MARSHALL, Indiana — An Indiana state park is again being honored as one of the nation's best.
The website TravelAwaits has named Turkey Run State Park as the seventh-best state park in the United States. The website, which is dedicated to travelers age 50 and older, featured the park in its list of "15 Best State Parks To Visit In The U.S.," part of it's annual "Best Of Travel Awards."
The website noted the picturesque hiking opportunities at the park, through the sandstone gorges carved by Sugar Creek. While hiking scenic trails, visitors to the park in Marshall, Indiana, can cross suspension bridges and wade through the creek while taking in the scenery all around them.
"With its unique geological features and diverse wildlife, Turkey Run State Park is a nature lover’s paradise in America’s heartland," the site wrote.
One of those hiking spots, Trail 3, was named "Best Hike" earlier this year by Midwest Living. That survey gave the trail top honors for the rock formations, waterfalls and glacial potholes hikers encounter on their journey, before using wooden ladders to climb out of the canyon.
Turkey Run State Park is about an hour and 15 minute drive from downtown Indianapolis. Along the way, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources recommends checking out Shades State Park in Waveland, which the department says has a similar landscape to Turkey Run but with smaller crowds.
Turkey Run was one of three parks in the Midwest to make the top 15, along with Missouri's Katy Trail State Park and Starved Rock State Park in Oglesby, Illinois.
You can take a closer look at all the trails at Turkey Run here and get a glimpse at other must-see spots throughout the Midwest here.
Other state parks making the TravelAwaits top 15 include:
1. Franconia Notch State Park in Lincoln, New Hampshire
2. Baxter State Park in Millinocket, Maine
3. Niagara Falls State Park in Niagara Falls, New York
4. Custer State Park in Custer County, South Dakota
5. Red Rock State Park in Sedona, Arizona
6. Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park in Monterey County, California
7. Turkey Run State Park in Marshall, Indiana
8. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in Navajo County, Arizona
9. Valley of Fire State Park in Clark County, Nevada
10. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Kane County, Utah
11. Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon Texas
12. Deception Pass State Park in Anacortes and Oak Harbor, Washington
13. Katy Trail State Park in Missouri
14. Bahia Honda State Park in Monroe County Florida
15. Starved Rock State Park in Oglesby, Illinois