Clifty Falls State Park, IN

Yeah, more Fall leaves!

The Sierra Club in Northern Kentucky has taken on the project of creating a “recommended hiking” booklet.  Actually, we are updating a booklet that was created by club members years ago; ensuring the parks listed are still well maintained and the web addresses and maps are still current. It’s been fun looking at destinations with a critical eye to determine if I would personally recommend it to someone seeking a day hike.  Not all parks in the original booklet get my vote… but Clifty Falls in Indiana gets a big two thumbs up from me… and both arms waving around in the air! Great park! But challenging, this is not a casual stroll kinda place. Well, let me take that back. This park can be anything you want it to be.

They have trails from paved, wheelchair accessible trials with nice overlooks, to treacherous climbs down into a canyon. The trails range from a half mile up to three miles, but they are all interconnected so you could hike for hours and hours if that was your plan. There are 10 different trails that total up for 15 miles of hiking. The park brochure rates their hikes as Easy to Very Rugged. I only hiked a rating up to Moderately Rugged and that was good for me. If you are in any way prone to vertigo, don’t look down. And if you want to gaze around at the scenery, for God’s sake, come to a complete stop first. One stumble could send you over the edge. My pictures really don’t do this park justice. Can you see the drop off on the right side of the picture? The trail starts on top of that rock formation and winds around just below the lip of the canyon.

The road through the park is windy and beautiful, so if you want to take a leisurely stroll, go for it, the speed limit for cars is 15 mph and the road is so curvy, most cars couldn’t go faster than that even if they wanted to. I also saw a few bicyclists while I was there, but you will need gears for the elevation changes, though they seemed gradual on the road, which stays on the top of the canyon. 

My only complaint was the power plant on the Ohio River, near the south side of the park. It was so close that you could hear it humming, droning out the birds, kind of unsettling when you are trying to have a relaxing time in the woods. Don’t waste your time with the Observation Tower, horrible view. I know we all like our electricity… It’s like meat eaters I suppose, we enjoy a good hamburger but we don’t want to look at slaughtered cows. 

Steps, steps, and more steps. Notice the new section of these stairs. I’m sure the park is constantly changing due to erosion but the Indiana DNR is hard at work maintaining its accessibility for our enjoyment. I wonder where they get their resources and why it seems as though the Kentucky parks are falling apart.  I hear lots of grumbling about cutbacks in KY and OH. Somehow, this park in IN is striving... and there was not even an entrance fee. There was a booth at the entrance, so at times there must be a fee, but not on the day that I went.

  

Here is a little waterfall. The water seemed low, most of the waterfalls I saw were just trickles. I’ll have to go back in the springtime to see if there is any difference. The largest waterfall in the park (named, surprise-surprise, Big Clifty Falls) was too far away to get a good picture.  I think you need to follow one of the trails at the bottom of the canyon to really appreciate its beauty. The brochure says Big Clifty Falls drops 70 feet to the creek below, then the creek drops another 200 feet over the route of three miles and eventually ends in the Ohio River. This was one of the littler falls that fed into the creek.

All and all, I think Clifty Falls would make a wonderful weekend destination. You could stay at the Inn or the campground, and there are plenty of trials to keep you busy for a few days. The nearby town of Madison, IN is also nice; shops and restaurants, and from what I’ve read, festivals throughout the year.