Spring Mill State Park
| Spring Mill State Park | |
|---|---|
The watermill in the pioneer village | |
Map of the U.S. state of Indiana showing the location of Spring Mill State Park | |
| Location | Lawrence County, Indiana, U.S. |
| Nearest city | Mitchell, Indiana |
| Coordinates | 38°44′00″N 86°25′12″W / 38.73333°N 86.42000°W |
| Area | 1,358 acres (5.50 km2) |
| Visitors | 675,880 (in 2018–19) |
| Governing body | Indiana Department of Natural Resources |
Spring Mill State Park is a 1,358-acre (5 km2) state park in the state of Indiana. The park is located south of Bloomington, about 3 miles (5 km) east of the city of Mitchell on Indiana State Road 60. Established in 1927, it contains a settler's village, the Gus Grissom Memorial (with the accompanying Gemini 3 space capsule), a nature center, and campgrounds.
The park is located on the Mitchell Karst Plain, which allowed the park's caves and sinkholes to form in the limestone. The caves include Bronson Cave, Twin Caves, Shawnee Cave (also known as Donaldson Cave), Hamer Cave, and others. A boat tour of Twin Caves is run by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, which travels about 500 feet (150 m) into the cave.
A portion of the park is virgin timber, protected in the Donaldson Woods Nature Preserve. The Mitchell Karst Plain Nature Preserve is notable for its large number of sinkholes, more than 1000 per square mile. Many of the park's features were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, including the Spring Mill Inn, Spring Mill Lake, and most of the trails. The park attracts about 675,000 visitors annually.
The park is one of 14 Indiana State Parks that were in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse, with the park experiencing 3 minutes and 21 seconds of totality.