New to backpacking

Ok so i have never been back packing before Buti love being in the outdoors and hiking. I call myself an adventurous and love to do new things. I like camping "exploring" new land and seeing new sights. So i figured well backpacking is pretty much a mix of everything plus alittle more. So what I am here for is to learn alittle more. Right now i wont be doing any crazy over night backpacking when its cold but would like to get pointers before the spring gets here. What i would like to do is find places within a close distance to my area where i can travel and backpack on a weekend and be home to work on mondays. Are there any people from indiana that have ideas of places that i could go. Thanks for the time guys and any information. I would type more because theres plenty more to type but boss man has walked by a few times and don't wanna get in trouble

I have never been to Indiana and thus cannot offer any personal or specific information about places close to you. However there is bound to be a lot of information out there, so do a quick Google search, call into your bookstore, REI or other outfitter and there you will find lots of maps, guidebooks and probably a lot of first hand experience of your area. Another option is to look on meet-up websites like meetup.com and see what camping/hiking/backpacking groups are in your area-- not only will this be helpful for locations, but it will give you people to head out into the backcountry with and people who can offer their experience.

I am sure someone with first-hand experience will be a long shortly to offer better information than myself.

Lafayette, huh? Head pretty much due south to Crawfordsville - a bit southwest of Crawfordsville (15-20 miles) is a state park called Shades State Park. It's got some incredibly beautiful terrain, with trails running along the bottom of some ravines down to Sugar Creek. There is some moderate elevation gain and loss. The public campground is Class B - most people tent-camp - no Chinese Lanterns and big RVs here (they go a few more miles to Turkey Run State Park, which is a resort park.) Best of all: about 2 miles out, accessible only by foot, is a backpacking campground. It is on a bluff above Sugar Creek, and has a water faucet and nice privy. It's a great place to practice backpacking technique and get comfortable with your gear, without having to go full-bore dealing with water purification or waste disposal. (There are plenty of streams where you can practice water purification, though.) It's not crowded, and is one of my favorite places. It's safe (if your tent fails in the rain, or it turns unexpectedly cold, an hour's walk from the backpack camp gets you back to your car) - I used to bring Scouts here for their first overnight backpack. But it still feels "wild" - I remember lying in my tent one night in the backpack camp, listening to a pack of coyotes a mile or two off to the west, and getting a shiver down my spine when another pack answered, about a mile to the east - and I sincerely hoped they didn't decide to come meet in the middle!

Send me a private mail with your email address, and I'll send you some trail maps and other information about the park.

Thanks for the responses guys. Shades state park is on my list of places to hit when the weather changes again. I have been to turkey run but it was when i was alot younger and with my parents. So that also is a place i would like to visit. I will be PMing you here shortly and i would really appreciate the maps.

Welcome. Your in good company here.