IA to IN / Kickapoo State Recreation Area
Driving from Iowa to Indiana | Hiking on the Herbert Hoover State Trail, West Branch, IA | Hiking & Camping in Kickapoo State Recreation Area | Visiting George Rogers Clark National Historic Site, Vincennes, IN | Camping in Hoosier National Forest | July 2026
After spending several months based in the greater Midwest (besides our Portugal trip, of course), it was time to head back to the East coast for the start of Curtis’ next season of work. We were starting out with a little less than a week to drive from Iowa to North Carolina. We ended up delaying our departure by a day because it was unbearably hot across the entire Midwest, and waiting a day would allow the temps to drop enough to be a little more comfortable in the van. After a few errands, preparations, and packing, we were finally off!
On our first day, we planned to drive to the IL/IN state border. Since we’ve finished Illinois counties, we took the most direct route, following I-80 to I-74. For our first stop, we drove to the Herbert Hoover trailhead North of West Branch, picking up the trail where we had left off last spring. It felt so good to finally be outside and not feel like we were going to melt away in the heat! We followed the trail a little over 2 miles to Oasis Road before turning around. We saw a few others out on the trail, but were mostly alone, enjoying each other’s company and the serene surroundings of Iowa farmland. That is, until we were nearing the end and heard the sound of a small plane, and started to smell chemicals, and started to wonder how much exposure one needs to get sick from a crop duster… We hurried back to the van after that, pulling our shirts over our mouth and nose to limit exposure. With that, we were ready to get out of Iowa!
We drove across Illinois without stopping until we reached Kickapoo Recreation Area near the border. When we arrived, Curtis’ brother called, so we talked to him on the phone for a while, hung out in the van and decompressed after the drive. Then we set out to explore some trails in the park. Curtis attempted a letterbox and we had a couple of overlooks over the Vermillion River, but it was mostly just a nice walk in the woods.
We considered camping here, but in order to obtain a site you had to set up an online account, not to pay or reserve, just so they had your information, and we were a little put off by that. We instead thought about going to a rest area to sleep instead, until by chance, we realized that our front two tires were balding and needed to be replaced as soon as possible. We decided to play it safe and just stay here — we had to make the online account, but at least the site was only $10 for the night. The campground host recommended a local tire shop in town, and Curtis made an appointment for the first thing the next morning.
The next day, we drove right over to the tire shop in Danville, and after about an hour of working and hanging out at the shop, we were good to go. The price was also much better than the last time we got new tires from a nationwide chain, so we were very thankful that this experience had been easier and less expensive than we had expected! With that, we were ready to cross into Indiana and start getting some new counties. We entered the state on I-74, then went South on US-41 all the way to Vincennes.
In Vincennes, we navigated to George Rogers Clark National Historic Park. We had visited here 5 years ago, but that day we had arrived right before closing and were limited on what we could do. Today, we took our time in the visitor center, watched the film, and got our cancellation stamps, including the 250 stamps. After that, Curtis had a meeting, so he did that in the van while I went for a walk around the park and on the riverwalk. We had lunch at a picnic table, where a couple of neighbor cats stared us down and made us feel guilty for not sharing.
When we were finished here, we got back on the road, claiming a few new counties as we jogged our way Southeast. After a couple more hours of driving, we exited I-64 at Hoosier National Forest to find a place to stay for the night. We had thought about returning to Buzzard’s Roost campground, one we had enjoyed a few years ago, but instead found a closer dispersed spot that didn’t offer the same views or trails, but at least we’d be able to get back on the road quicker in the morning. It was good to be back on the road, even better that we were getting closer to the mountains and the weather was getting better each day!
