Whitewater Memorial is the sixteenth

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. It is located in

Union County, Indiana Union County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 7,087. The county seat is Liberty. Since 2018, Union County has been included in the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan St ...

, west-southwest of

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. At , it is the third-largest state park in Indiana; its seventeen miles (27 km) stretches between

Brookville, Indiana Brookville is a town in Brookville Township, Franklin County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,596 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of and the largest community entirely within Franklin County. History Brookville was ...

, and

Liberty, Indiana Liberty is a town in Center Township, Union County, Indiana, Center Township, Union County, Indiana, Union County, Indiana, United States of America. The population was 2,000 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of ...

, paralleled by

Indiana State Road 101 State Road 101 in the U.S. state of Indiana is a north–south state highway in the eastern portion of Indiana that exists in four sections with a combined length of . Route description Only the segment of SR 101 that is concurrent with ...

. The park was established as a memorial to those American soldiers who lost their lives in World Wars I and II. The park receives about 240,000 visitors annually. Part of the facilities available to visitors to Whitewater Memorial State Park include Brookville Reservoir. Brookville Reservoir was created as an artificial lake by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

in 1974, spanning . The dam which enables the lake is high and long.Conn 172, 173 Whitewater Lake itself is . Popular recreation options in the state park include houseboats, five hiking trails, a nine-mile (14 km) horse trail and lake swimming. Bass,

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

and other small fish are the attractions for fishermen. An archery range is available by the reservoir. Hayrides are also occasionally offered. Hunters are attracted to the park's

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s and

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

s. Non-hunted wildlife include

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...

s and

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s.McKinney 111 Within the state park is the Hornbeam Nature Preserve, which features the rare

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam' ...

trees. It is in area, and was established in 1974. Whitewater Memorial State Park hosted the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall from September 4–8, 2008. It was placed at the beach's grassy southern edge. Surviving veterans of the four counties were specifically honored. The park is 1 of 14 Indiana State Parks that are in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse, with the park experiencing 3 minutes and 33 seconds of totality.

References

External links

Indiana Department of Natural Resources' official Web page
{{authority control Protected areas established in 1949 Protected areas of Fayette County, Indiana Protected areas of Franklin County, Indiana State parks of Indiana Protected areas of Union County, Indiana Protected areas of Wayne County, Indiana