Turkey Run State Park

Indianapolis

Turkey Run State Park, Indiana's second state park, is in Parke County in the west-central part of the state along State Road 47, 2 miles east of U.S. 41. The first parcel of land was purchased for $40,200 in 1916, when Indiana's state park system was established during the state's centennial anniversary of its statehood. The origin of the name "Turkey Run" is unknown, but the most accepted theory is that wild turkeys would congregate for warmth in the gorges, where early settlers could easily trap and hunt them. The Lusk Home and Mill Site and the Richard Lieber Log Cabin within the park's grounds were included as individual sites on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and 2001, respectively. The park itself was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. Turkey Run also includes a system of trails, Rocky Hollow Falls Canyon Nature Preserve, a suspension bridge across Sugar Creek, camping sites and other recreational areas. The Turkey Run Inn was built in 1919. Several guest cabins near the inn date from the 1930s and 1940s.