Why You Should Visit
Fall Creek Gorge is one of the most scenic areas in west central Indiana with its steep walled canyons, tumbling waters, and potholes — large, circular openings in the sandrock that form the bed of the canyon — providing a picturesque home for unusual flora and thriving fauna.
Location
Warren County
Ecoregion
North Central Tillplain
Size
163 Acres
Dedicated
State Nature Preserve, 1986
Owned & Managed By
The Nature Conservancy
How to Prepare for Your Visit
The preserve is open to the public from dawn to dusk. While trails are developed, they are quite rugged. Please note that due to overuse of this area, the number of visitors to the site is now being limited. All visitors must park in the small parking lot on Conservancy land. Once this parking lot is full (and it can fill quickly on weekends), no further visitors are allowed. No parking is allowed on the adjacent Potholes Road, and the county rigorously enforces this ban. Swimming, rock climbing, rappelling, camping, campfires, alcohol and picnicking are not allowed at Fall Creek Gorge. For more information please consult the Conservancy’s Preserves Visitation Guidelines.
Directions
From Lafayette, take S.R. 25 southwest for 14 miles where it intersects with S.R. 28. Follow S.R. 28 west to Attica. From Attica, follow U.S. 41 northwest approximately 4 miles to Five Points intersection (adjacent to a small power relay station). Turn north (right) onto Potholes Road and travel 1.5 miles to a small parking lot on the left side of the road where the trail begins.
From Attica, travel west on U.S. 41 (Kramer electric substation is across the road). Fo north roughly 1.5 miles to a small parking lot on the left side of the road. If you cross over the bridges over Fall Creek and Big Pine Creek, you have gone to far.
What to See: Plants and Animals
This versatile habitat is home to a number of unique plant species. While oak-hickory woods dominate the ridges and white pines nestle in the edges of the sandstone cliffs, liverworts, lichens, mosses, and ferns are strewn throughout the gorge like a vibrant green tapestry. Among some of the most notable plants are the forked aster (Aster furcatus) and state-rare snow trillium (Trillium nivale).
What The Naure Conservancy is Doing/has Done
The Conservancy is constantly working to protect and maintain vaible populations of forest-associated plants and animals.
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