Spring Mill Inn Spring Mill State Park

I've been coming here since I was young, so one star is added in for the nostalgia factor.

My family has been coming here for years, as not only is it convenient to get to surrounding towns, but also offers a beautiful surrounding with great accommodations.

The staff at the hotel try to make it a very friendly place, though that may just come with the Southern Indiana hospitality. But nobody in the hotel, including guests, is against saying "Hi" and having a conversation.

The restaurant within the hotel is a somewhat hidden gem that isn't something that's usually found in other state parks. But, for what you get for the price, it's understood on why even locals come in for a meal. It's not the typical overcooked, cafeteria style garbage, but some pretty darn good fare! And the buffet is a heck of a deal, and the staff keeps the food fresh.

Wow! For an Indiana state park inn this is as good as it gets.

Stopped in on a weekday lunch for an incredible $8.49 buffet with our daughter, age 6 free. Wonderful fried chicken and multiple pies in the offering. Its not a health nut's dream but a delicious lunch in a very pretty setting.

My hiking club, the Indianapolis Hiking Club, does an annual weekend 'retreat' here in March.  Since I am training for a half marathon and needed to get my Saturday morning training run in, I opted to come down here to Southern Indiana for the Saturday afternoon hike with 3 of my hiking friends.

This weekend was dedicated to a long time IHC member who had recently passed away and to celebrate his widow's 96 birthday which is Monday.

After a 3 hour drive -- in the rain -- to Spring Mill State Park, we arrived about an hour before the afternoon hike.  One of the members who was staying at the Inn graciously allowed us to use her room as our 'staging' area to keep our hiking stuff.

We finished our leisurely, sometimes rainy, 6 mile hike in about 2.5 hours.  Spring Mill State Park is absolutely gorgeous and very well maintained.  This was my first trip to the park and made me ever so grateful that these parks exist for our hiking pleasure and to enjoy being in nature no matter what kind of weather we are experiencing.  "We ain't afraid of no stinkin' rain!"  say IHC members who hike in all kinds of weather...which is a good thing since winter can last a long time.  I have to admit, I prefer to hike in snow rather than rain, but it is what it is :-)

After the hike, we went back to our hiking friend's room and had a great time talking and laughing and 'cleaning' up for the evening's buffet dinner.  Our group -- 63 opted to stay for the dinner - had the Lakeview Room and the food was surprisingly very good for a buffet.  We topped the dinner off with a video taken over the years of past hikes and birthday cake to celebrate the 96 year 'young' Nell's birthday.  We then drove the 3 hours back to Indy rain-free.

My goal this year is to try and visit all of Indiana's State Parks and really get my annual pass money's worth :-)

I'll be back to Spring Mill -- I'm betting it is gorgeous in the other seasons!