| Brown County State Park, Indiana, USA | |
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IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
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| Location | Brown County, Indiana, USA |
| Nearest city | Bloomington, Indiana |
| Area | 15,776 acres (63.84 km²) |
| Established | 1929 |
| Visitors | 1,306,066 (in 2008-2009) |
| Governing body | Indiana Department of Natural Resources |
Brown County State Park is an Indiana state park on 15,776 acres (63.84 km2) near Nashville in Brown County, Indiana in the United States. The park opened to the public in 1929, and is Indiana's largest state park. It was the most visited Indiana State Park[1] in 2008 with more than 1.3 million visitors per year. It is located along the Knobstone Escarpment and features dramatic views from its highest elevations.
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In 1924, Brown County State Game Preserve was opened to the public. In 1929, Brown County commissioners gave just over 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of land adjacent to the Game Preserve for Brown County State Park. Later, the game preserve lands were sold to the Dept. of Conservation and added to the state park.[2] In 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed many of the buildings, roads, shelters, ovens and trails in existence today.
Included within the park boundaries are two lakes: Ogle Lake at 17 acres (0.069 km2) in size, and Strahl Lake covering 7 acres (0.028 km2). There are 70 miles (110 km) of bridle trails and 20 miles (32 km) of hiking trails. Hiking trails range from easy to rugged terrain and 0.5 to 3 miles in length. The third highest point in Indiana, Weed Patch Hill, is located within the confines of the park, which is sometimes referred to as the "Little Smokies" because of frequent low lying fogs in the forested valleys of the park. The park has multiple campgrounds, RV sites, and a horseman's camp.
The peak visitation is in the fall during the leaf changing season. A significant portion of the park's annual visitors come during this time. The park affords a number of vistas that overlook miles of wide swaths of deciduous forest that display a large array of colors in the fall.
Brown County was the site of the biking events at the 1987 Pan American Games. The Brown County area is known as one of the best mountain biking locations in the Midwest.
Animals common in the park include white-tailed deer, raccoon, eastern gray squirrel and chipmunk. Birds in the park include robin, white-breasted nuthatch, blue jay, cardinal, junco, crow and wild turkey.
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