Canyon Inn Trail

McCormick's Creek State Park holds a unique distinction as Indiana's first state park, established in 1916, and the Canyon Inn Trail is its central hiking experience. The trail descends from near the historic Canyon Inn — a 1924 Indiana limestone lodge that remains an active resort — into the canyon carved by McCormick's Creek through Owen County's Salem limestone bedrock. The canyon walls display the characteristic layered cream-and-gray limestone typical of south-central Indiana, dissolved and sculpted over millennia by slightly acidic groundwater into smooth curves and undercut ledges. The trail follows the creek through a shaded forest of beech, sycamore, and tulip poplar, passing beneath limestone overhangs that shelter colonies of cave crickets and the occasional Indiana bat. The canyon floor is cool and moist year-round, supporting a lush understory of pawpaw, spicebush, and various ferns. The loop climbs out of the canyon via a series of switchbacks before returning through the upland forest to the inn trailhead. The Canyon Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and makes a memorable post-hike destination for lunch or a cold drink on the terrace.