For more than a half a century, visitors have celebrated the covered bridges of Parke County, Indiana which bills itself as the Covered Bridge Capitol of the Midwest, during their annual festival which runs for two weeks in October. And though the bridges are beautiful any time of the year, fall, with its brilliant jewel colors, is the perfect time to get a self guided tour map or take one of the shuttles to visit the 31 wooden covered bridges that date from 1856 to 1922.

The tour is divided into routes, each with its own color designation and matching signs make it easy to wander the winding country roads to find the bridges.

Some of the bridges can still be navigated by cars, others are now closed to traffic but all are open to walkers who can recapture the past as their footsteps echo on the wooden floors as the sounds of bubbling creeks pass underneath.
But the festival isn't only about the bridges, as wonderful as they are.