Indiana State Parks

Indiana has 29 state parks — the system is concentrated in the southern hill country and the Lake Michigan dunes.

Brown County State Park (Nashville)
Indiana's largest and most visited state park — 16,000 acres of sandstone hills and hardwood forest in south-central Indiana. The Hesitation Point scenic overlook, the Ogle Lake swimming beach, equestrian and hiking trails, and the Nashville arts and craft community adjacent make this a full-weekend destination. Fall color peaks in mid-October. The Abe Martin Lodge (1932 CCC construction) is excellent.

Indiana Dunes State Park (Chesterton)
The state park adjacent to Indiana Dunes NP — 3 miles of Lake Michigan beach and a 2,000-acre dune system. The 3-Dune Challenge (Trail 9 — climbing the three highest active dunes) is Indiana's most physically demanding state park hike. The Cowles Bog Trail connects to the NP's botanical landmarks.

Spring Mill State Park (Mitchell)
On the south-central Indiana limestone plateau — the restored 1817 grist mill village (operating water-powered mill, tavern, and settler cabins), the Donaldson Cave system (with several cave passages open for exploration), and the Virgil Grissom Memorial (Indiana's astronaut — Grissom was born in nearby Mitchell) make Spring Mill the most historically layered state park in Indiana.

Clifty Falls State Park (Madison)
At the edge of the Ohio River valley in southeast Indiana — four major waterfalls (Clifty Falls, Big Clifty, Little Clifty, and Twin Falls) in a gorge cut through limestone. The park's canyon scenery is among the most dramatic in Indiana, and the adjacent Ohio River town of Madison (the finest intact antebellum rivertown in the Midwest) is excellent.

Turkey Run State Park (Marshall)
On the Sugar Creek canyon in west-central Indiana — the most popular trail system in Indiana. The Rocky Hollow-Falls Canyon area has slot canyon-like passages through Dakota sandstone, waterfalls, and forested ridges. The narrows of Rocky Hollow are Indiana's most spectacular terrain.