List Of Indiana State Parks
The U.S. state of Indiana has 25 state parks maintained and operated by Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Marion and Clark are the only counties to have two. Brown County, the largest state park, has the greatest number of visitors, followed by Indiana Dunes State Park.
Richard Lieber was instrumental in the foundation of the Indiana State Park system. The first state park in Indiana was McCormick's Creek State Park, in Owen County in 1916, followed in the same year by Turkey Run State Park in Parke County. A steady climb in the number of state parks rose in the 1920s, mostly by donation from local authorities to the state government for the purpose of a state park. Of the initial twelve, only Muscatatuck State Park is no longer a state park, having been given back to Jennings County in 1968. It was during the Great Depression of the 1930s that much infrastructure was built within the park, constructed by New Deal agencies such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration, with the majority of this Depression-era construction still in use in the 21st Century. This delay in infrastructure was due in part to Richard Lieber believing that the parks should be kept as natural as possible.
Initially, the state parks were meant to feature natural environments in Indiana; establishing Mounds State Park for its historical nature and establishing Shakamak State Park purely for recreational purposes (it was an abandoned strip mine) strayed from the initial purposes of the Indiana state park system.
While Indiana does not have as many state parks as some other states, it has avoided obtaining too many smaller properties that would be hard to manage. A goal of having at least one state park within an hour's drive for every Hoosier was met when Prophetstown State Park was established.
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