.  Near Nashville, Indiana this 15,000 state park has so much to offer it's impossible to take it all in on a one-day visit. That's okay, because if you wish to stay longer the park has an inn, a campground and housekeeping cabins.
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Stay the Night at Abe Martin Inn

Abe Martin Inn

The eighty-four room Abe Martin Lodge is the centerpiece of the park. The inn has a dining room, indoor water park and swimming pool as well as a recreation room and conference facilities. There is wireless internet service throughout the inn. There are also twenty-four motel type cabins near the inn.
Abe Martin Inn
1405 State Road 46 West
Nashville, IN 47448
(812) 988-4418








Indiana State Park Housekeeping Cabins
The park maintains twenty housekeeping cabins. These cabins provide comfortable accommodations for visitors to the park. These two bedroom cabins sleep eight people. Each has a living room, kitchen, bathroom, linens, dishware and cooking utensils.
Camping at Brown County State Park
The variety of camping facilities at the park includes:
Electric - 401 Class A sites
Non-Electric - 28 sites
Rally - 60 sites
Horsemen's Campground

Horsemen's Campground

Electric - 118 sites
Non-Electric- 86 sites
Youth Tent Areas
Class A sites have electricity and water connections. The campground has a camp store, flush toilets and hot water showers.  The campground is open year round. The Horseman camp has two sections, electric and non-electric. The 118 site electric section has extra large sites that accommodate horse trailers. There is a shower house and several pit toilets. The seventy-nine site primitive campground has pit toilets. There are no shower facilities or flush toilets in the primitive campground.
Horse Barn and Riding Trails
In addition to the horseman campground, Brown County State Park has a horse barn where park visitors may rent horses by the day or the hour. The park has over seventy miles of horse trails.
Hiking and Biking Trails
Hikers can enjoy ten trails totaling twelve miles of trails that rank from moderate to rugged. There are also two short, easy self-guided nature trails. Mountain bikers have twelve miles of trails weaving through the forested hills.
Picnic at the Park
The park has an abundance of picnicking possibilities. There are several shelters available for rent or casual use. There are picnic areas with restrooms and playgrounds throughout the park. Picnic tables occupy many of the secluded areas of the park, also.
Boating and Fishing
Anglers can fish in either of the parks two lakes and rowboats may use Ogle Lake.
Swimming at the Pool
Brown County State Park has an Olympic-size pool located near the north entrance, just off Indiana State Road 46.
Other Facilities at Brown County
Besides all this, the park has additional activities that include:
Tennis Courts
Open Fields
Playground Equipment
Brown County State Park Auto Tour
The six mile self guided auto tour at Brown County State Park provides an excellent way to spend a quiet summer afternoon. The park contains over twenty miles of paved road. In the southern portion of the park, visitors will find a self-guiding auto tour loop. During the summer months, Brown County State Park offers a self-guided auto tour of the park with cassette tape. Inquire at the Nature Center for the tape.
Ramp Creek Covered Bridge

Ramp Covered Bridge - Brown County State Park

Ramp Creek bridge is not on the auto tour, but it is at the north entrance of Brown county State Park and is the first thing visitors see as they enter the park. Ramp Creek is Indiana’s oldest covered bridge built in 1838 by Henry Wolf. It’s the only Double Tunnel Bridge in Indiana and one of four in the United States. The DNR moved it from Putnam County in 1932 from its location on Ramp Creek. It now crosses Salt Creek at Brown County State Park. It is a single span burr arch truss design. The bridge is 110 feet long, including 7 foot overhangs. The portal width of both lanes is eleven feet wide and twelve feet high.
The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The bridge is on the North Gate Entrance and all vehicles must go through it. Tall vehicles or cars with bikes on top may not make it through. If your vehicle will not clear, you will have to use the West Gate Entrance located west of Nashville on Highway 46.
Many consider Brown County State Park to be the premier state park in Indiana. With its varied activities, wonderful facilities and scenic vistas, who is to say that they are wrong? A visit to Indiana's "Little Smokies" is sure to delight everyone.
To contact the park for more information:
Mailing Address:
Brown County State Park 
P.O. Box 608
Nashville, IN 47448
(812) 988-6406

Nashville
Little Nashville Indiana is located in the scenic hills of south central Indiana at the intersection of Indiana State Roads 46 and 135. It is about a mile west of Brown County State Park. Nashville is the county seat of Brown County.
While not a large town, Little Nashville is chuck full of shops, restaurants and coffee houses making it a delightful place to visit. Most of the buildings are patterned after early American architecture. Some are apparently original log cabin structures, others are reproductions. It resembles Gatlinburg, Tennessee, only smaller.
The shops offer merchandise not found in the big box stores. Some of the offerings are handcrafted, made locally. A local winery maintains a shop in the village, as well as numerous antique and art galleries, candle and gift stores. To find them all, you must peruse every little alleyway and street, as the stores are tucked in every conceivable corner.
For more information about Nashville and Brown County, contact:
Brown County Convention & Visitors Bureau
P.O. Box 840
10 North Van Buren St.
Nashville, IN 47448
800.753.3255

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