IN the Parks

02/21/2025

Sounds fun!

Run, walk, paddle, or roll for the trees in our virtual Happy Little Trees virtual 5K, April 22-26. To participate, you can walk, run, paddle or roll 5K anytime between April 19-27 in any outdoor location of your choosing. Your $36 registration fee supports Indiana State Parks’ tree plantings and healthy forest initiatives. To celebrate, you’ll receive a commemorative shirt, bib, and Bob Ross medal. Register by April 1 to get your commemorative shirt, bib, and Bob Ross medal for the race at runsignup.com/happylittletrees.

02/14/2025

It’s a special Valentine’s Day episode about how much we LOVE the park! 💚💙 Enough to hike all of them in one year! Listen to three women (one solo hiker and two as part of ) share how they got to all the parks in one year. You’ll get tips and ideas plus hear their favorite memories and lessons learned. And you’ll definitely fall more in LOVE with Indiana State Parks!

02/04/2025

📍Charlestown State Park in City of Charlestown, Indiana is a hiker’s paradise and a camper’s dream! Full of legends, lore, and even a ghost town, Charlestown has plenty of excitement and beauty. The park’s new hiking challenge will take you through every single trail, and this episode will too! You’ll hear from the challenge creators, park staff, and even the mayor of Charlestown why each trail is worth hiking as we cover the mysteries and history of the park. Get ready to learn about Rose Island, the Welsh Prince Madoc, the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant, and the future plans for Charlestown! Friends of Charlestown State Park

Pictured here: scenes from Rose Island, Trail 6, the Portersville Bridge, and the steep hill warning sign on Trail 3

01/21/2025

📍Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, IN is a beautiful, historic, and captivating park. It’s the smallest, but the history of the land is remarkable. You’ve got fossils, Native American life, George Rogers Clark, the launch of Lewis & Clark’s westward journey, Black history, stories from the Underground Railroad, and birding history with Audubon living here for several years.

Today it’s the perfect weekend getaway between the park, Clarksville, Jeffersonville, and Louisville just across the river! Hiking, history, great food, and lots of fun!

01/08/2025

This was such a great episode to put together because the interpretive naturalist position is so awesome!

Interpretive Naturalists connect you to nature, history, culture, and park services through memorable experiences! They do much more than identify plants and wildlife. Their goal is to instill a “sense of place” and understanding of each property’s uniqueness.

Join them this winter for fun Tree ID workshops, guided winter hikes, history talks, and much more! Find events at: on.in.gov/INStateParkEvents

Learn more about the history of interpretive naturalists and their job at Indiana State Parks through the IN the Parks podcast! The episode on interpretive naturalists can be found at:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-parks/id1759998840?i=1000680662684
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/03FvPG8rV5eK8rAeovBuQ7?si=o44E_GyxT3qWEtzDQnT-ag

01/07/2025

🎙️🎧New podcast — The State of the State Parks! Hear from the director of Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources, Dan Bortner, about the initiatives and improvements he’s most proud of from his 4 years as director. You’ll learn about Dan, the Unity Blaze initiative, Next Level Trails, how Spring Mill has become more accessible, updates on the lodge at Potato Creek, and more!

Pictured here: the new Spring Mill inn and how the park built a massive ramp into Donaldson Cave so more people can experience it.