FORT WAYNE — For hikers who want a ready-made test at one of Indiana’s most popular state parks, Pokagon State Park’s Hell’s Point Challenge has become a go-to proving ground — a roughly 8-mile loop that asks visitors to earn their finish the old-fashioned way: on foot, with a camera and a lot of stamina.
The Hell’s Point Challenge strings together multiple trails into a single loop and includes a climb to Hell’s Point, the park’s best-known overlook. Route maps are available at the park’s nature center, and hikers complete the challenge by photographing a set list of waypoints along the route and showing those photos to staff at the end.
Finishers receive a small souvenir for completing the challenge.
The loop typically takes hikers several hours, depending on pace and trail conditions.
This month, Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources highlighted one participant — Fort Wayne native Steve Weaver — in a write-up about the challenge and the community that has grown around it. The agency described Weaver, 75, as a regular on the trails and credited him with helping other visitors navigate the route.
Pokagon State Park is located near Angola in Steuben County.
