Falls of the Ohio State Park Facts for Kids

Ohio River Falls at Louisville Kentucky

Quick facts for kids Falls of the Ohio State Park
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
Falls of the Ohio State Park Location in Indiana
Location	Clark County, Indiana, US
Nearest city	Clarksville, Indiana
Area	165 acres (67 ha)
Established	1990
Visitors	158,680 (in 2018–2019<)
Governing body	Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Welcome to Falls of the Ohio State Park! This amazing park is in Indiana, right on the banks of the Ohio River. It sits across from Louisville, Kentucky, in a town called Clarksville, Indiana. The park is famous for its incredible fossil beds. These beds show us what life was like millions of years ago!

About 160,000 people visit the park every year. It's also a historic spot. The famous explorers Lewis and Clark met here before their big journey. They gathered at George Rogers Clark's cabin right at the Falls.

Fossil formations (Devonian Jeffersonville Limestone) found along the shores of the Ohio River.

View of the fossil bed from the overlook

Discover Ancient Life at the Falls
- Explore the Interpretive Center
  - Visiting the Center
- Walk the Woodland Loop Trail
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Discover Ancient Life at the Falls

The main attraction at Falls of the Ohio State Park is its huge fossil beds. These beds are made of Jeffersonville Limestone. They date back to the Devonian period, about 390 million years ago! Back then, this area was covered by a warm, shallow sea.

You can see the remains of ancient sea creatures here. There are corals, sponges, and other animals that lived long, long ago. It's like a giant outdoor history book!

Large rugose coral (above hammer) at the Falls of the Ohio

Explore the Interpretive Center

The park has a special building called the Interpretive Center. It's like a museum where you can learn even more! The center opened in 1992. It cost about $4.9 million to build.

Inside, you'll find exhibits about the park's natural history. You can learn all about the fossils and the ancient sea. There are also displays about the human history of the area. This includes stories from before settlers arrived. It also covers the history of Louisville and southern Indiana up to the 1900s.

Visiting the Center

Unlike other state parks in Indiana, there's a small fee to enter the Interpretive Center. Even if you have an annual park pass, you'll still pay a small amount. This helps the town of Clarksville, which helped build the center.

Walk the Woodland Loop Trail

The park also has a fun trail called the Woodland Loop Trail. Along this trail, you'll find ten cool stainless steel markers. These markers help you identify the different plants growing in the park. An Eagle Scout helped create this project!