Parke County, Indiana has 31 historic covered bridges, according to the county's tourism site, which calls Parke County the "Covered Bridge Capital of the World." As many as 53 covered bridges once stood in the county. The Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, founded in 1957, starts on the second Friday in October and runs for ten days; in 2026 it ran October 9 to 18, with its headquarters on the courthouse lawn in Rockville.
This guide groups all 31 Parke County bridges, every one of them in our directory, into five driving loops by area. Each loop lists its bridges in a sensible order to drive them, with a map link for every stop. By our count, 21 of the 31 are open to cars. Every bridge here uses a Burr arch truss except Phillips, a kingpost. Where sources give them, lengths below include the roof overhangs at each end.
Quick facts
- Longest: West Union Covered Bridge, 315 ft in two spans over Sugar Creek, built in 1876. It was bypassed in 1964 and is closed to cars.
- Longest single span: Jackson Covered Bridge, whose 207 ft span over Sugar Creek is the longest single span of any covered bridge in Indiana. It was built in 1861.
- Oldest: Portland Mills Covered Bridge, built in 1856, is the county's oldest. Crooks Covered Bridge is dated 1856 or 1860. Portland Mills has been closed since late 2025 because of beetle damage.
- Shortest: Phillips Covered Bridge, 43 ft, is listed as the shortest covered bridge in Indiana and is the county's only kingpost truss.
- Festival: the Covered Bridge Festival is spread across nine festival communities in the county each October. See our guide to covered bridges to see this fall.
Rockville and Billie Creek Village
Five bridges in and around Rockville, the county seat. Billie Creek, Beeson and Leatherwood Station were moved to Billie Creek Village, on US 36 just east of town, and stand within a short walk of each other. Catlin was moved in 1961 to the Rockville golf course north of town and is open to walkers only. State Sanitorium was moved in 2008 to the former site of the Adams bridge, east of Rockville.
| Bridge | Township | Built | Length | Crosses | Access | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billie Creek | Adams Twp. | 1895 | 78 ft | Williams Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Beeson | Adams Twp. | 1906 | 55 ft | Williams Creek | Walk only | Map |
| Leatherwood Station | Adams Twp. | 1899 | 72 ft | Williams Creek | Walk only | Map |
| Catlin | Adams Twp. | 1907 | 72 ft | Bill Diddle Creek | Walk only | Map |
| State Sanitorium | Adams Twp. | 1913 | 154 ft | Little Raccoon Creek | Drive through | Map |
Southeast loop: Little Raccoon Creek to Mansfield
Eight bridges southeast of Rockville. Four cross Little Raccoon Creek between Crooks and Nevins, then the route drops south to Big Raccoon Creek at Bridgeton and Mansfield, where the bridge stands beside the Mansfield mill and dam. Bridgeton is a 2006 rebuild of an 1868 bridge lost to arson in 2005 and is open to walkers only, as is Big Rocky Fork.
| Bridge | Township | Built | Length | Crosses | Access | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crooks | Adams Twp. | 1856 | 154 ft | Little Raccoon Creek | Drive through | Map |
| McAllister | Adams Twp. | 1914 | 144 ft | Little Raccoon Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Neet | Raccoon Twp. | 1904 | 144 ft | Little Raccoon Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Nevins | Raccoon Twp. | 1920 | 169 ft | Little Raccoon Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Bridgeton | Raccoon Twp. | 2006 | 267 ft | Big Raccoon Creek | Walk only | Map |
| Conley's Ford | Raccoon Twp. | 1906 to 1907 | 212 ft | Big Raccoon Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Mansfield | Jackson Twp. | 1867 | 279 ft | Big Raccoon Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Big Rocky Fork | Jackson Twp. | 1900 | 88 ft | Big Rocky Fork Creek | Walk only | Map |
Southwest loop: Mecca, Coxville and Rosedale
Five bridges in the county's southwest corner, along Big Raccoon Creek and Rock Run. Mecca and Thorpe Ford are closed to cars; the other three still carry traffic. Roseville is the longest bridge on this loop.
| Bridge | Township | Built | Length | Crosses | Access | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mecca | Wabash Twp. | 1873 | 176 ft | Big Raccoon Creek | Walk only | Map |
| Zacke Cox | Florida Twp. | 1908 | 72 ft | Rock Run | Drive through | Map |
| Harry Evans | Florida Twp. | 1908 | 81 ft | Rock Run | Drive through | Map |
| Roseville | Florida Twp. | 1910 | 281 ft | Big Raccoon Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Thorpe Ford | Florida Twp. | 1912 | 181 ft | Big Raccoon Creek | Walk only | Map |
West and northwest loop: Montezuma to Tangier
Eight bridges between Montezuma and Tangier near the Wabash River side of the county. Start with the three bridges just east of Montezuma, then head north to West Union, the longest bridge in the county, and the four bridges over Rush Creek and Mill Creek around Tangier.
| Bridge | Township | Built | Length | Crosses | Access | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips | Wabash Twp. | 1909 | 43 ft | Rocky Run (Big Pond Creek) | Drive through | Map |
| Sim Smith | Wabash Twp. | 1883 | 102 ft | Leatherwood Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Melcher | Reserve Twp. | 1896 | 97 ft | Leatherwood Creek | Drive through | Map |
| West Union | Reserve Twp. | 1876 | 315 ft | Sugar Creek | Walk only | Map |
| Marshall | Liberty Twp. | 1917 | 74 ft | Rush Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Rush Creek | Liberty Twp. | 1904 | 95 ft | Rush Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Mill Creek | Liberty Twp. | 1907 | 112 ft | Mill Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Bowsher Ford | Liberty Twp. | 1915 | 92 ft | Mill Creek | Drive through | Map |
North loop: Sugar Creek and Turkey Run
Five bridges along Sugar Creek and around Turkey Run State Park. Cox Ford stands at the park's west side and Narrows at its east side, next to the Lusk Mill site. Portland Mills, farther east near Guion, has been closed since late 2025.
| Bridge | Township | Built | Length | Crosses | Access | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | Penn Twp. | 1861 | 225 ft | Sugar Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Wilkins Mill | Sugar Creek Twp. | 1906 | 120 ft | Sugar Mill Creek (dry bed) | Drive through | Map |
| Cox Ford | Sugar Creek Twp. | 1913 | 176 ft | Sugar Creek | Drive through | Map |
| Narrows | Sugar Creek Twp. | 1882 | 137 ft | Sugar Creek | Walk only | Map |
| Portland Mills | Greene Twp. | 1856 | 146 ft | Little Raccoon Creek | Closed since late 2025 | Map |
Other Parke County bridges
All 31 of the county's historic covered bridges are in the loops above. Several others have been lost, including Jeffries Ford, which burned in 2002, and the original 1868 Bridgeton bridge, which burned in 2005 and was rebuilt in 2006. A new Burr truss bridge, the Depot bridge, was built in 2026 on the rail trail south of the Rockville visitor center; it is not part of the county's count of 31 and is not in our directory yet.
Tips for visiting
- Plan around the festival. During the ten days of the Covered Bridge Festival in October, roads and bridges near the festival towns are busy. Other weeks are much quieter.
- Follow the county routes. The county's tourism site, coveredbridges.com, publishes color-coded driving routes between the bridges.
- Mind one-lane spans and limits. Most of these bridges carry a single lane. Take turns with oncoming traffic and obey posted height and weight limits.
- Expect county roads. Many bridges sit on narrow rural roads, some of them gravel. Pull off only where there is room and never block the bridge.
- Check before you go. Portland Mills has been closed since late 2025, and bridges sometimes close for repairs after storm or truck damage.
Sources: Parke County Covered Bridge Festival 2026, Wikipedia: Parke County Covered Bridges, Wikipedia: List of covered bridges in Indiana, Dale J. Travis: Indiana covered bridges list
See every Indiana bridge on our Indiana page, or browse the full index by state.