DNR reminds Hoosiers of park’s recovery after 2023 tornado

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is celebrating Indiana’s oldest state park and its recovery after a tornado just over a year ago that killed two people.

The two people were camping at McCormick’s Creek State Park near Spencer in March of 2023, when an EF3 tornado went through parts of Owen and Monroe counties. Nine tornadoes tore through Indiana that day, killing five Hoosiers.

The state agency wants to remind you of the parks features including the McCormick’s Creek waterfall, more than three and a half miles of trails, more than 500 species of plants and a variety of birds. The park is on the Indiana Birding Trail. You can also see what the area was like before becoming a park by visiting the Peden Farmstead which includes a restored springhouse used for refrigeration, and the remains of the barn and cabin.

McCormick’s Creek was founded in 1916 and is Indiana’s first state park.