Versailles, Clifty Falls Among State Park Properties to Close for Deer Management Hunts

Several properties throughout the state will close temporarily in the coming weeks.

(Versailles, Ind.) – Select Indiana State Park properties will close temporarily for controlled deer management hunts in the coming weeks.

Each hunt runs two days.

The first hunt is Monday, November 18 and Tuesday, November 19. The second hunt is Monday, December 2 and Tuesday, December 3.

Each of the following state park properties will close to the general public on the evening before each of the two hunts:

Brown County, Chain O’Lakes, Charlestown, Clifty Falls, Fort Harrison, Harmonie, Lincoln, McCormick’s Creek, O’Bannon Woods, Ouabache, Pokagon, Potato Creek, Prophetstown, Shades, Shakamak, Spring Mill, Summit Lake, Tippecanoe River, Turkey Run, Versailles, and Whitewater Memorial state parks; Raccoon and Trine state recreation areas; and Cave River Valley Natural Area, which is managed by Spring Mill State Park.

These state park properties will re-open the morning after each two-day hunt.

Indiana DNR biologists evaluate which state park properties require a deer management hunt each year based on habitat recovery and previous harvest rates at each park. The state parks are home to numerous natural communities that serve as significant habitat. The deer management hunts help control browsing by deer to a level that allows for sufficient habitat for native plants and other native animals.

Only individual licensed hunters who are selected from a draw may participate at any site.

A full report on the 2023 deer management hunts is at dnr.IN.gov/state-parks/files/sp-2023-deer-management-reduction-results.pdf. The 2024 report will be available in March 2025.