It’s fall y’all in southern Indiana! Brown County, to be exact, where cornfields and farmland transition to elevated rolling hills and colorful vistas. Look closer, and you’ll find a bustling trail town, home to sweet single-track mountain biking and golf adventures at Salt Creek Golf Retreat. Bonus: in mid-September, Brown County Bikes and the state park host Campside Sessions, a women’s mountain bike clinic and event.
This time around, it was a 10-year celebration of getting more women on bikes, improving skills, and building connections and camaraderie. Almost 100 women showed up from 13 states (participants and certified coaches), cementing the fact that women on bikes is a growing segment of the sport. Mountain biking is still very dude-centric, so it was a treat to be surrounded by women bikers of all levels, looking to connect, crush fears, and learn new skills.
Salt Creek Golf Retreat
Besides getting shreddy on two wheels, I love trading in adrenaline sports for some chill swings on the golf course. Conveniently, Salt Creek Golf Retreat is next door to Brown County State Park, so it was home base for both biking and bogeys. Salt Creek has an 18-hole course, golf view condos, a conference center, and the 19th Hole Sports Bar for post-round refreshments or dinner. It’s a short bike ride to Brown County State Park trails, or you can walk out your condo door to a golf cart and the course.
Our Salt Creek condo looked out over the undulating #10, tucked into a tunnel of trees. It’s a true multi-sport home base; Josh and I leaned into making ourselves at home in the well-equipped kitchen, lounging on the outdoor patio, and melting into the pillow-top bedding. Another highlight this time of year, the bright orange, fiery sunsets were stunning, especially from a seat on the outdoor patio at the 19th Hole.
Salt Creek is locally owned and operated, we learned from Steve & Nancy Ross, friends who live in the area. It didn’t take much convincing to have them join us for a Thursday round of golf and drinks. I fared much better on the front nine, with a par on #2, courtesy of a mostly lucky 5-wood that plunked (and stayed) on the green. Steve tried to show Josh and me up with a chip-in birdie on #8, a par 3. I dodged water hazards and got local tips on shot placement from Steve and Nancy, regulars at Salt Creek. After my nice drive on #6, Steve announced that the longest drive buys the first round!
We donated some balls to the back-nine landscape while my score kept rising with the addition of penalties. The fairways narrowed, the hills got taller, and the tee shots got harder. Offsetting that, the views made me forget the notes on my scorecard. On the last two holes, I admit I was preoccupied with sipping a cold beer and crushing some wings and the locally famous chicken tenders at the 19th Hole. My bogeys (double bogeys too) faded with the sunset stunner. The rest of the evening, I focused on resting up for a weekend full of mountain biking.
Brown County Bikes, expansion
One of the hubs for biking in Nashville is Brown County Bikes, also the host of the 10th annual Campside Event. Proprietors and CROs (Chief Ride Officers) Danielle and Kate are on the move. Their new location (downtown at 160 E. Main Street) is in progress. The goal is a grand reopening in spring 2027.
The new shop will more than double the space to 2700 sq ft of retail, service, and rental bikes. Adjacent to the shop will be 2: two-bedroom/two-bath rental units with private balconies and secure bike storage. Each rental will sleep up to 6 shredders. This location is an easy, short pedal to the new pump track and just 2 miles to the north entrance of Brown County State Park.
Campside Sessions Women’s Mountain Bike Clinic
I was admittedly stoked to spend the weekend with a bunch of like-minded dirt sisters. Everyone started rolling in Friday, checked in at the bike shop, and set up camp at the North gate pool area in the state park. Josh and I got some co-ed time in with a morning rip on Pine to High Tower and up to Hesitation Point, all while the vendor tents went up (Hand-UP, Cane Creek components, and Kali Protectives). A brief rainstorm derailed the evening warm-up ride, so most campers returned to the base camp tent for announcements, a bonfire, and live music with Sara Stafford.
Participants are placed in a group based on skills and riding abilities. A team of certified coaches leads each group for each level: beginner, intermediate, and advanced riders. After a protein-packed breakfast, we began around 9:30 Saturday with introductions, then we launched into a series of skills progressions in a grassy, flat cone-zone area. Like any sport, fundamentals are an important foundation to move into advanced trail or feature riding.
Campside Skills Sessions & Trail Work
My group of ten, led by Coach Kate with Shannon and Rose assisting, we cycled through drills that focused on body position, balance, optimal shifting, and basic braking principles. We graduated quickly to front- and rear-wheel lifts and sessioned through obstacles and ramps that emulate roots, rocks, and drops.
Kate and the coaches kept up a stream of encouragement and tips to improve our techniques. The progression was working, and all my new gal pals felt confident, sendy, and eager to apply our skills on the trail. The fun meter was high, and it inspired Kate to nickname our group the Gnarlenes. She promptly launched into an acoustic version of Jolene that had everyone grinning. I had phrases like load and explode, foot wedge, bunny hop, and get tall rolling around under my helmet as we headed to lunch.
That afternoon we took the party to the woods. Brandy, Kate, and Rose had plenty of room in their trucks to shuttle our group up to Hesitation Point. Brown County State Park has 40+ miles of trail from chill to super technical. Our group decided it was time to apply what we learned and tackle the black-rated, rock-armored Gnaw Bone. From the top, we followed Kate down some berms and skinnies and made our way to the steep entrance of Gnaw Bone.
We stashed our bikes, and the coaches walked the beginning to point out the line; then we watched a few demos before taking turns trying the first segment. There was plenty of hooting and hell yeahs as my new gal pals rolled down successfully. I watched and photographed great lines, elbows out, bum out of the saddle… everyone crushed it. I took my turn and reveled in the cheers! A few chose to skip. That’s ok, as the coaches say, if it’s not a hell yeah, then it’s a hell no. Always choose your challenge and ride to your ability.
Besides riding, Campside includes optional evening sessions on bike maintenance, yoga for bikers, and we heard great talks from Jen at Kali Protectives and Jamie from Hand Up. Sunday arrived far too quickly. On the last day, we sessioned and reviewed jumping skills on ramps at basecamp before heading into the park again, this time to ride Hobbs Hollow. Hobbs is a mile-long romp downhill dotted with plenty of fun features, including Pride Rock (a sendy rock jump), plenty of kickers, tabletops, and more. The Gnarlenes (Brandy, Amy, Jillian x 2, Kit, Cameo, Elizabeth, and more) and I kept progressing and building skills. It was an absolute blast to be a part of this group and gain confidence on advanced terrain.
The afternoon eventually wrapped up, as lunch and hunger brought everyone together one last time. It was hugs and high-fives as I quickly added bunches of new besties and their digits to my phone! Thankfully, that afternoon, Josh offered to drive home while I melted into the passenger seat for a 5-hour drive back to West Michigan. Before nodding off, I scrolled through all the photos and videos… a big grin settled on my face. Thanks, Brown County Bikes, and congrats on a well-deserved 10th anniversary!
For more on Brown County Bikes, the new pump track and local trails check out the blog from April 2026.
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