- Prophetstown State Park Alerts (2)
- WRONG DIRECTIONS: Many mapping services (including Google Maps, MapQuest, and Apple Maps) provide incorrect driving directions to the park. Use Exit 178/S.R. 43 north of Lafayette to access the park. Do not use S.R. 225. There is no park entrance, and the road has a one-lane bridge with a weight restriction.
- STATE ROAD 225 BRIDGE CLOSURE: There is NO access from old S.R. 25 onto S.R. 225. The S.R. 225 bridge is closed until further notice. Repairs are scheduled to start in 2024. Access to the park’s visitor center ONLY off of S.R. 225 (through Battle Ground) remains open. There is NO access to enter the park off of S.R. 225.
- Activities
- Shelters (reservations)
- Hiking trails
- Accessible Scenic Viewpoints
- Bicycle trail
- Camping
- Interpretive Naturalist Services
Aquatic Center
- The Aquatic Center is open Memorial Day-Labor Day. Starting in mid-August, the Aquatic Center will close Monday-Friday and open on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Hours: 11 a.m.- 7 p.m.
- Cost: $5 per person, those ages three and younger are free.
- Rules
Camping
- Full hook-up: 55 sites
- Electric: 55 sites
- Dumping station
- Full hookup & electric map
- Reservations
This property is a stop on the
- Trails
Parts of Trails 3 and 4 occasionally flood. Use caution and do not cross flooded areas. Do not walk "off-trail" around flooded areas because there are many wetlands. If you encounter flooding, turn around. For up-to-date information about trail status, contact the park office. For trail locations, view the property map.
Trail 1 EASY (2.25 miles) - Starts at the Meadow View family picnic parking lot and winds through a former Christmas tree plantation of Douglas Fir and then snakes its way through tallgrass prairie, adjacent to the Prairie View group picnic area, with big bluestem, Indian grass, little bluestem, side oats grama, and black-eyed Susan. The trail continues into a fen and meanders through this marshy area, where you may get your feet wet, before entering a field being invaded by osage orange, wild cherry, mulberry, and multiflora rose. The trail ends at the Meadow View family picnic area parking lot.
Trail 2 MODERATE (1.9 miles) - Begins on Trail 1, north of the Blazingstar picnic shelter in the Prairie View group picnic area. The trail meanders through the tallgrass prairie before entering a shaded path along scenic Harrison Creek. Spring and summer wildflowers treat hikers to a stunning display of color as the trail winds through a mixed deciduous forest, past a pond formed by Harrison Creek, and into the fen. The trail continues through a mature sycamore grove before merging with Trail 1 at the fen boardwalk north of the campground.
Trail 3 MODERATE (3.5 miles) - Begins off of trail 2 near the east end of the pond and follows a gravel road eventually leading to the confluence of the Wabash and Tippecanoe Rivers where the trail becomes a dirt path. Before reaching the rivers while walking through a large, floodplain prairie, a visitor will observe large wetland restoration projects, a large bottomland forest replacement tree planting, and a riverbank stabilization project along the Wabash River that was a joint effort between the DNR and INDOT. The trail will then lead along the Tippecanoe River, cross a bottomland prairie, and will lead hikers to a contour trail providing stunning overlooks of perched fens formed by many hillside seeps. The trail will end near the starting point of the trail just uphill from the north end of the pond. Note, this trail will be closed during flood events.
Trail 4 EASY (2.1 miles) - Begins at trail 3 near the Tippecanoe River and meanders through a heavily shaded floodplain forest following the river until entering into a floodplain prairie. The trail will lead hikers to the furthest northern boundary of the park where it will return upon the same path back to trail 3. Note, this trail will be closed during flood events.
BIKE / HIKING TRAIL EASY (3.5 miles) - This initial paved section starts near the park gatehouse and connects all the current facilities at the state park. The trailhead parking lot can accommodate 20 vehicles. The Meadow View family picnic parking lot serves as another trailhead, providing a modern restroom, water, and picnic shelter. Details about this and other accessible trails.
PLEASE STAY ON MARKED TRAILS.
- History
The park is named after a Native American village located between the rivers. It was established by Tecumseh, who was Shawnee, and his brother Tenskwatawa (The Prophet) in 1808. Tecumseh led his band there from Ohio, where pressure from white settlers had forced him to leave. Tecumseh believed the only way to repel the advance of European settlement was to form an alliance with other tribes. He traveled widely persuading tribes to join his coalition. More than 14 tribes set aside centuries-old disputes to stop their common enemy. They met at Prophetstown and heard The Prophet speak. Tecumseh anticipated their sheer numbers would be enough to stop the westward settlement.
William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana Territory, was alarmed by the numbers at Prophetstown and moved 1,200 troops to the site while Tecumseh was south gathering additional support. Wanting to avoid a fight, yet fearing an attack, The Prophet decided to strike first in the early morning hours of Nov. 7, 1811. The battle lasted two hours. As darkness faded, the villagers withdrew through the marsh back to Prophetstown, then fled to Wildcat Creek. Harrison's men burned Prophetstown to the ground
