Deam Lake State Recreation Area is an Indiana State Recreation Area in

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

in the United States. The park is and sits at an elevation of . Deam Lake State Recreation area is open for year-round recreation, however the campground closes each year from the Sunday before Thanksgiving to March 1 of the following year. Much of the recreation is centered on Deam Lake. It is named for

Charles C. Deam Charles Clemon Deam (August 30, 1865 – May 29, 1953) was the first state forester of Indiana. His interest in botany began at a young age and grew to include categorization and sustainable practices. He discovered 25 new species, 48 plants are n ...

, the first state

forester A forester is a person who practises forest management and forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Fores ...

of Indiana. Deam Lake State Recreation Area is adjacent to

Clark State Forest Clark State Forest, located just north of Henryville, Indiana in the United States, is Indiana's oldest state forest, formed in 1903 as a forest research facility and a nursery and later expanded by the Works Progress Administration. Originall ...

. Deam Lake and the park facilities were constructed during the 1960s, opening in 1965. The park operates under a "multiple use concept." Recreational activities at the park include

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...

, picnicking and horseback riding. Deam Lake is a

man-made lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

. It was built in 1965. The lake is used for

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

, as a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

and for recreational purposes. It is on Big Run which is a tributary of the Muddy Fork River which is part of the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

system. The lake is impounded by Deam Lake Dam which is an

earthen dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface ...

that is high and long. Deam Lake is open for fishing, swimming and boating. Boats are limited to electric motors.

Kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

s and other human powered boats are permitted.

Jet-ski A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat. P ...

s are not allowed in the lake. The beach at Deam Lake is open from 8:00am to

sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

through

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

. Lifeguards are not provided. There is a beach house and concessionaire that provides snacks and boat rentals. Deam Lake State Recreation Area features two separate camping facilities. The "regular campground" has 116 campsites that include picnic tables, electric hookups, a fire ring, and parking pad. Access to a dump station for RVs and shower facilities is available. Additionally, the park has 68 "horse campground" sites. The horse campground is equipped with stalls and provides access to a network of trails within the park and the adjacent Clark State Forest. The park is home to four hiking trails and serves as a trailhead for the

Knobstone Trail The Knobstone Trail is the longest hiking trail in Indiana. Its southern terminus is about north of Louisville, Kentucky in the Deam Lake State Recreation Area. It currently ends at Delaney Creek Park near Salem, Indiana. However, there are ...

which is the longest hiking trail in Indiana. :Trail 1 is a "easy trail." It begins near the campground and ends at the old playground. Trail 1 is used for a variety of special hikes during the year, including "A Walk in the Woods" which is designed for families with children and the annual "The Haunted Trail" which takes place near

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

. :Trail 2 is . Access to the trail has been limited in the aftermath of a severe wind storm in 2008 and an ice storm in 2009. Much of the trail is covered by fallen

Virginia Pine ''Pinus virginiana'', the Virginia pine, scrub pine, Jersey pine, possum pine, is a medium-sized tree, often found on poorer soils from Long Island in southern New York (state), New York south through the Appalachian Mountains to western Tennesse ...

s. :Trail 3 is the longest trail in the park at . It begins at the campground and is covered with

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

. It serves hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers. The trail passes around the north end of Deam Lake and is connected to Knobstone Trail via several side trails. :Trail 4 also known as Lake Vista Trail is and follows the shores of the lake, passes through some wet bottom lands and runs over rolling hills to a vista at a rocky outcrop over the lake.

Environmental Education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discipli ...

opportunities are provided at Deam Lake State Recreation Area. An education center is managed by a seasonal

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. The naturalist hosts a variety of educational sessions throughout the year. A fishing derby for children is led by the naturalist as is a

digital camera A digital camera, also called a digicam, is a camera that captures photographs in Digital data storage, digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film or film stock. Dig ...

scavenger hunt A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items that need to be found, which the participants seek to gather or complete all items on the list, usually without purchasing them. Usually participants work i ...

, a tree identification program, a group hike on Trail 4 to Lookout Rock and several other nature activities.

References

{{Authority control Protected areas of Clark County, Indiana Protected areas established in 1965 Parks in Indiana 1965 establishments in Indiana