The Ultimate Indiana Waterfalls Road Trip (Part 2: Southern Indiana)
By Meg Archer|Updated on May 17, 2024(Originally published January 18, 2023)
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Meg Archer
Author
Meg Archer is an Editor & Newsletter Editor who has called Oregon home for nearly 30 years. She spent her childhood exploring the mountains, forests, and high desert of Central Oregon before relocating to Portland after a brief stint out-of-state for college. She holds an B.A. in English from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and a B.S. in Psychology from Portland State University. Meg has worked in writing, editing, and media-related fields for over 10 years and joined the team at OnlyInYourState in 2015. When she’s not writing or exploring the West Coast, Meg enjoys playing tabletop games, working on visual media projects, and can always be found in the front row at Portland Timbers matches.
We wanted to build you an Ultimate Indiana Waterfalls Road Trip that covered all of the most beautiful waterfalls in the state… but there are just too many to choose!
We couldn’t bear to leave out any of our favorites (or send you on a single 22-hour drive), so we decided to split the list and give you TWO epic Waterfall Road Trips to take to make sure you see the best of both the Northern AND Southern regions of the Hoosier State!
PART 1 of our Ultimate Waterfalls Adventure featured six of our favorite ‘falls in the Northern half of the state, but here is PART 2… with seven awesome Southern Indiana waterfalls! To make it easy-as-pie (Sugar Cream Pie, that is), we built you a Road Map through Google Maps! Let’s get this waterfall road trip in Southern Indiana started!
Cataract Falls in Lieber State Recreation Area is the largest waterfall in Indiana by volume and consists of two falls, roughly a half-mile apart on Mill Creek. The Upper Falls drops 20 feet and the Lower Falls drops about 18 feet.
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Upper Cataract Falls, Jennings Township, IN 47460, USA
There is a lovely short trail between the two, but you can also drive to either one. As it is a State Recreation Area, there is an entrance fee to the park, but it is well worth it to see these picturesque falls. The fall foliage is beautiful, but Mill Creek is fullest after snowmelt (or a particularly excellent thunderstorm), which bulks up the falls significantly. In the winter months, Cataract Falls can freeze over entirely, which is also pretty amazing to see.
See this stunning waterfall frozen in time in this quick video:
Although not large, the McCormick's Creek Falls are worth checking out—McCormick's Creek State Park is the oldest state park in Indiana and was founded in 1916 in celebration of the 100th year of statehood! There is a campground on-site, as well as The Canyon Inn—a former sanitarium where brave guests can spend the night! Much of the limestone used to build the State Capitol building comes from McCormick's Creek State Park.
Many of the buildings and structures in the park were built in the New Deal era, which landed the limestone arch bridge over the creek a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
McCormick's Creek Falls, 250 McCormick Creek Park Rd, Spencer, IN 47460
Pioneers in the 1800’s settled in this area to take advantage of this flowing cave springs to power gristmills, a sawmill, a wool mill, and even a distillery!
The village has been restored and offers interpretive tours, and the small falls created by the dam is worth a quick stop to see, but the coolest part of this park is the spring, which flows right out of River Cave.
The many caves are a major draw to the area, especially since the Donaldson/Bronson Cave and others had been closed for several years to protect the bat population from an outbreak of White-nosed Syndrome.
The caves have since been reopened to the public, but require permission from the Department of Natural Resources through the Indiana Karst Conservancy to enter (which is totally worth the extra step, if you have time to prepare before embarking upon this epic road trip).
Spring Mill State Park, 3333 IN-60 E, Mitchell, IN 47446, USA
The Hemlock Cliffs Trail is a 1.5 mile loop that leads you down into a narrow box canyon and offers lush green views, vertical sandstone cliffs, and hides some of the most beautiful seasonal waterfalls in the state.
The trail is moderately difficult, steep, and can be slippery in some areas, but if you are looking for a peaceful escape, Hemlock Cliffs are one of the most beautiful areas in the state.
Clifty Falls State Park is a truly unique place. The park has four waterfalls; the largest, Tunnel Falls, drops 83 feet, however the other three-- Big Clifty Falls, Little Clifty Falls, and Hoffman Falls—aren’t much smaller (60 feet, 60 feet, and 78 feet, respectively).
Clifty Creek Canyon, which stretches the entire length of the park and empties into the Ohio River, has over 12 miles of walking and hiking trails (some of which are quite rugged) and has many other smaller falls to explore as well.
Clifty Falls State Park, 1501 Green Road, Madison, IN 47250
The Muscatatuck River flows along the southern end of this park and there are several waterfalls to see along the River Trail, which begins at the Vinegar Mill, where you can see Canyon Creek Falls.
Anderson Falls may not have the epic free-fall of other waterfalls, but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful! While only 12" tall, the spillway is more than 100" wide and drops off of a rock ledge that creates a cave space behind the falls.
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Anderson Falls, 3699 North 1140 County Rd E, Hartsville, IN 47244
Anderson Falls is easy to get to - it’s right along the road on CR 1140 and there are signs and a small parking area to guide you. The far side of the falls is part of the Anderson Falls Park State Nature Preserve, and you can find further hiking trails there if you cross Clifty Creek above the falls.
Let's go for a little hike to Anderson Falls in this quick video:
There are SO many waterfalls throughout southern Indiana, it was hard to choose which ones to include on this list! We left out a few favorites because we think they deserve their OWN special trip and not just a stop on this awesome waterfall loop, which is certainly one of the best road trips in Indiana!
Here are a couple of bonus photos of Turkey Run State Park, just because we think it’s pretty…and because you totally need to visit it (when you have plenty of time to explore)!
Did you pack the snacks for this southern Indiana waterfalls road trip? We’re ready to hit the road on one of the most scenic drives in Indiana! Need a place to stay while you’re exploring? Check out all the offerings from our friends at Hotels.com.
If you really want to go all out, combine this loop with our Ultimate Waterfall Road Trip Part 1: Northern Indiana for an extended trip to see the best waterfalls in Indiana. Where should we go next? Tell us in the comments section!
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