Charlestown State Park

Awesome diversity of trails with multi-​faceted experiences to be had! I’d suggest the final trail, it takes you right up against the Ohio and then up to beautiful scenery! Additionally, rose island is just about the coolest experience I’ve had in southern Indiana thus far. Absolutely a fantastic, unexpected experience while at Charlestown state park.

I’ve been going here for years and its a comfortable place to camp or spend a day for hiking or grilling out. These aren’t the toughest of trails but instead are a great excuse for local exercise with a great view. Its a clean and safe park that isn’t far from Louisville or southern Indiana. Many times I cross paths with good folks walking dogs on leashes and you have a great view of the Ohio River and other smaller rivers that feed into the Ohio River.

We were looking for a quick place to go to take our dog so he could maybe play in the water for a bit. This place worked for that pretty well. We were able to get 4 miles of hiking in and Whidbey played in the water. My complaint is, they paved trail 3. It’s really strange, every other trail is dirt, of course but not 3. We had to «walk it» to get to where we wanted to go but it was quite strange. They have some picnic tables off of the trails. Not bad for a quick trip, but not the greatest.

Great campground! spacious sites, clean bathroom, and plenty of hiking trails. Will definitely recommend to others and return again.

We enjoy camping at state parks, and as this one goes, this was rather uninteresting. The camping was quiet, with less than a hand full of campers. Shower and bathroom were clean, and the space beetween sites where nice. The down side for us were we needed to be our own wood for a campfire. The park didn’t sell it. The ONLY place to buy it was the gas station. very small bundles for $ 6 each, cut thin and burns fast.
There is no nature center here. There are a bunch of roads, but they’rea all closed off. So I found it easy to get turned around. Restrooms outside the camp grounds are hard to find as are trash cans. Most of all, for me, it lacked the beauty of a state park. Likely because it was a defuncted military base, with a vast underground complex. For 10 years we wanted to visit Rose Island, but for that long a hike, an outhouse would have been nice. It was good for a trip, but left me wishing we went somewhere else.

My children and I went there 2 weekends ago. I had read online that there was a trail that led to Fourteen Mile Creek and you could fish there. I went to get my fishing license and nightcrawlers and off we went. Trail 3 leads to a fairly updated bridge and that is the area we figured we kept reading about where fishing was encouraged. We were puzzled on how to get down to the bank because the weeds were up higher than our waists. There were several other walkers that day and one of them said they had saw some fishers earlier in the day and pointed to where would be the best way to get down there. There was a small trail of walked on weeds that made it easier to get down to the bank. Once we got down there we stayed about 6 hours and caught about 20 blue gill and 1 bass. It started raining a couple of times, but we simply moved to under the bridge and stayed dry. We saw several people on boats and the whole experience made it an excellent day and we plan to go back again. The walk back to the vehicle is rough if you carried much in like we did. We had 2 coolers, tackle box, 2 chairs, backpack and 3 poles. The .6 miles back are almost all uphill but it’s a paved road so it is perfectly doable.

Great hiking. If you are an average hiker and would like to spend the day (or just an afternoon) on a decent hike, this place should please.
There is a selection of trails to choose from that loop back to the starting point (which is great if you don’t want to see the same things twice). A variety sights and landscapes are dished out on the trails – some easy and some difficult.
What’s extra great? The property once served as the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant. Years before that, some of the land was used for Rose Island amusement park. There are remnants of both on the property and it adds a little mystery to the hike. UPDATE: The Rose Island property became fully accessible in the late summer of 2011. The state park system has graciously allowed close up exploration of some of the amusement park remnants such as the fountain, pool, and riverside park entrance. Access to long abandoned Rose Island amusement park from the main state park area is provided by a historic bridge that was relocated from Portersville, Indiana. Very cool place to explore!
Note: This is not a free park. There is an admission fee that is usually less than $ 10/​carload. So keep that in mind. For that reason, this park is usually not crowded at all (since there are too many free parks that exist). However, I feel it is worth the free, especially for an occasional visit. They have really done a lot with this place. The effort they have made to provide access to the Rose Island property is totally worth it, IMO (especially if you are fascinated by historic remnants or abandoned properties).
Note: The Rose Island property has some clear areas and some overgrown areas. I suspect (and hope) that this park will expand the trail system within the Rose Island property.