Falls of the Ohio State Park is a 390-million-year-old Devonian fossil bed and nature park in Clarksville, Indiana. It’s on the banks of the Ohio River across from Louisville, Kentucky. This guide covers current opening hours, ticket prices, transport and parking, accessibility, and practical tips for a first-time visit.
This guide was updated in August 2026. One point worth flagging: the Interpretive Center’s temporary River Room exhibit on fossil types and preservation closed on 31 March 2026, so older guides that mention it are now out of date.
Quick facts
| Opening hours | Park grounds: daily, 7am–11pm. Interpretive Center: Monday–Saturday 9am–5pm, Sunday 1–5pm |
| Interpretive Center price | $9 (ages 12+), $7 (ages 5–11), free under 5 |
| Address | 201 West Riverside Drive, Clarksville, IN 47129 |
| Nearest transport | TARC Route 71 from Louisville, then about a 20-minute walk |
| Typical visit length | At least one hour for the Interpretive Center; longer with the fossil beds and trails |
Falls of the Ohio State Park opening hours
The park grounds are open daily, from 7am to 11pm. The Interpretive Center keeps shorter hours: Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm, and Sunday, 1pm to 5pm.
August through October gives the best access to the fossil beds, since the river is at its lowest level during this period.
5 great Louisville experiences to book
- 🏛️ See handsome mansions and learn Louisville history – on an Old Louisville walking tour.
- 🏇 Visit the Kentucky Derby Museum – with a guided Churchill Downs track visit.
- 🍗 Taste fried chicken, BBQ and more – on a guided NuLu food tour.
- 🥃 Take a Kentucky bourbon tour – with tastings at three distilleries.
- 👻 Hear spooky tales of old Louisville – on a hugely popular ghost tour.
Falls of the Ohio State Park ticket prices
Parking costs $2, and this fee is waived with an Indiana State Park Annual Entrance Pass. The Interpretive Center charges separate admission: $9 for ages 12 and up, $7 for ages 5 to 11, and free for children under 5.
Opening hours and ticket prices were checked on the official website and last updated in August 2026. The Annual Entrance Pass covers parking but not Interpretive Center admission, so visitors who only plan to walk the fossil beds and trails may find it worthwhile, while those who want the exhibits need a separate ticket.
How to get to Falls of the Ohio State Park
From downtown Louisville, TARC Route 71 crosses the Ohio River into New Albany and Jeffersonville, Indiana, leaving about a 20-minute walk to the park.
Walkers and cyclists can also cross the pedestrian-only Big Four Bridge from Louisville into Jeffersonville, then follow the paved Ohio River Greenway, a 7.5-mile trail connecting Jeffersonville, Clarksville and New Albany that runs directly past the park.
Parking at Falls of the Ohio State Park
On-site parking costs $2, payable at the park, or is covered by an Indiana State Park Annual Entrance Pass. The lot sits behind the Interpretive Center, close to the collecting piles and trailheads.
How long to spend at Falls of the Ohio State Park
The park’s own website recommends allowing at least an hour to tour the Interpretive Center’s exhibit gallery. Visitors who also walk the fossil beds or the half-mile Woodland Loop Trail should plan for two hours or more.
Accessibility at Falls of the Ohio State Park
The Interpretive Center is fully ADA accessible, with a paved path connecting the parking area to the river overlook. A free Axis Track Chair is available for exploring the paved overlook path, outdoor classroom, gazebo and Lewis & Clark statue; call (812) 280-9970 at least 24 hours ahead to reserve it.
Trails along the waterfront mix paved and packed-gravel surfaces, and some sections near the rock flats are uneven or rocky. The free A4A app offers assisted listening, audio descriptions and sensory ratings for the Interpretive Center’s exhibits.
Inside Falls of the Ohio State Park
The fossil beds themselves are the park’s main draw: 220 acres of exposed Devonian-age rock, among the largest exposed fossil beds of their kind in the world, formed when the area was a shallow tropical sea roughly 30 degrees south of the equator. More than 600 fossil species have been described here, two-thirds of them for the first time.
The Interpretive Center’s four permanent exhibits — Ancient Sea, A Changing Land, Converging Cultures and The Falls Today — cover the area’s geology, history and wildlife across 3,000 square feet of gallery space.
The park also preserves the homesite of George Rogers Clark, who founded Clarksville here in 1778; his original cabin no longer stands, though a replica stood on the site until a 2021 fire. His younger brother, William Clark, set out from here with Meriwether Lewis in 1803 to explore the Louisiana Purchase.
Birdwatchers have recorded more than 270 species at the Falls, which is a stop on the Indiana Birding Trail; John James Audubon sketched birds here in the early 1800s.
Rock and fossil collecting is banned on the fossil beds themselves, but visitors can take fossils home from the designated collecting piles located near the parking lot behind the Interpretive Center.
Practical visitor tips
| Tip | Detail |
|---|---|
| Timing | August through October gives the best access to the fossil beds, since river levels are lowest then. |
| Crowds | Check the live river-level webcam on fallsoftheohio.org before visiting, since high water can submerge the fossil beds entirely. |
| Layout | The park grounds and the Interpretive Center keep different hours, so plan an exhibit visit separately from a fossil-bed walk if needed. |
| Entry process | Park grounds require only the $2 parking fee; the Interpretive Center exhibits need a separate ticket. |
| On-site logistics | Dogs are allowed on a 6-foot leash, and fossils may only be taken from the collecting piles, not the protected fossil beds. |
Frequently asked questions about Falls of the Ohio State Park
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is Falls of the Ohio State Park suitable for children? | Yes. Families can walk the fossil beds, use the Woodland Loop Trail, and visit interactive exhibits at the Interpretive Center. |
| Do you need to book tickets in advance for Falls of the Ohio State Park? | No. Parking and Interpretive Center tickets can be paid for on arrival. |
| Can you collect fossils at Falls of the Ohio State Park? | Not from the fossil beds or riverbank, but rocks and fossils may be taken from the collecting piles near the parking lot. |
| Is Falls of the Ohio State Park open on Sundays? | Yes. The park grounds are open daily, and the Interpretive Center opens 1pm to 5pm on Sundays. |
| Is Falls of the Ohio State Park wheelchair accessible? | Yes. The Interpretive Center is ADA accessible, and a free Axis Track Chair can be reserved for the paved overlook path. |
Things to do near Falls of the Ohio State Park
Louisville Waterfront Park and the Big Four Bridge are directly across the Ohio River and are reachable on foot from Jeffersonville. Schimpff’s Confectionery, a historic candy shop and small museum, is a short walk into downtown Jeffersonville.
The Howard Steamboat Museum, also in Jeffersonville, is housed in a Victorian mansion built for a steamboat-building family. Ashland Park, a Clarksville neighbourhood next to the state park, is noted for offering some of the best views of the Louisville skyline.
What to visit tomorrow
Squire Boone Caverns, near Mauckport, Indiana, is about 50 minutes’ drive and includes a show cave alongside a working grist mill and pioneer village.
Marengo Cave National Landmark, in Marengo, Indiana, is a similar distance and offers two different walking tours through its natural cave formations.
Spring Mill State Park, near Mitchell, Indiana, is around an hour and a half’s drive and combines a cave tour with a restored 19th-century pioneer village.
Big Bone Lick State Historic Site, in Union, Kentucky, is about an hour and a half to two hours’ drive and is known as the birthplace of American vertebrate paleontology, where Meriwether Lewis collected fossils for Thomas Jefferson.
Mammoth Cave National Park, in Kentucky, is under two hours’ drive and protects the longest known cave system in the world.
More Louisville travel
Other Louisville travel guides on Planet Whitley include:
- Practical guide to visiting the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville.
- The information you need to visit the Frazier Kentucky History Museum in Louisville.
- What to expect at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory Tour in Louisville.
- Celebrate The Greatest at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville.
- How to make the most of the Kentucky Science Center in Louisville.
