A beautiful fall day means an adventure. Today we traveled about an hour southwest of Fort Wayne to Peru, IN. Because we traveled a bit of a distance we visited two places – Lost Sister Trail and Seven Pillars Nature Preserve. Both were fantastic places to hike in the woods and well worth the travel time.
We started our adventure by exploring the Lost Sister Trail which winds around in the woods and along part of the Mississinewa River. It’s a typical hike in the woods with a dirt trail and some bridges and wood platforms. Although there is a main trail with markers, we found it easy to get off trail on side trails. In several areas the trail crosses a road, which we found less enjoyable than just hiking in the woods.
At one point we found a shelter that was in disrepair and an area to get close to the water. There wasn’t much shoreline for us to walk on, but Sunny was still able to put her toes in the water.
After exploring the river and the shelter we headed back on the trail toward the car. We ended up taking a different route that had some steep inclines with steps. Eventually we crossed the road again and found our way back to the parking lot.
Although we did not walk the entire trail we hiked for just under 2.5M. According to All Trails the Lost Sister Trail loop is about 2M so we added some extra mileage by taking some of the side trails. There are numbered trail markers which we used to find our way back to the parking lot and should have used to keep on the main trail.
Our Rating
Sunny and I rate Lost Sister Trail 3 out of 4 paws up. It’s a lovely hike in the woods, but we found it difficult to follow the trail. Although there are trail markers it’s easy to go off the trail and we did that several times. We enjoyed the views of the lake and being able to get down to the water. Having restrooms near the parking lot and access to a park with picnic tables was an added bonus.
How do I get there?
From I-69 take exit #278 toward Huntington then turn right onto 5 North. Follow 5 for about 1.5M then turn left onto 124 West and continue for 26 miles. Turn left onto S 675 E and continue for 1.2 mile before turning right onto E 380 S/Mississinewa Dam Road. After about 0.1 mile turn left and then right into the parking lot. There is a building to the right which is the restroom and the entrance to the trail is straight ahead just past the sign.
