Wayne County. Our own reading at its map point gives 1,249. The low point is 320 feet on the Ohio River in Posey County, footnoted to the Corps of Engineers
Open two weekdays and two Saturdays a month in season, on a permit, after a safety briefing and a signed acknowledgment of danger
Training for Indiana conditions
The skills that pay here are mud driving, self-recovery on a narrow gravel road, and reading a Motor Vehicle Use Map correctly. Indiana has no rock to learn on and does not need it; the mistakes that end trips are a soft shoulder and a road you were not allowed on.
Riders have a formal route too. The state points off-road vehicle operators to its own safety handbook and online course, and Redbird requires a full-size vehicle operator to be at least sixteen with a valid driver’s licence.
Training is the cheapest upgrade there is. It costs less than a bumper, weighs nothing, and works on every vehicle you will ever own.
Common courses
01Driving: line choice, throttle and brake control, airing down, spotting
02Recovery: safe rigging, winching and kinetic recovery
03Field repair: tires, fluids, electrical faults and improvised fixes
04Navigation and communication
05Wilderness first aid
How to choose a course
Small classes and real terrain.
01Ask about class size and how much time you spend driving rather than watching.
02Ask whether you train in your own vehicle. You should.
03Ask about the instructors' certification and how long they have been teaching.
04Ask what terrain the course uses, and what to bring.
Why it is worth it
A trained driver breaks less, gets stuck less and recovers more safely. Most vehicle damage on the trail comes from speed and poor line choice, and most recovery injuries come from rigging that someone guessed at.
Questions people ask
I have driven dirt roads for years. Is a course worth it?
Most experienced drivers say the recovery day alone was worth it. Rigging a winch pull safely is not something to work out for the first time when you are stuck.
Do I need a built vehicle to attend?
No. Most introductory courses are designed for stock four-wheel-drive vehicles, and learning what a stock vehicle can do is the point.
How high is Indiana?
From Tell City at 421 feet to Hoosier Hill at 1,257.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
RichmondOn the Historic National Road, the nearest city to Hoosier Hill979 ft
BloomingtonThe base for Monroe Lake, Tower Ridge Road and the Deam Wilderness770 ft
BedfordWhere the Hoosier National Forest keeps its supervisor’s office684 ft
ChestertonThe main approach to Indiana Dunes and its state park640 ft
PaoliOrange County services for Youngs Creek and Springs Valley625 ft
BrownstownJackson-Washington State Forest, Skyline Drive and the Knobstone Trail623 ft
Michigan CityEast end of the national park shoreline, on US 12620 ft
MartinsvilleNorth gateway to Morgan-Monroe State Forest and its back country area605 ft
NashvilleBrown County services beside Yellowwood State Forest596 ft
CorydonHarrison County, at the edge of Harrison-Crawford State Forest590 ft
LintonThe town by Redbird, one of two state off-road areas536 ft
EnglishCrawford County, between the Hoosier’s sandstone cliffs and the Ohio River byway507 ft
MadisonOhio River services on the byway east of the forest491 ft
JasperFull services in Dubois County before Patoka Lake and Ferdinand State Forest468 ft
LynnvilleThe town by Interlake, the larger state off-road area463 ft
Tell CityOhio River town at the south end of the Hoosier, near the Tell City ranger district421 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Hoosier HillThe highest point in Indiana, on farm ground in Wayne County. Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point gives 1,249 feet1,257 ft
Weed Patch HillOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in the Brown County hills1,055 ft
PinnacleOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in the Jackson County knobs954 ft
PinnacleSkyline Drive, Jackson-Washington State Forest954 ft
Nebo RidgeOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, on the ridge the Hoosier’s 8.6 mile trail follows921 ft
Hickory RidgeOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, on the ridge above the Deam Wilderness horse trails908 ft
Hickory RidgeTower Ridge Road: Indiana 446 south of Bloomington to the Deam Wilderness trailheads and the lookout tower908 ft
Low GapOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, at the gap that names the road along Morgan-Monroe’s back country area782 ft
Low GapMorgan-Monroe State Forest roads782 ft
German RidgeOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in the Perry County hills above the Ohio781 ft
Hardin RidgeOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, above Monroe Lake781 ft
German RidgeGerman Ridge Recreation Area road: Indiana 37 south to Indiana 70, then east less than a mile to the signed turn781 ft
Hardin RidgeHardin Ridge Road off Indiana 446: Indiana 446 south of Bloomington by Chapel Hill Road to Monroe Lake781 ft
Mount HoldenOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, one of the named dunes at Indiana Dunes State Park758 ft
Mount TomOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point. The state says its dunes tower nearly 200 feet above Lake Michigan751 ft
Mount TomIndiana Dunes State Park roads751 ft
Mount JacksonOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, the third of the named dunes at the state park742 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
