Ferris Ridge Trail

For me, part of the joy of running is exploring interesting terrain that can't be well explored any other way.  I've now made two visits to a relatively unused ridge trail off of TC Steele Road (accessed from SR 46) that is just south of the TC Steele State Memorial.

This is an out and back trail but can be used as a connector to McGowan Road along the north fork of Lake Monroe with a little of bit of effort to get through heavy undergrowth and brush.  The key landmark to look for as the end of the "somewhat groomed" portion of the trail is a huge grove of very tall pine trees near Lake Monroe that can also easy be spotted on Google satellite view near the North Fork Wildlife Refuge.

This is part of the Yellowwood Forest and really doesn't have any other name that I could find other than Ferris Ridge as it is identified on a topographical map.  The trailhead is pretty inconspicuous but there is just enough room to park off the side of the road without blocking the entrance.

Trailhead (from my early spring visit)

As I ran into the trail this past Sunday, I noticed the grassy trail was a little trickier to run on than the early spring when there was less ground cover.  This ground cover combined with sticks, etc. scattered below it create a somewhat tricky run.  This probably wouldn't be my top recommendation right now for people who trip frequently.


The ground cover was actually volatile enough this time to snag one of the tiny square holes in the forefoot of the MT110s and create a giant hole.  If I didn't like this trail so much I would have been pretty irritated at the ruination of my favorite trail shoe.

Despite this setback, I cemented my opinion that this trail is awesome for a few reasons.  First, there doesn't seem to ever be anyone on it.  Second, the gradual roll along the ridge is useful if looking for a nice easy trail run that still isn't totally flat.  Third, after almost three miles in where the grove of pine trees marking the end of the groomed (sort of) trail appears there seems to be a hotspot of wildlife activity.

Landmark: The clearing with pine trees behind the front layer of trees

So far in only two trips (one last week, one in January) back here I have:

• Seen several deer stand and look at me and then run around the ridge
• Observed and stalked a wild turkey from the trail down into a valley
• Had a coyote trot out of the woods right in front of me, stand and look at me and then trot off again
• Had an odd and silent encounter with a large rather mean looking opossum

I'd like to get faster at getting my camera out to film but I did manage to capture this footage below of this opossum when I came out in January.

This last visit, I also found out that the connection to McGowan road from the "pine tree" area isn't too difficult to navigate.  This is especially useful since this will be a key piece of the almost entirely off road route I plan to use to run from Bloomington connecting to the Tecumseh trail and then through Brown County State Park to the Trail's End restaurant (near Stone Head).  This won't be until I'm ready for a longer point to point run.   So, not just yet.