on is by checking out the events section of the
Falls of the Ohio State Park’s Facebook page or
by browsing the events calendar on the Indiana
Department of Natural Resources website. They’re
also completely free outside of the $2 parking fee
that all visitors pay whether going on a tour or not.
An upcoming event that Kessans encourages
folks to check out is the Outer Bed Fossil Hike on
Oct. 7. “If you have the opportunity and you’re
physically able to make it to the outer beds, which
are the rock structures that people see across the
waterway, they’re only accessible maybe two
months out of the year by foot, but if you can make
it, they are the place to go,” Kessans said. “The
fossils are larger, for the most part untouched and
you actually have some Silurian – which is the
time period before the Devonian – mixed in out
there. So, you can experience both time periods
in certain parts of the outer beds.”
On the tour, visitors can expect to not only
explore these magnificent fossil beds and examine
the staggering history present in them but also
learn a bit more about the history of the falls
as well as its unique and extraordinarily varied
ecosystem.
Attendees to tours – or just solo explorations
– can also expect to get a workout at the falls.
“We’re right on the Greenway Project, which
is a huge recreational and exercising source,”
Kessans said. “So, we’re part of that and also have
our Woodland Loop Trail. And then on our fossil
beds, there is a little bit of leg workout involved
because of the varied elevation. So, one could
definitely get a workout here.”
Whether you’re looking to work up a sweat
or just wanting to leisurely take in the scenery,
Kessans said it’s important the community get
out and explore the Falls. Its fossil beds are only
matched in splendor by its history, and, on the
guided tours specifically, you can discover both
– just don’t come looking for dinosaur fossils.
“People say ‘fossils,’ and they always relate back
to dinosaurs,” said Kessans, “so people come here
and know we’re a fossil bed and ask, ‘Well, where
are your dinosaur bones?’ But our fossils about
200 million years older than dinosaurs, so that’s
pretty amazing. But if people are wondering, that
new layer of rock – the Jurassic or dinosaurs – has
been shoved out of here and eroded away due
to glaciers, so that’s why you don’t find dinosaur
bones in Indiana.”
FALLS OF THE OHIO STATE PARK
201 W. Riverside Drive
Clarksville
812.280.9970
www.fallsoftheohio.org
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