McCormick’s Creek State Park Tornado

• Canyon Inn is OPEN for dining and overnight lodging.
• The saddle barn will be closed during the 2024 season for pasture restoration and barn maintenance.
• The nature center is open with normal summer hours.
• Public programs are offered daily, and school/group programs can be scheduled. Ask for a calendar of events at the nature center or gate or view programs online.
• The public pool opening is delayed until June 1 due to the installation of a new liner, and it closes mid-August. Summer hours when it opens are Sun.-Thu., 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
• All family cabins are open. Reserve cabins at camp.IN.gov.
• All recreation buildings are open except Friendly Recreation Building.
• All shelters are open and rentable except Beech Grove.
• Group Camps are open. Nawakwa is open at full capacity. Two barracks at Camp McCormick are limited to 50% capacity (25 guests per barrack.)
• Clearing by DNR staff and volunteers from Team Rubicon has increased trail access from 3.6 miles to 7.1 miles since fall 2023. Trails with an asterisk represent that increase, and will open on May 24, 2024. Additional changes will be posted on the park’s webpage as they occur.
• Fully Open Trails:
  • Trail 1 - McCormick’s Cove Nature Preserve
  • Trail 2* – Open from CCC Rec Hall to Family Cabins/Trail 1, including the Statehouse Quarry Loop. (Please do not cross closure barriers where the Quarry Loop meets Trail 7.)
  • Trail 3* – The McCormick’s Creek waterfall is open from the falls parking area and from Canyon Inn to the waterfall.  One wooden trail structure has been repaired, extending the trail length by an additional 0.8 miles.
  • Trail 4 - Fire Tower
  • Trail 9 - Deer Run, Peden Farmstead
  • Bridle Trail* – Now open for hiking this year only.
• Partially Open Trails:
  • Trail 8 - A portion of this trail from the pool/nature center area is open. It is closed beyond Pine Bluff shelter where it leads to the campground.
• Trails Currently Closed:
  • Trails 5, 6, 7 and 10 – work continues to clear the trail surfaces and assess structures on these trails.

DNR looks forward to welcoming campers back to McCormick’s Creek. However, right now there is no specific timeline for reopening. Everything, from the foundational infrastructure like water lines and roads to comfort stations, must be repaired or replaced. Cleanup continues and the design process has begun, but because of the scope of the devastation, it will likely be several years before the campground reopens. The campground will remain closed until we are able to welcome campers back safely.

Although most of the campground roads have been cleared, there are still many damaged trees in dangerous positions with the potential to fall. You can view video and photos of the campground’s sustained damage on this page. Park staff in the Nature Center are also available to answer your questions.

McCormick’s Cove Nature Preserve and Wolf Cave Nature Preserve were both impacted. Wolf Cave Nature Preserve is one of the finest examples of mesic hardwood forest in central Indiana. The tornado cut across its center and in that path at least 90% of all trees are down. In some locations downed trees are stacked six to eight feet high across the preserve. There are no plans to remove these trees. Natural disturbance is a part of the landscape, and research plots have been established to evaluate the impact of the change in sunlight and weather conditions on wildlife, plant species, and invasives in these locations. We have observed an increased presence of tree-of-heaven and multiflora rose and are working to limit the spread of those highly invasive species through the work of DNR staff now and with a contractor later this year. Wolf Cave itself is undamaged, so it will open once trail access is restored.

Birds and mammals in the direct path of the storm experienced the storm’s incredible force. For example, several turkey vultures were roosting and unable to take off before the tornado hit. On the other hand, natural disturbances create forest openings, which are important in supporting wildlife diversity. Successional species such as the blue-winged warbler, Carolina wren, American woodcock, whippoorwill, common yellowthroat, and prairie warbler may benefit from this disturbance. The reduced canopy will also permit sun-loving herbaceous plants to flourish, along with an increase in the presence of invertebrate decomposers such as beetles. We look forward to witnessing the natural changes in species composition in the coming months and years.

A team of experts in forest management, park operations, design, and communications has been assembled to manage this process. The first step was to remove the damaged trees in the campground, repair cabins and other structures, and work to open trails where possible. A second step now underway is removal of tree limbs and root masses, some of which are nearly the size of a small pickup truck, from the campground and surrounding area. As the campground area is fully cleared, we will assess roads and water, electric, and sewer lines. Any damage in those areas will need to be repaired. Planning for new comfort stations is also already underway. Damaged cabins have been repaired and are open, and the group camps and other structures are in the pipeline for repairs. The trail mileage has been nearly doubled from 3.6 to 7.1 miles through the work of skilled sawyers and volunteers. DNR staff will continue to work to safely open additional trail mileage.

Thousands of trees were damaged – many more than DNR staff alone could remove quickly and safely. This amount of damage required a salvage harvest. Downed, damaged, and hazardous timber was removed through a sale to a private contractor. This harvest was based on a resource management guide developed for the site. Removal of the massive quantity of uprooted tree root masses and limbs that are on the ground will be underway during the summer and fall of 2024.

We have already removed a number of trees that will be used for other DNR projects. For example, 220 tulip trees were removed to be dried, milled and used in repairing the flume that carries water to the gristmill wheel in the Pioneer Village at Spring Mill State Park.

The resource management guide noted above was posted for public comment for 30 days on DNR Division of Forestry’s webpage. No comments were received. Bid documents and requirements were posted online for tree removal from the campground. The bid for the salvage harvest was awarded to Kinser Timber Products, and tree removal has been completed. The last two minutes of the video on this page provide a look at the work in progress.

Any funds generated by this work will be dedicated to restoration of the campground and the park’s natural resources.

We are already looking at how portions of the campground might be altered or redesigned to accommodate changes in camping preferences of our guests for the future.

DNR will most likely plant new native hardwood trees in the campground that will, in time, provide shade. How many will be determined by the amount of regrowth we see from the existing seed bank in campground soil.

The Indiana General Assembly and Governor Holcomb included $5 million in the state’s biennial budget to continue the work on the campground. Additional funding will come from the Division of State Park’s operational budget, from any revenue generated by the salvage harvest, and from donations to the project by individuals and organizations.

The current campground was built in the late 1960s. Campers may see some updates that will provide an improved experience. However, the regrowth of trees is a long process that we will continue to follow for decades. This regrowth is in progress at a number of DNR properties with campgrounds located on reclaimed agricultural lands. For example, the amount of shade at Prophetstown and Potato Creek state park campgrounds increases each year.

Many of the memorial benches that were along now-damaged trails have been impacted, but we have not completed an assessment yet due to the downed trees. When we have more information regarding these benches and any process for replacement, we will be in touch with donors.

Follow McCormick’s Creek State Park’s Facebook page for regular posts about progress or visit this page.

Yes, although the scale of storm impact has varied. A portion of the park was impacted by straight-line winds in 2003. Drought, emerald ash borers, and scale insects resulted in a small salvage sale in the park in 2017. The emerald ash borer has decimated ash trees planted for shade in most of our campgrounds. Clark State Forest was significantly impacted by the 2012 tornado that hit the town of Henryville. In 1974, Clifty Inn was destroyed by a tornado and was rebuilt.