Richard Lieber was instrumental in the foundation of the Indiana State Park system. The first state park in Indiana was McCormick's Creek State Park, in Owen County in 1916, followed in the same year by Turkey Run State Park in Parke County. The number of state parks rose steadily in the 1920s, mostly by donations of land from local authorities to the state government. Of the initial twelve parks, only Muscatatuck State Park is no longer a state park, having been given back to Jennings County in 1968.[3] It was during the Great Depression of the 1930s that much infrastructure was built within the parks, constructed by New Deal agencies such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration, with the majority of this Depression-era construction still in use in the 21st century. This delay in infrastructure was due in part to Richard Lieber's belief that the parks should be kept as natural as possible.[4]
Initially, the state parks were intended to feature natural environments in Indiana. The establishment of Mounds State Park for its historical nature and Shakamak State Park (an abandoned strip mine) purely for recreational purposes represented changes from the initial purposes of the Indiana state park system.[5]
While Indiana does not have as many state parks as some other states, it has avoided obtaining too many smaller properties that would be hard to manage. A goal of having at least one state park within an hour's drive for every Hoosier was met when Prophetstown State Park was established in 2004.[6]
It is possible to view the Milky Way at 3 of the 24 Indiana State Parks,[7] which are Shades State Park, Tippecanoe River State Park, and Turkey Run State Park.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of State Parks and Reservoirs
January 01, 1970
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The U S state of Indiana has 24 state parks maintained and operated by Indiana Department of Natural Resources DNR 1 In addition a separate state agency operates White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis 2 Marion and Clark are the only counties to have two parks Brown County the largest state park has the greatest number of visitors followed by Indiana Dunes State Park 1 Brown CountyChain O LakesCharlestownClifty FallsFalls of the OhioFort HarrisonHarmonieIndiana DunesLincolnMcCormick s CreekMoundsO Bannon WoodsOuabachePokagonPotato CreekProphetstownShadesShakamakSpring MillSummit LakeTippecanoe RiverTurkey RunVersaillesWhite RiverWhitewater Memorialclass notpageimage Indiana State Parks clickable map Richard Lieber was instrumental in the foundation of the Indiana State Park system The first state park in Indiana was McCormick s Creek State Park in Owen County in 1916 followed in the same year by Turkey Run State Park in Parke County The number of state parks rose steadily in the 1920s mostly by donations of land from local authorities to the state government Of the initial twelve parks only Muscatatuck State Park is no longer a state park having been given back to Jennings County in 1968 3 It was during the Great Depression of the 1930s that much infrastructure was built within the parks constructed by New Deal agencies such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration with the majority of this Depression era construction still in use in the 21st century This delay in infrastructure was due in part to Richard Lieber s belief that the parks should be kept as natural as possible 4 Initially the state parks were intended to feature natural environments in Indiana The establishment of Mounds State Park for its historical nature and Shakamak State Park an abandoned strip mine purely for recreational purposes represented changes from the initial purposes of the Indiana state park system 5 While Indiana does not have as many state parks as some other states it has avoided obtaining too many smaller properties that would be hard to manage A goal of having at least one state park within an hour s drive for every Hoosier was met when Prophetstown State Park was established in 2004 6 It is possible to view the Milky Way at 3 of the 24 Indiana State Parks 7 which are Shades State Park Tippecanoe River State Park and Turkey Run State Park Contents 1 State parks 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksState parks editPark Name Image City County or Counties Year Established Size 8 Remarks 8 Brown County nbsp Nashville39 07 N 86 16 W 39 11 N 86 26 W 39 11 86 26 Brown County Brown 1929 15 776 acres 63 84 km2 Largest State Park in Indiana 9 Chain O Lakes nbsp Albion41 20 N 85 23 W 41 33 N 85 38 W 41 33 85 38 Chain O Lakes Noble 1960 2 718 acres 11 00 km2 Features eight connected kettle lakes 10 Charlestown nbsp Charlestown38 26 N 85 38 W 38 43 N 85 63 W 38 43 85 63 Charlestown Clark 1996 5 100 acres 21 km2 Built on the grounds of the old Indiana Army Ammunition Plant 11 Clifty Falls nbsp Madison38 46 N 85 25 W 38 76 N 85 42 W 38 76 85 42 Clifty Falls Jefferson 1920 1 416 acres 5 73 km2 Features a canyon that has daylight only at midday 12 Falls of the Ohio nbsp Clarksville38 16 37 N 85 45 47 W 38 277 N 85 763 W 38 277 85 763 Falls of the Ohio Clark 1990 165 acres 0 67 km2 Offers views of the Falls of the Ohio and Louisville Kentucky 13 Fort Harrison nbsp Indianapolis39 52 N 86 01 W 39 87 N 86 01 W 39 87 86 01 Fort Harrison Marion 1996 1 700 acres 6 9 km2 Built on the site of old Fort Benjamin Harrison 14 Harmonie New Harmony38 04 N 87 57 W 38 06 N 87 95 W 38 06 87 95 Harmonie Posey 1966 3 465 acres 14 02 km2 Near historic Rappite and Owenite villages 15 Indiana Dunes nbsp Porter41 40 N 87 02 W 41 66 N 87 04 W 41 66 87 04 Indiana Dunes Porter 1925 2 182 acres 8 83 km2 Attached to Indiana Dunes National Park 16 Lincoln nbsp Lincoln City38 06 N 87 00 W 38 10 N 87 00 W 38 10 87 00 Lincoln Spencer 1932 1 847 acres 7 47 km2 Across from Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial it was the last state park established by Richard Lieber 17 McCormick s Creek nbsp Spencer39 17 N 86 44 W 39 29 N 86 73 W 39 29 86 73 McCormick s Creek Owen 1916 1 924 acres 7 79 km2 First state park in Indiana 18 Mounds nbsp Anderson40 06 N 85 37 W 40 10 N 85 62 W 40 10 85 62 Mounds Madison 1930 290 acres 1 2 km2 19 O Bannon Woods nbsp Corydon38 11 N 86 17 W 38 18 N 86 29 W 38 18 86 29 O Bannon Woods Harrison 2004 2 000 acres 8 1 km2 Formerly the Wyandotte SRA renamed in honor of the late Indiana governor Frank O Bannon 20 Ouabache Bluffton40 43 N 85 07 W 40 72 N 85 11 W 40 72 85 11 Ouabache Wells 1962 1 104 acres 4 47 km2 Name comes from the French spelling of Wabash 21 Pokagon nbsp Angola41 43 N 85 01 W 41 71 N 85 02 W 41 71 85 02 Pokagon Steuben 1925 1 260 acres 5 1 km2 Well known for its skiing 22 Potato Creek North Liberty41 33 N 86 20 W 41 55 N 86 34 W 41 55 86 34 Potato Creek St Joseph 1969 3 840 acres 15 5 km2 23 Prophetstown nbsp West Lafayette40 30 N 86 50 W 40 50 N 86 83 W 40 50 86 83 Prophetstown Tippecanoe 2004 2 000 acres 8 1 km2 24 Shades nbsp Waveland39 56 N 87 05 W 39 93 N 87 08 W 39 93 87 08 Shades Montgomery 1947 3 082 acres 12 47 km2 Only state park to ever have its own airstrip 25 Shakamak nbsp Jasonville39 10 N 87 14 W 39 17 N 87 24 W 39 17 87 24 Shakamak Clay Greene and Sullivan 1929 1 766 acres 7 15 km2 Used to be a strip mine 26 Spring Mill nbsp Mitchell38 44 N 86 25 W 38 73 N 86 42 W 38 73 86 42 Spring Mill Lawrence 1927 1 358 acres 5 50 km2 Featured a pioneer village numerous caves and a memorial to Gus Grissom 27 Summit Lake nbsp New Castle40 02 N 85 18 W 40 03 N 85 30 W 40 03 85 30 Summit Lake Henry 1988 2 680 acres 10 8 km2 28 Tippecanoe River nbsp Winamac41 09 N 86 36 W 41 15 N 86 60 W 41 15 86 60 Tippecanoe River Pulaski 1943 2 761 acres 11 17 km2 29 Turkey Run nbsp Marshall39 53 N 87 13 W 39 88 N 87 21 W 39 88 87 21 Turkey Run Parke 1916 2 382 acres 9 64 km2 Famous for its sandstone gorges and unique terrain 30 Versailles nbsp Versailles39 05 N 85 14 W 39 08 N 85 23 W 39 08 85 23 Versailles Ripley 1943 5 988 acres 24 23 km2 31 White River nbsp Indianapolis39 46 N 86 10 W 39 77 N 86 17 W 39 77 86 17 White River Marion 1979 250 acres 1 0 km2 An urban park in downtown Indianapolis 32 Whitewater Memorial nbsp Liberty39 37 N 84 58 W 39 61 N 84 97 W 39 61 84 97 Whitewater Memorial Union 1949 1 710 acres 6 9 km2 Built on land donated by four counties 33 See also editList of Indiana state forests List of National Parks of the United StatesReferences edit a b DNR State Parks Find a Park Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 White River State Park in gov State of Indiana Archived from the original on September 4 2014 Retrieved September 3 2014 History Archived 2008 05 09 at the Wayback Machine Ralston Patrick New Deal Resources in Indiana State Parks MPS Ralston DNR State Parks amp Reservoirs History amp Culture R Mike August 13 2021 State Parks Light Pollution Map And Statistics CosmosPNW Retrieved January 16 2022 a b Indiana Recreation Guide 2010 PDF Indiana Department of Natural Resources Archived from the original PDF on February 17 2010 Retrieved March 31 2010 Brown County Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Chain O Lakes Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Charlestown Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Clifty Falls Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Falls of the Ohio Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Fort Harrison Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Harmonie Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Indiana Dunes Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Lincoln Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 McCormick s Creek Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Mounds Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 O Bannon Woods Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Ouabache Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Pokagon Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Potato Creek Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Prophetstown Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Shades Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Shakamak Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Spring Mill Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Summit Lake Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Tippecanoe River Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Turkey Run Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 Versailles Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 White River White River State Park Retrieved March 28 2010 Whitewater Memorial Indiana Department of Natural Resources Retrieved March 28 2010 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to State parks of Indiana Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as KML GPX all coordinates GPX primary coordinates GPX secondary coordinates Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of State Parks and Reservoirs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of Indiana state parks amp oldid 1177475222, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
