Charlestown State Park and creepy Rose Island Amusement Park
Charlestown State Park, about 20 miles north of Louisville, is a state park that offers visitors an incredibly unique chance to walk back through time more than a century.
The park is located on the western banks of the Ohio River in far southeastern Indiana. The park has many reasons to visit, but one of the coolest is a chance to walk through a long-abandoned amusement park that nature reclaimed.
Rose Island Amusement Park
It was an immediate success when Rose Island Amusement Park opened in 1923. The park featured a roller coaster, a large swimming pool, a zoo, a dance hall, and a hotel. Thousand of people would flock to the park by automobile or steamboat ride during the long, hot summer days. At its peak, more than 125,000 visited the resort each year. The park’s visitation started to decline with the onset of the Great Depression. People simply did not have the money for luxuries such as amusement parks. Despite low visitation, the park soldiered on until the great flood of 1937.
In late January 1937, after an exceptionally wet month, the Ohio River would swell well beyond its banks. When the waters finally receded, nearly 400 people would be dead and about a million homeless. Rose Island Amusement Park was devastated and covered by over 10 feet of water. Many buildings were washed away, and those that survived were forever unusable. The destruction was too much for the park to overcome, and it never reopened.
Hiking Charlestown State Park
Today, visitors can walk through what is left of the park on a 0.9 mile loop. To reach the Rose Island Loop Trail, take Trail #3 southbound to the historic Portersville Bridge. Heads up, it is paved but very steep. Once you cross the bridge, you can start the loop. The hike is both fascinating and eerie. If you close your eyes, it’s easy to imagine the Ferris wheel turning with hundreds of people packing the concrete paths. You can see the remnants of several buildings, including the swimming pool. As you cross under the metal arches, you see emblazoned on the walkway roses on the ground. Walking through the arches and around the loop, it’s impossible not to notice how quickly nature has swallowed the once-popular tourist destination that has largely been forgotten in history.
There is no bad time to visit Charlestown State Park. We were there on a cold January morning and were the only people on the trails. There are miles of other longer hiking trails and a large campground for those looking for an extended stay. While you are in the area, make sure to budget time to go check out Clifty Falls State Park, which is about 30 miles north. You won’t regret it; the waterfalls are spectacular.
