Indiana’s oldest attraction is a 390-million-year-old sea floor you can walk on

It’s where Lewis and Clark started west

Falls of the Ohio State Park sits on the banks of the Ohio River in Clarksville, Indiana, just across the water from Louisville.

The ground you walk on here is 390 million years old, a fossil bed from a time when this part of North America lay under a shallow tropical sea near the equator.

Corals, trilobites, and the remains of creatures most people have never heard of are locked into the rock beneath your feet. The fossils are just the start of what this park holds.

Glacial meltwater carved the river and uncovered the fossils

Those ancient sea creatures stayed buried for hundreds of millions of years.

Then glacial meltwater cut through the limestone and carved the Ohio River Valley, dragging the Devonian fossil beds into daylight.

The U.S. Department of the Interior recognized the site as a National Natural Landmark in 1966, making it one of the earliest spots to earn that title.

A 1,404-acre National Wildlife Conservation Area followed in 1981, and Indiana opened the state park in 1990.

Over 600 species packed into 220 acres of rock

Scientists have described more than 600 species of fossils at the Falls, and about two-thirds of those are type specimens, meaning they were first identified right here. More than 250 species of corals alone sit in these beds.

You get the best access from August through October, when the Ohio River drops to its lowest level and the rock opens up.

You can’t collect fossils from the beds, but the park sets out designated piles near the parking lot with loose rocks from quarries you can take home.

Walk across an ocean floor without getting wet

When the river level drops low enough, you can step right onto the exposed fossil beds along the shoreline. Some people call it dry snorkeling because you’re walking across what was once the bottom of a tropical sea.

Ancient corals sit in the Jeffersonville Limestone in lifelike positions, right where they grew 390 million years ago. The rocky terrain is uneven, so wear sturdy shoes.

Park naturalists lead guided fossil bed discovery hikes throughout the season if you want someone to point out what you’re standing on.

Four galleries tell 390 million years of history inside the center

The Interpretive Center sits on a bluff with the fossil beds and the Ohio River spread out below. Inside, 3,000 square feet of interactive exhibits fill four permanent galleries.

Ancient Sea covers the tropical ocean and the creatures that lived in it.

A Changing Land picks up with the last major Ice Age and the native people who lived here over the past 10,000 years. Converging Cultures gets into the collision of Native American and European settler histories.

The Falls Today brings the story forward.

Lewis and Clark recruited their crew right here in 1803

In October 1803, Meriwether Lewis floated down the Ohio River and met William Clark near the Falls.

The two spent nearly two weeks here pulling together volunteers for the expedition west, including the Nine Young Men from Kentucky, who became key members of the Corps of Discovery.

On Oct. 26, 1803, Lewis, Clark, and the core of the Corps pushed off from Clarksville and headed for the Pacific.

A statue near the Interpretive Center marks the spot, and the park sits on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

A Revolutionary War hero retired to this bluff

George Rogers Clark, the Revolutionary War hero and William Clark’s older brother, built his retirement home on a bluff here in 1803.

Clark’s Point gave him wide views of the Falls and the Ohio River, and he lived here until 1809, when a stroke and leg amputation forced him to move in with family near Louisville.

A replica cabin built in 2001 was destroyed by arson in May 2021 and no longer stands.

The McGee Cabin, which tells the story of Venus and Ben McGee, Clark’s indentured servants, still sits on the seven-acre property.

Audubon sketched birds here in the early 1800s

Bird watchers have come to the Falls of the Ohio since the early 1800s. John James Audubon sketched birds here between 1808 and 1810 while he lived in Louisville.

More than 275 species have been documented at the Falls, and you might spot bald eagles, peregrine falcons, great egrets, ospreys, and shorebirds along the river.

The Interpretive Center has a bird viewing room with feeders just inches from the glass, and you can use it without paying regular admission.

A half-mile trail through two different woodlands

The Woodland Loop Trail runs half a mile through two habitats, the upper and lower woodlands. The path stays fairly level with only a few minor inclines, so most visitors can handle it without trouble.

Ten stainless steel markers along the way identify the plant life in these woods. Down near the river, the lower section can get covered with driftwood and debris from high water.

You can bring your dog, but keep it on a six-foot leash the whole time.

Cast a line for catfish, walleye and smallmouth bass

You can fish from the shoreline or from a small boat in the river.

The water holds catfish, sauger, striped bass, hybrid-striped white bass, walleye, and smallmouth bass. You’ll need an Indiana or Kentucky fishing license before you wet a line.

The George Rogers Clark Boat Ramp sits a short distance from the park if you want to launch. Keep in mind that bow fishing is not allowed at the Falls, and keeping paddlefish caught here is illegal.

Bike 7.5 miles along the river to Louisville

The Ohio River Greenway is a paved 7.5-mile trail that runs along the riverbank and connects Clarksville, Jeffersonville, and New Albany. It passes right by the state park and the George Rogers Clark Home Site.

At the Jeffersonville end, the Greenway links up with the Big Four Pedestrian Bridge, which crosses into Louisville on foot.

The park also sits on the Ohio Valley Fossil Trail, a route connecting 12 museums and parks across Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio for anyone who wants to keep hunting fossils.

Grab a table with the Louisville skyline across the river

Picnic tables and grills spread across the park grounds, some under shade trees and others in the open near the water.

From the Interpretive Center deck, you can look out over the fossil beds, the Ohio River, and the Louisville skyline all at once.

The park grounds stay open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. The Interpretive Center runs Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Parking costs $2, and admission runs $9 for ages 12 and up, $7 for ages 5 to 11, and free for kids under 5.

Explore Falls of the Ohio State Park in Indiana

You’ll find Falls of the Ohio State Park at 201 West Riverside Drive in Clarksville, Indiana, just one mile west of I-65 and directly across the river from Louisville.

This is a day-use park with no overnight camping, so plan on arriving in the morning and giving yourself a full day. If you want to camp nearby, Charlestown State Park sits about 15 miles northeast and has campgrounds.

Check the official website for current river levels before you go, since fossil bed access depends on the water.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• Saving America’s most vulnerable national park in Indiana
• The national park trapped by some of the most toxic industrial sites in the USA
• How glass companies stole an entire 200-foot Indiana mountain one boxcar at a time in the 1890s