whitewater memorial state park

This park was established in 1949. It's basically a man made lake, so the big draws are fishing/boating/swimming. I stopped swimming in lakes 20 years ago, but as far as swimming beaches go it was OK. I guess they have a problem with algae, but I didn't see any at the beach. We camped in the campground & it was well established. We were in c section & every site was shaded with mature trees. The bath houses are a disaster. They definitely need to build new ones. Ours looked like they were original to the park & hadn't seen a paintbrush in years. There's no sites in the campground that overlook the lake, so that's disappointing. Although it was a weekend in the summer, there were many empty sites. Very unusual. There's also a horseman's campground & lots of bridle trails. We of course hiked. The trails are well established & well signed. We took trail 3 first. 1.2 miles. It's a loop trail, with half of it easy & half rugged. The rugged wasn't too bad. Then, we took the Lakeshore trail 2.7 miles, which can be made into an easier loop. It was supposed to end up at an observation deck overlooking the lake, but there are trees blocking your view once you get there. We lunched by the lake, near the Silver Creek ramp there's a big parking area with picnic tables. Scott tried to fish. The fish were jumping, but not biting. After we relaxed, we were ready for more hiking. Trail 1 is the Memorial Loop. 2.5 miles & you can access it in several different parking areas. Nice trail with some inclines. Sometimes by the lake, sometimes in the woods. We spent Saturday in Metamora sightseeing. There's also Brookville Lake, which is just down Hwy 101. They have the same boating/fishing/swimming. There's a pioneer village, which didn't look very interesting when we drove by. They have a golf course & resort area. Numerous boat ramps & hiking trails. All in all a good weekend!

Very nice state park with family cabins. 200 acre lake that is restricted to trolling motor, canoe, rowboat, paddle boats only. Nice camping area with both electric and non-electric hook ups. Nine miles of trails. Also has horse trail rides. Has really nice cabins for rent. Nice beach with swimming and a nice bath house. Hornbeam Nature Preserve is within the park.

Since it was Memorial Day Weekend, I expected a crowded and less-than-perfect campground, but this reached far beyond that--downwards. First, my assigned space was occupied by the people next door. It took me an hour to find a staff person who could investigate. He said they'd move--but they really didn't clear out, leaving toys and bikes and trash in my space. Although I was told by staff that there were no more spaces of any kind, I found several unoccupied tent sites. The occupants had probably left--possibly in disgust. Loud music continued long after quiet hours, and the park staff was not around to ask for quiet. I wasn't going to ask folks who were obviously quite drunk to chill, and it wasn't my responsibility anyway. But things got worse! In the women's rooms--all of them I could find--I had to roll up my pants to wade through the overflowing fecal-laden toilets. There was no toilet paper, but plenty of used "sanitary" napkins spilling out of every receptacle. No doubt the holiday crowds challenged the staff's capacity, but something had to be done, even if that meant hiring extra help, because this state park was a health hazard that night. I am not exaggerating. Incidentally, the Indiana DNR web site is extremely difficult to use and offers little information, but I assumed the facilities would be more competently run. I was wrong--at least about this park.

We had a great experience this past weekend in our popup. Although a bit dated, the bathrooms and showers were clean and stocked. Th e staff were friendly and helpful at check-in and the scheduled activities (it was snake weekend!). The beach was clean and the kids played in the water for hours. The campsite itself was a good size and matched the description on the reservation systems. The playgrounds were plentiful and safe.

We took the kids camping for the weekend. Thought we would try someplace new. What a mistake. The old man at check in station has business being in there by himself. He was totally clueless. Took over 20 minutes to check in we even had a reservation. Was camped across from bathhouse (if that is what you call it) I never saw anyone cleaning it all weekend. It was the worse bathhouse I ever saw. I couldn't believe this is a state park. No one at this park takes any pride in their job. I would recommend staying at Mounds down the road or even a local dumpster would be cleaner than this place.

My son Mark and I were exploring places to go camping nearby the Civil War reenactment in Connorsville. It was fun because we didn't have reservations and had time to drive around a bit. The attendant at the state park gate took forever with some issue he was working; and failed to acknowledge us in any way ... which took some effort seeing that we were idling right next to him with our suburban firing on all 8 cylinders and 30" travel trailer. When it came time to acknowledge us; I said we just wanted to check out the campground to see if we wanted to stay there. He made us pay $7 which I thought was absurd. I paid it and then approached another attendant at the entrance to the campground. I explained that we wanted to check it out and you would had thought I had three heads as if that was some kind of bizarre request. He told us sternly that we could pass through but we must not set up. I "promised" him we wouldn't set up. The park seemed like a total bore and was depressing. There was no one there and it seemed depressing and lonely. The clouds seemed darker overhead. We couldn't leave soon enough. I did stop by the first attendant on the way out and requested my $7 back for the 9 minutes we were in the park. The attendant asked for my receipt as if he had never seen me before. After fishing through the car I produced the receipt which he examined as if making sure it wasn't a forgery from my state park receipt making empire. The only positive thing was getting my $7 back. Couldn't leave soon enough. We ended up at robinsons whitewater river campground which has been great! I will separately review robinsons.

The riding trails, horseman's camp, and day parking here are well maintained. There is one nine mile loop that is accessible to the public. There are two more but they are for the Saddle Barn (Guided Trail Rides) only. There are restroom facilities at the parking area, as well as two more that are accessible on the trail with a tie area for the horses. These are basic outhouse style bathrooms and are always in horrible condition. I ride there regularly and have yet to find a day that they are clean or reliably stocked with toilet paper. In the summer and fall they are infested with flies. Seriously infested - as in there are swarms going up when you walk in and you have to shoo them off the toilet seat. You don't dare sit down on the seat because it's speckled with fly poo. Plenty of bees and other critters in there too. There is no water for hand washing. Just basic outhouses. Bring your own toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and vaccines. You do have to pay to get into the park. Out of state is $7 for a day's entry or you can buy the out of state annual pass for $60.

This park was so trashy and the bathroom situation was just revolting. I would not recommend taking you, or your family to this terrible park. It basically is just a disappointment. The wife and I got locked in our room so we had to call the front desk and they didn't pick up! So in conclusion, I would not recommend going to this park under any circumstances. So to sum it all up, this park sucks.

The lake was beautiful. While canoeing around the lake, I saw beavers, raccoons, and lots of fish and birds. Fishing here should be very good. There is boat rental available with paddle boats, canoes and kayaks. Bait is for sale at the boat rental and camp store. There is a concrete boat ramp, but the lake is electric motor only. There is a ramp to Brookville Lake where pleasure boating is popular.The camp store carries the usual and also rents bicycles. Firewood is for sale too. There is a saddle barn, though we didn't go there. There is a large beach and picnic areas, but no lifeguards.The campground left some to be desired. We arrived on a Saturday. As people started pulling out on Sunday, it became apparent that they lacked pride in the park they were visiting. Many left their trash smoldering in the fire rings and busted water balloons all over the ground amongst their water bottles and cigarette butts. This was disappointing, because this was otherwise a pretty nice campground. The sites were gravel, but fairly level. The showers needed a deep cleaning. While I'd been told that Brookville has very nice shower facilities, these hadn't been cleaned right in some time. There were cobwebs and other signs that made it obvious that it had been awhile since anyone cared. The dump stations were by the bath house, so you have to go into another loop of the campground to dump your tanks, instead of on the way out of the park.Once the weekend crowd pulled out, this was a much more enjoyable park, but the restrooms still weren't cleaned properly. I would have liked to have seen recycling containers too.We didn't hike any trails in this park.