Clifty Falls State Park is an Indiana state park on 1416 acres (5.73 km²) in Jefferson County

Jefferson County, Indiana

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 32,428. The county seat is Madison.-History:Jefferson County was formed in 1811...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is 46 miles (74 km) northeast of Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

.

On Oct. 27, 1920, citizens of Madison, Indiana

Madison, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,004 people, 5,092 households, and 3,085 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,402.9 people per square mile . There were 5,597 housing units at an average density of 654.1 per square mile...

 gave the land for the park, 570 acres (2.3 km²), to the state of Indiana at the suggestion of Richard Lieber

Richard Lieber

Richard Lieber was a German-American businessman who became the father of the Indiana state parks system. At his death, he could be considered the most powerful spokesman in the United States for the conservation of natural resources.-Early life:He was born into privilege in Düsseldorf, Germany,...

. This was after a year's work by the citizens. A system of naturalist programs for Indiana state parks started in 1927, with Clifty Falls being one of the first four with one.

The park features Clifty Creek, Little Clifty Creek, and a canyon in which the sun only shines during midday.

It has many beautiful nature trails, especially those that go near Clifty Falls. The Clifty Inn is available for overnight guests, and the park contains a campground with sites for RV and tent campers.

Canyons

Clifty Creek Canyon traverses the entire north-south length of the state park. The upper rim of the canyon at the north end of the park is 800 feet (243.8 m) above sea level, descending to the valley of the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

which is 500 feet (152.4 m) above sea level. The creek descends down to about 750 feet (228.6 m) before dropping over one of the two Clifty Falls. Then it runs downward until reaching the Ohio River. Two other major canyons enter Clifty Creek Canyon from the east, they are Deans Branch (Tunnel Falls) and Hoffman Branch (Hoffman Falls).

Water Falls

Clifty Falls State Park is named for the waterfalls on Clifty Creek.

• Big Clifty Falls - 60 feet (18.3 m)
• Little Clifty Falls - 60 feet (18.3 m)
• Hoffman Falls - 78 feet (23.8 m)
• Tunnel Falls - 83 feet (25.3 m)

Trails

Clifty Falls State Park has ten trails that vary from easy, moderate, rugged and very rugged. Trail two is the only very rugged trail and it is the most rugged trail in all of Indiana. Because of the danger of falling rocks, the end of the trail is blocked from the public. There are old steps, also blocked, that used to lead down to the falls. You can see the falls from an overlook carved out of the side of the canyon.