The mining left ridges. Steep spoil banks, deep ravines, and climbs you won’t find in a flat forest park, all of it reclaimed and turned over to off-road riders. Redbird State Recreation Area sits on 1,400 acres of former surface and underground coal mine north of Dugger, the first state-owned off-road park in Indiana. The land that coal companies dug out turned into the kind of terrain you’d build on purpose if you were starting an off-road park from scratch.
About fifty miles of professionally marked trail run the property, graded from gentle beginner loops near the staging area to technical climbs that test a driver and a machine both. Four of them are eligible for Jeep’s Badge of Honor. Dirt bikes, four-wheelers, side-by-sides, and full-size rigs are all welcome. There are quiet corners too: fishing lakes, hiking, and spring mushrooming for anyone who wants time off the throttle.
A DOT-approved helmet is required, except in vehicles with a fully enclosed cab or roll-bar protection. Indiana machines need to be registered or street-legal; out-of-state riders can buy an annual trail-use permit at the gate. Everyone checks in and pays at the gatehouse, by daily pass or annual permit. Trails are open sunrise to sunset, seven days a week, weather permitting, so check conditions at the gate after a hard rain.
Redbird is at 15470 W. County Road 350 N. in Dugger, north off State Road 54. The same Annual Off-Road Trail-Use Permit also rides at Interlake, the sister park about two hours south in Pike and Warrick counties, where close to a hundred miles of trail wind past seventeen lakes. That one is worth its own day rather than a detour off a Redbird trip.
