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This short loop lets you see the views over a quick, short run.


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Map Key

0.6

Miles

1.0

KM

89%

Runnable

813' 248 m

High

725' 221 m

Low

88' 27 m

Up

96' 29 m

Down

6%

Avg Grade (3°)

23%

Max Grade (13°)

Dogs Leashed

Features Fall Colors · River/Creek · Views · Waterfall

Need to Know

Bathrooms at the parking lot are closed during the winter months.

Runner Notes

While it can be run, some of the stairs have strange spacing. Be careful on the first few steps up and down as they vary significantly.

Description

This trail starts and ends in the parking lot; doing just this trail by itself lets you get a good preview of the area and covers some of the best views available. While short, it does have a few rocky areas that can challenge the footing of little runners or beginner runners, and dangerous drop offs that can be risky with kids.

The loops has stairs in places where the slope would be steep, making for an easy running experience. The waterfalls are cool and calming. This run is best when the leaves are down as you can see the whole valley easily.

This is a fantastic, short trail that is very scenic. Big Clifty Falls can be viewed from an interesting lookout area carved into the cliff. The trail crosses over the precipice of Little Clifty Falls, offering an extremely interesting perspective of that waterfall. There are also a few unnamed waterfalls this trail passes, one at the northernmost point, and one near Lookout Point. Cake Rock can be viewed near the observation area of Big Clifty Falls. This trail can be very dangerous, however. Almost the entire trail is spent on the edge of a cliff, and it can be very treacherous after a rain.

Personally, this is my favorite trail in the whole park.

Flora & Fauna

Typical southern Indiana woods with a sprinkling of additional cedar trees.

Contacts

Shared By:

Nathan Ginn with improvements by Michael Kontos

Trail Ratings

  5.0 from 2 votes

#1545

Overall
  5.0 from 2 votes
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Trail Rankings

#13

in Indiana

#1,545

Overall
2 Views Last Month
382 Since Dec 22, 2018
Intermediate Intermediate

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Photos

Cake Rock, an unusual name but up close it looks just like a giant slice of cake!
Dec 22, 2018 near North M…, IN
Little Clifty Falls, the smaller of the 2 main attractions on this end as viewed from the west side during winter
Dec 22, 2018 near North M…, IN
Clifty Falls State Park in Madisonsuper cool caterpillar again
Apr 7, 2020 near North M…, IN
overlook
Apr 10, 2019 near North M…, IN
overlook
Apr 10, 2019 near North M…, IN
Trail 7
Apr 10, 2019 near North M…, IN

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Weather


Current Trail Conditions

All Clear 60 days ago
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