I’ve been wanting to write a blog exclusively about Ferrettie/Baugo Creek County Park in Osceola, Indiana for a while. For our area of Indiana, it is really a hidden gem to me. When I moved out to Indiana 10 years ago, I was looking for a place I could hike locally and I didn’t realize this place was literally in my back yard. It looked like a small park on the North West side of Lincoln Way and Ash Road so I didn’t think much of it at the time but after visiting and finding out the park actually extends south of Lincoln Way, I was impressed.

The main trail that takes you through the entire park is called the Portage Trail, It is 1.1 miles with an additional .1 mile loop at the end. About a quarter mile along the trail you walk under an old railroad bridge, it is a pretty active line and you are bound to see a freight train passing overhead. A half mile into your hike you will cross the creek along a bridge, it’s actually surprising to see in the middle of the woods (See pictures below). As you continue on the trail it branches off and you can take the Palisades Trail (.08 miles). If you continue along the Portage trail about 3/4 of a mile in, you can take a detour and take the Trumpline Loop Trail, the backend of the Trumpline can sometimes be underwater when the creek is running high. What makes this hike nice is the fact that most of the Portage and Trumpline Loop follows Baugo Creek, Baugo is short for Baubaugo which is an Indian word meaning “Devil Water” or “Devil River”. It does tend to run high and fast especially after snow melt or a heavy rain. Along with those trails are some cross trails and a “service road” that runs around the outside of the property. Today for instance, I hiked about 5 miles mapping it all out but I would say a normal hike inside the park can be about 3 miles. The map I made using my GPS is pretty accurate, there were two spots in which I lost my GPS signal. There are some off trails that will show some excellent close looks at the Creek as displayed in my pictures below.

The park itself offers two picnic areas, three picnic shelters and a main shelter at Baugo Station where you can hold an event. During the winter they have a tubing hill and in the past I have also rented snow shoes. They have Frisbee Golf, a playground for the kids, they have a Canoe launch but I don’t believe they rent them any more. They also allow fishing at Lake Osceola. Last summer I brought my kayak in and took off from the Canoe launch. The Creek will take you out to Baugo Bay which is more or less an outlet to the St Joseph river. The park hosts events throughout the year, definitely something to keep in mind if you plan to visit. The parks website is: http://www.sjcparks.org/baugo.html

Here are some pictures from today:

 

 

 

 

 

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