Southern Indiana Backroad Adventure Tour
The SIN BAT may be the easiest BAT to travel in the current list, but it also hosts the most interesting and varied destinations, showing awesome feats of past engineering and architecture, and the beautiful hardwood forests Southern Indiana is known for. Limestone gravel roads account for 70% of the surfaces you’ll be riding on, and the paved sections will be twisty and enjoyable. And don’t be fooled – there will still be challenging sections and many creek crossings for the more adventurous riders. Check out the highlights, and recommendations for food and lodging below.
Total Main Route Distance: 1,015 Miles
Time to Complete: 4-5 Days
Terrain: 70% Gravel, 25% Pavement, 5% Dirt
Challenges: Many creek crossings, Moderate-to-Advanced hill climbs, Limited muddy sections
Start / End Accommodations
Your Indiana Adventure will start and end at the home of the BAT. You’ll be able to camp your first and last nights of the BAT at the property of Backer The Biker himself, creator of BAT Tracks. We call the property the Backer Half Hundred Acres, as it started out as a 50 acre plot. There is minimal room to camp in your truck or with your small trailer or RV, or plenty of space for you and your friends to set up a tent. For a little more comfort, you can rent Backer The Biker’s Moto Camper, a home-built toy-hauler conversion, with refrigerator, heater, TV, Microwave and Camp Stove. Parking accommodations are also available, while you ride the SIN BAT. Reserve your spot below:
Day 1 Track Info
Highlights
Lunch: Leavenworth General Store, Lucas Oil Golf Course, Schwartz’s Family Restaurant
Dinner: Sinclair’s Restaurant $$$$, The Power Plant $$, 33 Brick Street $$
Lodging: West Baden Springs Resort $$$$, French Lick Springs Hotel $$$, Best Western $$
Camping: Patoka Lake Campground, Martin State Forest, Sleeping Bear Retreat
Must-See: Saint Meinrad Archabbey, Shoe Tree, Ferdinand Forest Fire Tower, West Baden Springs Resort
Details
Upon leaving Backer The Biker’s property, you’ll wind along the limestone gravel backroads of Perry County and the Hoosier National Forest, south toward the Ohio River. This will be the most desolate section of the SIN BAT, passing through very few small towns along the way. Grab a sandwich at the Derby General Store, and enjoy the views from the high cliffs along the Ohio River. Take the Out & Back to pay your respect for the 10 civil war soldiers who lost their lives when the boiler on thier ship exploded on the Ohio River in 1865.
The Amish-Style General Store in Leavenworth makes a good lunch stop, or hold out for the restuarant at Lucas Oil Golf Course, or a hefty, homemade meal at Schwartz’s Amish Family Restaurant. Bring an old pair of shoes to throw in the Shoe Tree, and bring your hiking shoes to climb the Ferdinand Forest Fire Tower for a great view of the area. There will be a lot of gravel, and several unmaintained dirt roads on the Day 1 Track. You’ll ride through several tunnels under train tracks, and many old steel and even wooden bridges. If the water is up, you’ll find a challenging water crossing or two, and some of the dirt farm roads will turn into a slick, treacherous clay with any rain. Most days though, there will be nothing too challenging along the Day 1 Track.
You’ll end your day in one of the most interesting small towns in Indiana. French Lick and West Baden are home to two incredible early-20th century hotels – major feats of engineering in their time. The West Baden Hotel features a 200 foot free-standing dome, the largest in the world for the first half of the century. We highly encourage you to stay in the West Baden Springs resort, if you have the pocket for it. Read more here.
Day 2 Track Info
Highlights
Lunch: Bo-Mac’s Drive In, RJ’s Food Mart, Spring Mill Inn
Dinner: Hobnob Corner $$, Trolly’s BBQ $, The Nashville House $$, Anywhere in Nashville will be good
Lodging: Brown County Inn, Quality Inn, The Seasons Lodge, Robinwood Inn, Nashville KOA
Camping: Brown County State Park, Yellowwood State Forest, Nashville KOA
Must See: Hindostan Falls, Spring Mill Pioneer Village, Big Tunnel, Story Indiana
Details
The 2nd day of SIN BAT will take you between two of the most interesting towns of Southern Indiana. You’ll start your day in the amazing and historic French Lick / West Baden area, and end in the artist’s village of Nashville – not the music capital in Tennessee, but Little Nashville, IN. Starting the day from French Lick, you’re in the heart of the Hoosier National Forest, surrounded by Hill Country. You’ll make your way north to Shoals first – be sure to stop at Hindostan Falls and ride out on the rock shelf to the falls! It’s an excellent photo opportunity, a cool place to take a quick break, and the 2nd Challenge Checkpoint on the SIN BAT. You can also find the famed Jug Rock just outside of Shoals.
North of Shoals, you’ll ride through the Commune of Padanaram. This community has an ominous past, but is peacefully occupied today. From there you’ll head back east, passing by Spring Mill. Take the out & back to Spring Mill, to see the recreation of this 19th century Pioneer Industrial Village, with an active Grist Mill and Saw Mill, powered by the spring, via aqueduct. It’s an impressive display of a bygone time.
Next on the Day 2 Track is Tunnelton’s Big Tunnel. It’s a 1,731 foot long train tunnel built in the mid-1800’s and still used today, which you can walk up to (or through if you’re brave enough). Just north of Tunnelton, you’ll find the first advanced section of the SIN BAT. An old county road runs through a sometimes-deep creek crossing, then immediately makes a steep climb up a hill, topped with a small rock step that can be very challenging to navigate. Many a side cover has been busted on the rocks of this fun little county road. Are you up to the challenge?
If you survive the hill climb and rock step, you’ll next be headed north through the Charles C. Deam Wilderness Area, then further north to your final destination for the day – Nashville, IN. Stop and take some time in Nashville. It’s a tourist destination, but they’ve kept it grass-roots. Many little shops to stop in and check out, along with some very good food.
Day 3 Track Info
Highlights
Lunch: Cataract Lake Lodge, Mansfield Village Bar & Grill, The Ranch
Dinner: Thirty Six Saloon $$, Turkey Run Inn $$$, Benjamin’s Fam Restaurant $$
Lodging: Turkey Run Inn, Royal Inn Rockville, Covered Bridge Motel
Camping: Turkey Run State Park, Raccoon Lake SRA, Rockville Lake Park
Must See: All the Covered Bridges, Indiana University, Turkey Run State Park
Details
Day 3 of the SIN BAT begins with a bit of pavement. It’s fun, twisty pavement, but this part of Indiana is wealthy and developed, so very few rock roads remain. The track will take you out of Nashville, and north of Bloomington. If you’re an IU fan, it’s worth an excursion into town to see the school, and the stadium where Bobby Knight once coached and threw chairs. The riding mellows out in the first part of this track, but there are some very cool things to see. Yellowwood Lake Overflow, the Lake Lemon Viaduct, and Cataract Falls.
You’ll be getting into Covered Bridge Country on the 2nd half of this day’s ride. Parke County is the Covered Bridge Capital of the World, with 31 historic covered bridges still standing. The Day 3 & 4 BAT Tracks will take you across and alongside many of these amazing vintage wooden structures! Along with the bridges are many restored mills, dams, and other critical buildings of our pioneer past. If you’re into racing history and abandoned structures, check out Jungle Park Speedway – a particularly dangerous racing course in its day.
You’ll reach Turkey Run State Park and the northern-most section of the SIN BAT. Coming back south along the Wabash River, you’ll find some fun but potentially challenging sandy and muddy sections of road. Ultimately, the track will take you to Rockville, and Billie Creek Village to end the day. Check out Thirty Six Saloon for a motorcycle-centric spot for dinner and a drink. Perhaps centered on a different kind of motorcycling, but they’ll be accepting. You can get a motel room in Rockville, but we would recommend a 15 minute ride to camp or lodge at Turkey Run State Park – perhaps the most beautiful state park in Indiana.
Day 4 Track Info
Highlights
Lunch: Yoho General Store, Crossroads 46 Diner, Chambers Restaurant
Dinner: Ashley and Brothers Salvadoran Restaurant $$, Mason’s Root Beer Drive-In $, Bobe’s Pizza $$, Knepp’s Amish Kountry Korner $$
Lodging: Holiday Inn Express, Black Oak Motel, Baymont Inn
Camping: Glendale SRA, West Boggs Park
Must See: Bridgeton Covered Bridge & Mill, The Tulip Trestle, Yoho General Store, The Draglines at Peabody Mine, Big Gas Well Pump
Details
Day 4 will begin your trip back south. You’re beyond halfway here.. You’ll cross a few more covered bridges, including perhaps the best one yet – Bridgeton Bridge, with a really great old Mill and big dam across Big Raccoon Creek. It’s an impressive sight. Bridgeton is also home to the annual Covered Bridge Festival. Cross a couple creek crossings and ride through a few tunnels under the train lines, and you’ll be on your way through the Day 4 tracks.
You could grab lunch in Spencer, but if you can hold out a bit longer, we highly recommend eating at the Yoho General Store in Solsbury. This little old general store will take you back in time, and the staff making your food there are second to none. Just a few miles down the road from Yoho’s, you’ll find one of the most impressive engineering accomplishments on the SIN BAT. The Tulip Trestle is the longest railroad viaduct in Indiana at 2,295 feet long (over a half mile) and 157 feet tall. It’s an active rail line, so hang out and watch for a train to pass over.
From one big steel engineering feat to another – you’ll soon come upon two massive draglines near Dugger, IN at Peabody’s Wild Boar Coal Mine. You may need to do some searching and re-routing to find the draglines, as they’re constantly moving and changing the layout of the local roads and topography. The first Dragline is called Old Glory, built in 1975 & 76, weighing in at 13,000,000 pounds and swinging a 300′ boom. It carries a 300 cubic yard bucket capable of lifting 275 tons. These really are miraculous machines, and nowhere can you get any closer to them in operation than you can right here in Indiana. For more details, read up on pages 2 & 3 of this old Backer Adventure Tour.
You will ride and continue through mining country for awhile, and likely have a chance to see spare dragline buckets and other massive mining equipment up close & personal. On the south side of the mines, you’ll find the only Expert Section of the SIN BAT. If you want to tackle this section of road, you’re going to need some good knobby tires and a high air intake. The water and mud are deep on this road, and we are yet to see someone successfully cross it on a bike. South of the mines, you’ll ride through some of Indaina’s watermelon farms, and encounter loose gravel as well as some sandy roads.
Day 4 will end in Washington, Indiana. There won’t be many camping options in this area, so plan to grab a hotel unless you want to ride some slab to a campground.
Day 5 Track Info
Highlights
Lunch: Mom’s Diner, Double D Diner, Dick Clark’s Family Restaurant
Dinner: New Boston Tavern $$, Louie’s Tavern $$, Fleig’s Cafe $$
Lodging: The Moto Camper, Comfort Inn, Quality Inn
Camping: Backer Half Hundred Camping, Ferdinand State Forest, Indian & Celina Lakes SRA
Must See: Cannonball Bridge, George Rogers Clark Memorial, Indiana Military Museum, Big Kate
Details
Your final day on the SIN BAT will continue south, back to the Backer Half Hundred Acres. The terrain will be fairly flat through most of the day, returning to the hills in the last quarter. Despite the relatively flat terrain, there will be plenty to keep things exciting.
Shortly into the Day 5 Track, you’ll find a water crossing on Beaver Dam Road. This crossing is typically 3-4′ deep. It’s doable on a tall bike with a high air intake port, but be careful, and be aware you WILL get wet. Usually when we cross this water, we see carp jumping out of the water around us.
The track leads you into and through the small city of Vincennes, Indiana. Vincennes is the oldest continually inhabited settlement in Indiana, founded in 1732 by French fur traders. It is one of the oldest settlements west of the Appalachians, and has various monuments to its rich history. Take the out & back track in Vincennes to check out their impressive Indiana Military Museum. Leaving Vincennes, you’ll briefly cross into Illinois. Prepare yourself for the coolest part of the SIN BAT – Cannonball Bridge. This bridge started life as a railroad bridge, was abandoned in 1965, then bought by a local farmer in 1970 who converted it for vehicular traffic and opened it as a toll bridge. Its a very long wooden deck bridge, perhaps a bit scary but fun to cross on a bike, and will bring you back into Indiana to continue the BAT.
Further south, you’ll enter another massive area of coal mining, along with another operational drag line – this one being called Big Kate. Big Kate is unique for having 2 operator’s cabs. Get here quick though – rumor has it Big Kate is in danger of meeting the fate of most other draglines before her. The cutting torch. These big machines simply require too much maintenance to compete with the efficiency of modern earth moving equipment, and they’re slowly being lost to history. Be sure to also check out the Museum of the Coal Industry outside of Lynnville to see how other coal mining technology has progressed over the years.
After leaving the Lynnville coal mines, it’s a short trip to the end point of the route. You will come to one more challenging section of road, which can have deep water and mud depending on the rain that has been recieved lately, and when maintenance on the road was last performed. Use caution on County Road 1475 N near Little Pigeon Creek! Also consider taking the out & back to Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, if you have an interest in the younger years of Abraham Lincoln’s life.
Be sure to check in with Backer The Biker upon completing your trip! He would love to hear how your ride went, and recieve any feedback you may have! Thanks for traveling along with us here!
– Backer The Biker
