Indiana's Best Scenic Overlooks

Indiana's overlooks are concentrated in the southern hill country, the Ohio River bluffs, and the Lake Michigan dune crests.

Hesitation Point (Brown County SP)
The finest overlook in Indiana — from the 820-foot sandstone ridge above Nashville, the view across the Brown County hill country is extraordinary in October. The name "Hesitation Point" comes from the hesitation travelers felt when they first glimpsed the landscape below — an unexpectedly wild terrain in a flat state. The overlook is accessible by a 3-mile hike from the Abe Martin Lodge.

Indiana Dunes: Dune Crest Views
From the top of Mount Tom (192 ft) in Indiana Dunes State Park — the view north across Lake Michigan, east along the Indiana dune coast, and west toward Chicago's skyline (visible 50+ miles away on clear days) is Indiana's most dramatic natural overlook. The juxtaposition of steel mills and dunes visible from the crest is unique.

Clifty Falls: Ohio River Overlook
From the canyon rim at Clifty Falls State Park above Madison — the Ohio River, 300 feet below, curves through the valley with Kentucky's hills across the water. The Kentucky hills are the highest terrain visible from the Indiana side, making this Indiana's finest river overlook.

Mounds State Park (Anderson)
The Great Mound (Indiana's finest preserved prehistoric earthwork — an 1,100-foot circumference Adena-Hopewell circular earthwork) at Mounds State Park. Not an overlook in the conventional sense, but the scale of the earthwork visible from inside the ring is impressive.

Prophetstown State Park Prairie Overlook (Battle Ground)
Adjacent to the Tippecanoe Battlefield (where William Henry Harrison defeated Tecumseh's confederacy in 1811) — Prophetstown SP's restored tallgrass prairie gives views across a landscape approaching what Indiana looked like before European settlement.