Location: Northeast Indiana
Getting there: Googlemap from Fort Wayne to the park - It's very easy. Drive up I-69 to exit 154. Take two quick lefts and head into the park. You'll see the signs.
Hikes: Pokagon trails are well designed for circuit hikes. Park at the Potowanomi Inn inside the park. Pick up trail 3 at the back of the parking lot on the far left side. From there you can hike a circuit as short as two miles or as long as 7 1/2 miles (closer to 9 if you count the adjoining Beachwood Nature Preserve) with minimal backtracking and total avoidance of the campground area. If that's still not enough for you, take a break back at the inn, then go back to trail two past the campground to trails 5 and 1 to add five more miles to your hike, again ending at the inn. Here's a trail map in pdf format.
Photos are from early March this year. Obviously it's nicer when the sun is out and the trees have some leaves.
The Pub: Dark Horse Brewing Company
Location: Marshall, Michigan
Getting there: Pokagon state park to the brewpub - It's about a 40 minute drive straight up I-69.
Atmosphere: Dark Horse is a small brewpub that doesn't look like much on the outside, but is warm and friendly inside. As you can see below, the ceiling and part of the walls are absolutely covered with mug club mugs. I saw numbers on the mugs going up past 1300, a huge number of members for a pub in the small town of Marshall. During the evening hours it's an all ages place with everything from kids chomping on pizza to 20 somethings laughing it up to retired age folks enjoying a pint. Later of course the kids are gone.
The Beer: Quite simply, Dark Horse makes excellent beer. It's flavorful and unquestionably well made. I like many of their brews, but my favorites would have to be Scotty Karate Scotch Ale, Fore Smoked Stout, and Plead the Fifth Imperial Stout. If those brews aren't available, try one of their other stouts or quaff a Crooked Tree IPA, or give something else a try. It's hard to go wrong here. Just be aware that Dark Horse beers tend to range from moderately high to really high in alcohol content.
Overall: Dark Horse is a cozy brewpub with great beer. There's good reason this small town brewpub has so many mug club members. It's definitely worth a visit or ten. Plus if you really want to make a day out of brewpub visits, it's a short drive to Battle Creek where you'll find Arcadia Brewing and another thirty minute leg or so to Kalamazoo and the truly excellent Eccentric Cafe of Bell's Brewery. Just plan accordingly. Cheers!
The pub is on the left. Wacky's is the liquor store next door:
Taken from near the back of the pub so you can see most of it:
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