Save with the 2020 Holiday Gift Pack
The $99 State Park Holiday Gift Pack includes:
- A 2020 Indiana resident State Park Annual Entrance Permit.
- A $65 gift card (you choose either an Inns card for hotel lodging, or a Camp card for site reservations).
- A 1-year subscription to Outdoor Indiana magazine.
All for just $99. You save $31.
Offer ends Dec. 31, 2019.
Holiday Gift Packs are also available for seniors and non-residents.
Check out the Inns during our annual winter special
Get two nights for the price of one at an Indiana State Park Inn this winter. Nov. 24 – Feb. 27, 2020, stay two consecutive nights and your second night is FREE.
Sunday - Thursday only. Blackout period Dec. 22 - Jan. 2, 2020. Certain restrictions apply. Visit IndianaInns.com or call 1-877-LODGES1 to make your reservation today.
 Plan a fall visit
With 33 state parks in Indiana, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors before the weather turns frigid.
The Division of Forestry owns and manages 158,000 acres of forestland for the benefit of Indiana residents. These properties provide numerous recreational opportunities.
Mountain bike trail set to open in Brown County SP
The Hoosier Mountain Bike Association (HMBA), one of the first recipients of a Next Level Trails grant, plans to open the Weed Patch Trail on Nov. 15.
This 2.4 mile trail will complement existing mountain bike trails in Brown County State Park by connecting to the Limekiln, Bobcat, and Walnut trails.
This intermediate level trail will allow for connectivity in the park that previously only existed on paved roads or expert/difficult mountain biking trails.
The Weed Patch Trail is one of three projects in the park that HMBA will develop with the help of Next Level Trails funds. Upon completion, these three projects will add about 7.5 miles to the park's existing network of 36 miles.
 Watch the video above to learn more about the cranes at Jasper-Pulaski FWA
Sandhill cranes begin fall migration at Jasper-Pulaski
View one of Indiana's greatest wildlife spectacles at Jasper-Pulaski Fish & Wildlife Area. Each fall, thousands of sandhill cranes visit the area's shallow marshes.
15 state parks scheduled for deer management hunts
Select Indiana state parks will close for four days in the coming weeks to allow for controlled deer management. The dates for the temporary closings are Nov. 18-19, and Dec. 2-3.
The properties are:
Chain O’Lakes, Charlestown, Clifty Falls, Fort Harrison, Harmonie, Indiana Dunes, McCormick’s Creek, Ouabache, Pokagon, Prophetstown, Shakamak, Spring Mill, Summit Lake, Tippecanoe River, and Whitewater Memorial state parks and Cave River Valley Natural Area and Trine State Recreation Area.
 See hellbenders at O’Bannon Woods SP Nature Center
Two live examples of North America’s largest salamander, the Eastern hellbender, are now on public exhibit at O’Bannon Woods State Park.
The exhibit is in the park’s Hickory Hollow Nature Center.
The hellbender is an endangered species that, in Indiana, lives in the wild only in the Blue River in Harrison County. The native hellbender population has greatly decreased in many parts of its range due to loss of habitat and poor water quality.
 View this video about releasing hellbenders in the Blue River.
Indiana Tree Shirts for sale
Purchase a limited edition shirt and help reforest Indiana.
For each shirt sold, the Natural Resources Foundation will partner with the Division of Forestry to plant two trees in an Indiana State Forest.
Along with each shirt, you will receive an official tree certificate with a unique tree ID and the coordinates for the acre where the tree will be planted.
The Indiana Tree Project is a joint effort between the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation; the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry; and the citizens of Indiana.
Your family and friends may also appreciate a tree planted in their honor.
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Protect Indiana wildlife - Turn in a Poacher
Call TIP if you see, hear or learn about poaching or another fish and wildlife rule violation. If your “TIP” leads to an arrest, you may receive as much as a $200 reward, and you can remain anonymous.
Call 1-800-TIP-IDNR, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
 Deer firearms season begins Nov. 16
The deer firearms season runs from Nov. 16 to Dec. 1.
For general information on deer hunting, including equipment that can be used during the firearms season, visit the Deer Hunting FAQs website.
Toys for Tots Trail Ride, Nov. 2
Join Interlake SRA and the Evansville Area Jeepers on Nov. 2 for the 12th annual Toys For Tots trail ride at Interlake SRA.
Guided trail rides begin at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. Bring an unwrapped toy valued at $15, and the entry fee will be waived. Come out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather while supporting a good cause.
 Toboggan run opens at Pokagon State Park
The refrigerated toboggan run at Pokagon State Park opens on Friday, Nov. 29. If you’ve never taken a run down this quarter-mile track at 35-40 mph, this is the year to check it off your bucket list.
 Music in the Trees
This is the simple story of how the Indiana musicians in Rhythmwood Drive met and collaborated with Ted Yoder, world-class hammered dulcimer musician. It’s also a story about the forests of Indiana, and how one walnut tree ties together a family’s bond and the music that brings people together.
Test your deer for chronic wasting disease
Indiana DNR is conducting targeted chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance in northwest and northeast Indiana during the 2019-20 deer hunting season.
Hunters may voluntarily submit samples for testing at Fish & Wildlife Area properties until Jan. 31, 2020. Indiana DNR biologists will be intensively sampling hunter-harvested deer at businesses across the surveillance areas during the opening weekend of firearms season, Nov. 16 and 17.
Hunters who submit a deer for CWD testing will receive a Deer Management Partner magnet and a metal tag reminiscent of historical confirmation tags.
 Drop-off options for CWD testing in Indiana
Hunters who harvest a deer in Indiana may take their deer to a nearby Fish & Wildlife Area property and drop off the head for sampling. Deer can also be sampled while you wait, by appointment, during normal business hours, Monday through Friday.
Testing with DNR is free of charge. For property details and locations, visit our CWD website. Alternatively, hunters interested in testing a deer for CWD may independently submit their deer to Purdue Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab for testing for a fee. Hunters should complete the submission form and follow the shipping instructions on Purdue ADDL’s website.
Learn to hunt or trap this fall
Are you an outdoorswoman interested in hunting? Or are you interested in learning how to trap? Consider joining us for an upcoming workshop:
Nov. 2-3 – Learn to Trap, Kingsbury Fish & Wildlife Area
Nov. 2 – Women’s Learn to Hunt: Pheasant, Willow Slough Fish & Wildlife Area
Nov. 23 – Women’s Pheasant Hunt, Atterbury Fish & Wildlife Area
Outdoor Indiana calendar issue
The state’s best magazine includes the state’s best 2020 wall calendar in the November-December issue, which also features an article on the 100-year anniversary of the DNR. The calendar sells separately for $10 but is included in the price of a $15, one-year subscription. View excerpts of that issue and subscribe as a gift to someone else—or yourself.
NRC meets at Fort Harrison State Park
The Natural Resources Commission will conduct its regular bi-monthly meeting at 10 a.m., Nov. 19, at the Garrison at Fort Harrison State Park. The agenda will be posted prior to the meeting.
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The Foundation celebrates and preserves Indiana’s natural legacy by raising funds to support the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and its programs.
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