| Falls of the Ohio State Park | |
| Iucn Category: | III |
| Map: | USA Indiana |
| Map Width: | 200 |
| Location: | Clark County, Indiana, US |
| Nearest City: | Clarksville, Indiana |
| Coordinates: | 38.2756°N -85.7636°W |
| Area Acre: | 165 |
| Established: | 1990 |
| Visitation Num: | 158,680 |
| Visitation Year: | 2018–2019< |
| Visitation Ref: | [1] |
| Governing Body: | Indiana Department of Natural Resources |
Falls of the Ohio State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is located on the banks of the Ohio River at Clarksville, Indiana, across from Louisville, Kentucky. The park is part of the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area. The exposed fossil beds of the Jeffersonville Limestone dated from the Devonian period are the main feature of the park, attracting about 160,000 visitors annually.[1] The Falls was the site where Lewis and Clark met for the Lewis and Clark Expedition at George Rogers Clark's cabin.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
The park includes an interpretive center open to the public. In 1990, the Indiana state government hired Terry Chase, a well-established exhibit developer, to design the center's displays. Construction began in September 1992, costing $4.9 million with a total area of 16000square feet.[8] The center functions as a museum with exhibits that concentrate on the natural history related to findings in the nearby fossil beds as well as the human history of the Louisville area, covering pre-settlement, early settlement, and the history of Louisville and southern Indiana through the 20th century.
Unlike at other Indiana state parks, annual entrance permits do not allow unlimited free access (rather, only five people per pass per visit) to the interpretive center, as fees are still needed to reimburse the town of Clarksville for building the center.
The Woodland Loop Trail features ten stainless steel markers denoting the plant life of the trails, thanks to an Eagle Scout project.[9]
More information about the geology of the Falls