Outdoor Indiana - Fall 2026

New Campground, Honored Legacy

DNR Director
Alan Morrison

For many, McCormick’s Creek State Park is more than Indiana’s first state park. It’s a place where memories have been made naturally through exploring the park’s iconic canyons and waterfalls, beautiful trails, Wolf Cave, and the Statehouse Quarry, followed by a night camping under the stars.

In 2023, a tornado struck the park, devastating its campground and claiming two lives. Since then, the DNR team has been working behind the scenes to clear the debris and plan for the campground’s next chapter, which will honor the park’s history while also accommodating the needs of today’s campers.

The new campground’s design features a larger footprint, including 191 modern campsites. Each modern campsite will have full hook-up to electricity, water, and sewer. The new sites provide plenty of room for larger RVs, along with space to spread out with parking for two cars, a picnic table, and a fire ring for your campfire. Each campsite will be separated from one another by 65 feet.

Primitive campsites and the youth camp are staying, joined by new primitive cabins. We’re also building a new gatehouse and camp store as well as installing three new comfort stations and new playgrounds.

While construction is scheduled for completion in 2028, the regrowth of the campground’s tree canopy will take years longer. We look forward to welcoming campers back when construction is complete.

In the meantime, get out and make some new memories camping. Find a site for your next adventure at camp.IN.gov.

Iconic squash is an essential part of Hoosier autumns
By Scott Roberts, OI staff

A vine leads to a giant pumpkin weighing over 1,000 pounds grown by Jim Beal. Photo by Brent Drinkut.

At Hardy Lake’s Owl-O-Ween event in its campground last year, child campers carefully carved their ideas into the skin of their awaiting pumpkins.

Some used pre-made patterns while others already had a vision in their heads for their pumpkin. Included were the traditional jack-o-lantern faces with triangles for eyes, while others had rounder faces. Some had cats or ghosts.
Heather Boicourt of Crothersville in Jackson County looked on with delight. She was watching over a group that included her two daughters as well as friends who had been to Owl-O-Ween for four years straight. She called them the “Crothersville kids.”

“I like the safety of this event, and I also love we can make memories through carving,” she said. “The creativity these kids show is amazing, and I love that this event encourages that to come out.”

By Marty Benson, OI, staff

The secluded main lodge cabin at Covered Bridge Retreat near Bloomingdale. Photo by Brent Drinkut.

Staying at one of DNR’s many cabin options is a scenic way to sleep at a DNR property without some of the challenges camping presents, with nature at your doorstep.
This photo essay showcases the spectacular settings of a sampling of these cabins during leaf-peeping season. The essay also displays some of the wide variety of options available across DNR properties, from basic Rent-a-Camp cabins to cabins that resemble nice homes.
Even with this visual guide, it’s always best to know before you go. When planning to stay at a family cabin, make sure to check page 44 of the Recreation Guide (on.IN.gov/recguide), which lays out what’s available in each in a handy grid.