State Park Camping

Number 2: McCormick’s Creek

I rated this park #2 because of nice Inn and banquet facilities along with good camping facilities and great hiking trails. They have paved trails that begin from the campground and travel along the rim of a canyon. The park can be found South West of Indianapolis in Spencer, Indiana along the White river on Hwy 46, 14 miles North West of Bloomington. IN.

ACTIVITIES AND FACILITIES:

Camping:

Campground is equipped with flush toilets, hot water and showers. Sites will accommodate most RV’s and trailers. There are both electric and primitive sites available.

Family Cabins:

Each cabin can accommodate 6 people and has a living area, bedroom, bathroom, screened porch and kitchen. Cabins are closed for winter seasons.

Hiking:

There are 10.7 miles of easy to rugged hiking trails. Wear good supportive shoes, you will be climbing up and around rough terrain on the rugged trails.

Inn:

Open year round and all rooms have private bath, telephone, TV, air conditioning. Dining room is open to the public serving a complete daily menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Nature Center:

Open year round and designed on a “Please Touch – Gently” theme. It includes natural history exhibits, nature games and quizzes and a full range of naturalist-led activities that are free of charge to park visitors. A self-guiding nature trail lies just behind the center.

Picnic Areas:

Tables, grills, toilet facilities, playground equipment and playfields.

Recreation Center:

Offers a unique outlet of leisure activity within the park. Complete facilities include racquetball, handball, basketball, volleyball and shuffleboard courts, table tennis and a game room located across from the Inn.

Saddle Barn:

Offers trail rides and hayrides.

Swimming:

Park pool opens the Saturday before Memorial and closed no later than Labor Day.

Park History

Long before pioneers entered the area now known a McCormick’s Creek, the Miami Indians roamed the land. The Indians had camps along the banks of the White River to the North and South, but what is now state park land was far too rugged, filled with canyons and ravines, to invite settlement. Instead, it became a hunting ground, offering deer, squirrel, grouse, and fish from its deep woods and clear streams. It wasn’t until 1816 that the first settler laid claim to the area, when John McCormick homesteaded nearly one hundred acres along the canyon by the waterfalls. In those days it was common practice to name physical landmarks after the people who owned them and thus McCormick’s Creek received it’s name.

Early residents in the area cut timber, grazed their livestock on the steep slopes and farmed small patches of flat upland ground. They also tried building sawmills on the creek, although the water level and force was never great enough to make the ventures profitable. Other enterprising businessmen opened limestone quarries near the mouth of the creek, but soon ran into problems trying to get the cut rock across the river to the railroad line on the other side.

The turning point in the McCormick’s Creek history came in 1888, when part of the area was purchased by Frederick Denkewalter, a physician who was interested in the senic and restful qualities of the site. Dr. Denkewalter felt the tranquil peace of the canyon and its surrounding cliffs would be the perfect location to build a sanitarium, a place for the wealthy and the weary to “get a way from it all” and recuperate. The original sanitarium, built on the present-day Canyon Inn site, was a white-sided structure with long porches on every side. It offered guests plenty of access to the loveliness of the will landscaped grounds where Denkewalter delighted in planting a variety of trees and shrubs. Meanwhile, local residents continued to picnic and hike along the canyon, making the spot a favorite of everyone for rest and relaxation.

With the death of Dr. Denekewalter in 1914, his estate went up for sale at a land auction. Both Owen County and the State of Indiana were interested in maintaining McCormick’s Creek in its park-like-setting and so the land was purchased. McCormick’s Creek State Park was dedicated as Indiana’s first state park on July 4, 1916, as part of the state’s centennial celebration.

Canyon Inn opened its doors in the old sanitarium in 1916 and a few years later in the early 1920’s the building was remodeled and new brick siding was added. Over the years, changes have been made to the Inn by adding wings, a banquet room, swimming pool and recreation center, but the inn today still rests on the original foundations of the Denkewalter sanitarium.

Originally a little over 350 acres in size, McCormick’s Creek State Park has grown to its present size through acquisition of surrounding farms and homesteads as they came up for sale. Much of the park’s building improvements came in the 1930’s when the Civil Conservation Corps was in the park. The CCC men constructed most of the shelter houses, the old stone bridge and the firetower. Another surge of development came in the early 1970’s, when the present campgrounds, nature center and swimming pool were added.

Just relaxing and taking in nature

In my previous post on July 4, 2008, I gave a list of all the Indiana State Parks and included my favorite. In the next few months I am going to give you information on what I feel is the best 5 State Parks in Indiana. Of course, this is just my opinion and some of you may not agree. All in all, Indiana has I believe one of the best state park system in the U.S.

So here we go, STARTING AT NUMBER 5. Tippecanoe River State Park

I have already said, that Tippecanoe River State Park is my favorite and one of the reasons is because it is located 5 miles north of a small rural town more than 40 miles from any major city. Why does this make a difference? There are very few sight seeing attractions, there is no lake or pool on the property although there is the Tippecanoe river and like most small towns, there is very few things to do for out-of-towners. With this in mind, Tippecanoe River State Park is seldom packed out and because it is a smaller park there is less noise from campers and camper traffic. This is why Tippecanoe River has become my wife’s and I favorite state park. I ranked this number 5 because the park has no area for swimming, the lots are very wooded with sparse grassy areas. The mosquitos are heavy most of the summer months (they do fog most evenings). They do have nice walking trails, bath houses are kept clean, camping lots are level, there is a camping area to camp with your horses and horse trails, although there is no camp store on site, you can get what you need in Winamac which is just 5 miles South of the state park.

WHAT THE PARK OFFERS

The park offers some of the finest recreation in the state. Extensive trail network offers the hiker a variety of terrain and vegetation and has over 22 miles of easy to moderate trails. Tippecanoe River State Park offers 112 class A campsites (electric) and 4 sites that are handicap accessible. A large group camp site that offers facilities for 160 people with kitchen facilities. In the winter they offer cross country skiing which allows the opportunities of exploring the hill and woods previously unavailable during the winter season. They have modern facilities, combined with a very unique natural area. While you may launch your own boat into the Tippecanoe River, the river is extremely hazardous so no swimming is allowed. The picnic areas have tables, grills, toilet facilities, playground equipment, shelters and playfields. They also have a Horse camp, where you can bring your horses and camp with them on 56 sites. These sites however, are non-electric. The park offers over 14 miles of horse trails.

HISTORY OF TIPPECANOE RIVER STATE PARK

In the 1600’s and 1700’s Northern Indiana was the land of the Potawatomi Indians. The Tippecanoe River was a major highway used for trade by early explorers seeking Indian camps to exchange blankets, utensils and any other items the explorers may have for beaver pelts. Indians and traders alike used the river waterways in journey to other settlement posts.

Settlement came slowly but inevitably came into the area and in the 1830’s clearing, draining and farming of the lands was taking place. The Potawatomies were removed to a Kansas reservation and new settlers poured into the area. The land in the vicinity of the park was cleared and farming became the prime activity as most of the wild life in the area slowly began disappearing.

U.S. Department of the Interior, through its National Park Service, acquired about 7,353 acres of land in an area bordering Tippecanoe River and U.S. 35 approximately 5 miles North of Winamac. Most of the land which has a high sand content was not well suited for agricultural use. The area was called the Winamac Recreation Demonstration Area.

In 1943, the land was transferred to the Indiana Department of Conservation for operation as a state park. On January 1, 1959 4,592 acres were transferred to the Division of Fish and Wildlife and named Winamac Fish and Wildlife Area. The remaining 2,761 acres became the Tippecanoe State Park. (information taken from Indiana Department of Natural Resources)

For more information on Tippecanoe River State Park and rules and regulations visit Indiana’s DNR web site at: http://www.in.gov/dnr and look for the Tippecanoe River link.

Since I live in Indiana, I can tell you much about our State Parks. I have camped in over half of them over the years and can tell you by experience it is a very good park system. Our favorite Sate Park is Tippecanoe River State Park. It is located 5 miles North of the small town of Winamac on US Hwy 35 in Northern Indiana. Because of all the trees in the campground it is hard to find grassy areas around your campsite but we use a tarp under our canopy so that really doesn’t bother us.

The mission of Indiana’s Division of State Parks and Reservoirs is to manage and interpret unique natural, wildlife, and cultural resources utilizing the principles of multiple use and preservation, while sustaining the integrity of these resources for current and future generations. (Taken from Indiana recreation guide)

Indiana has over 33,000 acres for recreation and wildlife for nature lovers to enjoy. I have listed below all the State Parks and Reservoirs you can find in Indiana. For more information on any one park, go to Indiana’s State DNR Homepage at:http://www.in.gov/dnr

Indiana State Parks

Brown County

Mounds

Turkey Run

Chain O’Lakes

Ouabache (Wabash)

Versailles

Charlestown

Pokagon

Whitewater Memorial

Clifty Falls

Potato Creek

White River

Falls of the Ohio

Prophetstown

Fort Harrison

Shades

Harmonie

Shakamak

Indiana Dunes

Spring Mill

Lincoln & Colonel Jones Home

Summit Lake

McCormick’s Creek

Tippecanoe River

Indiana Reservoirs

Brookville Lake

Patoka Lake

Cagles Mill Lake

J. Edward Roush Lake

Cecil M. Harden Lake & Mansfield Roller Mill

Salamonie Lake

Hardy Lake

Salamonie River SF

Mississinewa Lake

Monroe Lake

In the coming months I will highlight what I feel are the Best of the Best State Parks in Indiana.