Lake Maxinhall & Nickel Plate Trail

8 mi · ▲ 53 ft · 2 hr 42 min

Lake Maxinhall & Nickel Plate Trail is an 8-mile out-and-back near Dawnbury, IN. The route reaches Lake Maxinhall. It is mostly level, with 53 ft of elevation gain, and mostly paved. It scores 0/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.

Elevation

0 mi751 – 817 ft8.2 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 39.85265, -86.11591
Nearest town Dawnbury, IN

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Lake Maxinhall & Nickel Plate Trail

8 mi · ▲ 53 ft · 2 hr 42 min

Elevation 753–817 ft

Out & Back

Trailhead: 39.85265, -86.11591

Weather Sep 20: Light drizzle, high 85°F / low 65° · precip 33% · wind 12 mph · sunrise 7:31 AM · sunset 7:47 PM

Transit-accessible: stop 571 m from the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading E.
  2. 50 ftPass Lake Maxinhall.
  3. 50 ftTurn left onto Nickel Plate Trail, heading NE.
  4. 1.4 miTurn left, heading N.
  5. 2.6 miReach Lake Maxinhall, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  6. 2.5 miTurn left, heading W.
  7. 400 ftSharp left, heading W.
  8. 1.4 miTurn right, heading SW.
  9. 50 ftArrive back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Trail surface

99% paved1% unspecified

Weather

Light drizzleTemperature 85°F65°
Precip33%Wind12 mphUV6Humidity92%
Hourly temperatureRain chance
85°65° 12 AM: 20% rain1 AM: 21% rain2 AM: 10% rain3 AM: 11% rain4 AM: 8% rain5 AM: 4% rain6 AM: 4% rain7 AM: 6% rain8 AM: 4% rain9 AM: 1% rain10 AM: 1% rain11 AM: 1% rain12 PM: 2% rain1 PM: 2% rain2 PM: 4% rain3 PM: 4% rain4 PM: 5% rain5 PM: 15% rain6 PM: 29% rain7 PM: 25% rain8 PM: 33% rain9 PM: 30% rain10 PM: 24% rain11 PM: 19% rain
Sunrise 7:31 AM12 AM3 AM12 PM3 PMSunset 7:47 PM
Mon 64°58° 32%
Tue 64°56°
Wed 61°58°
Thu 68°58°
Fri 70°56°
Sat 69°53°

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 1.3 mi in (~33 min). Leave by 6:54 PM for the 7:47 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:34 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.

More sunset hikes nearby

Good to know

  • Transit-accessible: stop 571 m from the trailhead
  • Parking lot at the trailhead