Cataract Falls is worth a trip to central and southern Indiana

The largest waterfall in Indiana is south and west of Indianapolis, and not far from the above mentioned McCormick's Creek State Park. Near Lieber State Recreation area, Cataract Falls has two sets of falls on Mill Creek. The upper part of the falls has a steep plunge of about 20 feet (top picture). The lower falls is shown in the bottom photo. It is half a mile downstream, and its water falls about 18 feet.

A covered bridge is built near the upper falls. Constructed in 1875, it was open to car traffic until 1988. The bridge has recently been restored by the Indiana DNR. Cagles Mills Lake sets at the receiving end of the falls.

A mill was erected in 1820 by settler Issac Teal near the lower falls. Wildlife and fish provided resources for the settlers as well. A Jennings family later bought the mill and improved upon it adding flour, saw and woolen mills, along with shops and a general store to form the community of Cataract.

Owen County, Indiana, is not far off Interstate 70 which connects Indianapolis to Terre Haute and then goes on to Effingham, Illinois. This lovely Indiana county has tons of wonderful scenery just a few miles off the highway, yet it seems as though few folks have stopped to see. There are lots of great trips like this from Fort Wayne, but I think many of our Hoosier friends don't know what treasures exist in our neighboring counties. This is a great picnicking spot, a place to take the kids for a runabout and some back-to-nature time. Sometimes we need to remind them (and ourselves) what life was like before we had all the screens and techy gadgets competing for our attention.