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Submission
The Charles C. Deam Wilderness offers 36 miles of trails for hiking, backpacking, and horse riding through scenic hardwood forest and varied terrain with views of nearby Monroe Lake. The area was designated a wilderness in 1982 and encompasses nearly 12,953 acres of the Hoosier National Forest. Wilderness designation places this area in a special legal status (subject to the 1964 Wilderness Act). It is managed to preserve a natural condition and provide opportunities for solitude. Since its designation as a wilderness, visitor use in the area increased to a point that significant damage was occurring. Special restrictions are in place to protect the wilderness character. Visitors to this special place are asked to follow these restrictions to lessen your impact and share responsibility in preserving this unique natural resource.
From east State Route 46 in Bloomington, take State Route 446 south to Tower Ridge Road. You will see a sign for the Charles C. Deam Wilderness and the Maumee Boy Scout Camp. This gravel road is after the lake and on the left as you are heading south. The Wilderness boundary begins just a few hundred feet down this road and continues for several miles.
Please get a map before visiting this area, as the boundaries are not clearly marked.
Fantastic trail for backpacking/hiking, well marked and moderately challenging. This is my second visit in last 2 years.
Day 1 - Parked our car at the watch tower and hiked 6 miles on Sycamore trail and camped at site# 6.
Day 2 - Hiked 9 miles on Terrill Ridge Trail and Axsom Branch trail to Monroe lake and camped at the lake.
Day 3 - Hiked 8 miles back on Axsom Branch trail.
My buddy and I met with six other campers and camped at the Grubb Ridge area. Nice trail network and decent camp sites. We had a pleasant drive in and the scenery is stunning.
We hiked the Grubb Ridge Trail and it was so peaceful, we felt like we had the Wilderness to ourselves! We only saw one other group of hikers all day, but a ton of geodes! After the hike we drove along Tower Ridge Rd and explored some of the side roads as well. We never encountered another vehicle until returning to the highway. I highly recommend hiking/visiting in January 🙂
Great trails and a beautiful place to see the changing colors of fall! It is so quiet and peaceful to hike and plenty of trails to choose from. There is also great camping spots that are free, first come first serve. The perfect place to escape for the weekend!
