The U.S. state of Indiana has 25 state parks maintained and operated by Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). 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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
It is possible to view the Milky Way at 3 of the 25 Indiana State Parks, which are Shades State Park, Tippecanoe River State Park, and Turkey Run State Park.
State parks
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="width:98%"
!Park Name
!class="unsortable"|Image
!City
!County or Counties
!Year Established
!Size
!class="unsortable"|Remarks
|-
|Chain O' Lakes
|150px
|Albion<br/><small></small>
|Noble
|1960
|
|Features eight connected kettle lakes
|-
|Charlestown
|150px
|Charlestown<br/><small></small>
|Clark
|1996
|
|Built on the grounds of the old Indiana Army Ammunition Plant
|-
|Clifty Falls
|150px
|Madison<br/><small></small>
|Jefferson
|1920
|
|Features a canyon that has daylight only at midday
|-
|Falls of the Ohio
|150px
|Clarksville<br/><small></small>
|Clark
|1990
|
|Offers views of the Falls of the Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky
|-
|Fort Harrison
|150px
|Indianapolis<br/><small></small>
|Marion
|1996
|
|Built on the site of old Fort Benjamin Harrison
|-
|Harmonie
|
|New Harmony<br/><small></small>
|Posey
|1966
|
|Near historic Rappite and Owenite villages
|-
|Indiana Dunes
|150px
|Porter<br/><small></small>
|Porter
|1925
|
|Attached to Indiana Dunes National Park
|-
|Lincoln
|150px
|Lincoln City<br/><small></small>
|Spencer
|1932
|
|Across from Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, it was the last state park established by Richard Lieber.
|-
|McCormick's Creek
|150px
|Spencer<br/><small></small>
|Owen
|1916
|
|First state park in Indiana
|-
|Mounds
|150px
|Anderson<br/><small></small>
|Madison
|1930
|
|
|-
|O'Bannon Woods
|150px
|Corydon<br/><small></small>
|Harrison
|2004
|
|Formerly the Wyandotte SRA, renamed in honor of the late Indiana governor Frank O'Bannon.
|-
|Ouabache
|
|Bluffton<br/><small></small>
|Wells
|1962
|
|Name comes from the French spelling of "Wabash"
|-
|Pokagon
|150px
|Angola<br/><small></small>
|Steuben
|1925
|
|Well known for its toboggan run
|-
|Potato Creek
|
|North Liberty<br/><small></small>
|St. Joseph
|1969
|
|
|-
|Prophetstown
|150px
|West Lafayette<br/><small></small>
|Tippecanoe
|2004
|
|
|-
|Shades
|150px
|Waveland<br/><small></small>
|Montgomery
|1947
|
|Only state park to ever have its own airstrip
|-
|Shakamak
|150px
|Jasonville<br/><small></small>
|Clay, Greene and Sullivan
|1929
|
|Used to be a strip mine
|-
|Spring Mill
|150px
|Mitchell<br/><small></small>
|Lawrence
|1927
|
|Featured a pioneer village, numerous caves, and a memorial to Gus Grissom
|-
|Summit Lake
|150px
|New Castle<br/><small></small>
|Henry
|1988
|
|
|-
|Tippecanoe River
|150px
|Winamac<br/><small></small>
|Pulaski
|1943
|
|
|-
|Turkey Run
|150px
|Marshall<br/><small></small>
|Parke
|1916
|
|Famous for its sandstone gorges and unique terrain
|-
|Versailles
|150px
|Versailles<br/><small></small>
|Ripley
|1943
|
|
|-
|White River
|150px
|Indianapolis<br/><small></small>
|Marion
|1979
|
|An urban park in downtown Indianapolis
|-
|Whitewater Memorial
|150px
|Liberty<br/><small></small>
|Union
|1949
|
|Built on land donated by four counties
|-
|}
See also
- List of Indiana state forests
- List of national parks of the United States
References
External links
- Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of State Parks and Reservoirs