IN State Park Excited to Reopen Trails Over a Year After Tornado

It has been just over a year since a rash of tornadoes tore through Indiana, leaving behind massive damage. Now, one Indiana State Park is ready to reopen some of the trails that have been closed as a result of the debris and damage.

22 Tornados Confirmed on March 31, 2023

On Friday, March 31, 2023, there were 22 tornadoes confirmed across Indiana. One of those, an EF-3 with winds sustained between 136 - 165 miles per hour, touched down in McCormick's Creek State Park. The tornado

, said to have been 1,200 feet wide, traveled over 4 miles.

McCormick's Creek State Park Heavily Damages

McCormick's Creek State Park sustained significant damage as the result of the tornado. A week later, on April 7, 2023, the park was reopened to the public for limited use, but the campground, and many of the trails were still closed.

Get our free mobile app

The Park was Closed for Months

The campgrounds stayed closed for months and volunteer cleanup efforts began. Today, it was announced that several of the trails are finally being reopened to the public thanks to the hard work that has been taking place over the last several months. They say that trail access has increased from 3.6 miles to 7.1 miles since the fall of 2023.

Trail 2 begins behind the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Recreation Hall, ventures into McCormick’s Cove Nature Preserve, and ends between the family cabins or the beginning of Trail 1. The reopened portion includes the Quarry Loop. Trail 7 remains closed. Guests should not cross barriers where the Quarry Loop meets Trail 7. Trail 3 provides access to McCormick’s Creek waterfall from the falls parking area and from Canyon Inn. One wooden trail structure has been repaired, extending the trail length by 0.8 miles.

Canva

Several Trails Now Open but Some Still Remain Closed

At this time, they say trials 2 and 3 are now open to hiking. Trails 1, 4, and 9 are fully open and trail 8 is partially open. However, Trails 5,6,7, and 10 are still closed until the remaining damage can be cleaned up and cleared. They ask that guests to the park respect the posted signs for the closed trails and not use the marked trails until it is safe to do so.

To learn more about the tornado recovery efforts, and to see photos of the progress that has been made over the last year, visit Indiana DNR here.

[Source: Indiana State Parks via Facebook]