Clifty Falls State Park

The park is beautiful but if you are hoping to see actual waterfalls it is best to plan your trip in the Spring for Falls or Winter for Frozen Falls. We visited in September and they were barely a trickle of water. Be sure to bring a flash light/head lamp if you plan to do the Tunnel Falls Trail as you will be walking through a cave that is wet, slippery, and DARK. The Tunnel is off limits to hikers Nov 1 - April 30 to protect hibernating bats.

The trails are not clearly marked and even with the park map it is easy to get turned around and not know what trail you are actually on. We had a lot of "do you know what trail we are on" encounters with other hikers during our visit. Even hikers using Trail Apps on their phones weren't sure what trails they were on.

All in all the park is beautiful, you will enjoy your time outdoors and the ruggedness level is up to you.. and your ability to stay on the correct trail LOL. Am definitely planning a Spring visit to see the falls.

I have been here several times, each time presented a different view of the park. It has never been a disappointment. Water was high because of the weather, so rocks were slick. Waterfalls, 22 in all, when weather is like this, however 4 are mainly advertised and pretty much run year around. Some of them you can see with a short hike, others for great pictures, require a little more effort and distance. I think I hiked about 8.5 miles and saw 3 waterfalls. If you plan to go into the creek bed trails, be prepared. If you're a novice, this is especially true for you. Take water with you. In summer, be prepared to see snakes, in fall just before cave closure, might see bats. Park is beautiful and provides multiple facets of scenery. Additionally, there is a cave, but due to the potential spread of white nose syndrome, it's off limits until, I think, March. I will come back again. If you'd like to stay in the park there are campsites both primitive and for campers as well as a lodge.

We stayed at the Clifty Inn Lodge during their 2 for 1 special in February 2024. It’s been several years since we have been here but the staff that runs the lodge were all very friendly. We stayed in a room on the 3rd floor overlooking the Ohio River and watch an occasional barge go up and down the river and I thought about the stories of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer (except their story was on the Mississippi River). We ate at the lodge twice. Their food is always well prepared. We visited several of their beautiful waterfalls and walked trails that were a moderate one as far as being rough, a rough trail, and an extremely rough trail. We could tell that we haven’t done this type of hiking for sometime. We were pretty tired! Back to the lodge. It is well appointed, several sitting or “great rooms” with fireplaces, study, and a few little nooks. Beautiful pictures are hanging everywhere and we always try to find the duplicate pictures! One of the nicest things is meeting new people either at the restaurant, in one of the great rooms or out and about. People we run into usually like to share where we’re all from, how long we’re staying, and our faith in God. It seems a lot of people make a spiritual connection with being out in God’s creation. We love to go in to the downtown area of Madison when we go but unfortunately most businesses downtown are usually only open Thursday through Sunday. It is a quaint little town and it has a lot of businesses outside of town on the main routes and they probably have taken away a lot of the down town businesses. Overall such a beautiful Lodge to visit, plenty to do and with the 2 for 1 special it makes it a lot more affordable.