Dispersed
Group
Tent Sites
Equestrian
Fires Allowed
Pets Allowed
Water Unknown
About Charles C. Deam Wilderness
The Charles C. Deam Wilderness offers 36 miles of trails for hiking, backpacking, and horse riding through scenic hardwood forest and varied terrain with views of nearby Monroe Lake. The area was designated a wilderness in 1982 and encompasses nearly 12,953 acres of the Hoosier National Forest. Wilderness designation places this area in a special legal status (subject to the 1964 Wilderness Act). It is managed to preserve a natural condition and provide opportunities for solitude.
Since its designation as a wilderness, visitor use in the area increased to a point that significant damage was occurring. Special restrictions are in place to protect the wilderness character. Visitors to this special place are asked to follow these restrictions to lessen your impact and share responsibility in preserving this unique natural resource.
Operator
USDA Forest Service
Access
Drive In
Walk In
Hike In
Boat In
Contact
Location
Charles C. Deam Wilderness is located in Indiana
Directions
From east State Route 46 in Bloomington, take State Route 446 south to Tower Ridge Road. You will see a sign for the Charles C. Deam Wilderness and the Maumee Boy Scout Camp. This gravel road is after the lake and on the left as you are heading south. The Wilderness boundary begins just a few hundred feet down this road and continues for several miles.
Please get a map before visiting this area, as the boundaries are not clearly marked.
5 Reviews of Charles C. Deam Wilderness
Beautiful Trails!
I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking to do some light backpacking for an overnight/weekend trip! Wonderful trails, dog friendly and nice places to camp off the trail. Can’t wait to go back!
Heads up! Refill your water when you come across it; the lake is harder to get to than you think. I would also bring bug spray and check for ticks!
A couple nights on the sycamore trail
Wonderful place. Excellent trail following a nice little stream along the one side. Being in a national forest dispersed camping is allowed if you follow leave no trace principals, but I stayed in a couple of the official sites. The official sites all had rock fire rings and bushcraft furniture.
The one negative was I did have to pack out previous campers trash along with my own. Being close to the college there was evidence that less than mature campers may frequent the area. That being said once on trail I didn’t see another soul past a couple hundred feet of the trail head and only heard a pair of hikers on the trail pass my camp site as I ate my breakfast the one morning.
A wonderful backpacking area!
A couple nights on the sycamore trail
Wonderful place. Excellent trail following a nice little stream along the one side. Being in a national forest dispersed camping is allowed if you follow leave no trace principals, but I stayed in a couple of the official sites. The official sites all had rock fire rings and bushcraft furniture.
The one negative was I did have to pack out previous campers trash along with my own. Being close to the college there was evidence that less than mature campers may frequent the area. That being said once on trail I didn’t see another soul past a couple hundred feet of the trail head and only heard a pair of hikers on the trail pass my camp site as I ate my breakfast the one morning.
A wonderful backpacking area!
Omg best camping for tent camping. Real hiking.
If you wanna have to hike to get to your destination. This is it. Real wilderness.
