In order to get credit for this virtual cache, you need visit this location in Indiana and submit TWO pictures in your log. One at the UPPER falls, and one at the LOWER falls. You need a SIGN with your caching name and the dates on it and you need to take a picture of YOURSELF or your caching item. The pictures uploaded must include yourself and your sign with your caching name and the date. No armchair finds.
Cataract Falls is a waterfall located in northern Owen County in the west central part of the U.S. state of Indiana. The largest waterfall by volume in the state, it is part of the Lieber State Recreation Area.
Cataract Falls consists of two sets of waterfalls on Mill Creek separated by about 1 mile (1.6 km). Both falls consist of a series of drops. The total height of the Upper Falls is approximately 45 feet (14 m), while that of the Lower Falls is about 30 feet (9.1 m).
This is NOT the tallest waterfall in the state. That title belongs to Williamsport Falls, which is 90 feet tall. That waterfall is over an hour away and located in the town of Williamsport.
If there has been recent rain, Cataract Falls is a breathtaking waterfall within the Cataract Falls State Recreation Area situated in northern Owen County in Indiana. This landmark on Mill Creek features both the Upper and Lower Cataract falls, and serves as the headwaters for Cagles Mill Lake. Cataract Falls has the title of Indiana's largest waterfall by volume. While here, don't miss the historic Cataract Falls Bridge, the last surviving covered bridge in Owen County Indiana.
Mill Creek and its twin waterfalls feed into the nearby Cagles Mill Lake, a 1,400-acre reservoir. Be sure to visit the Cataract Falls Covered Bridge. Dating back to 1876, this red, rustic bridge is both a historical landmark and a beautiful complement to the waterfalls it overlooks. While this type of covered bridge was once abundant in the 19th century, today the Cataract Falls Covered Bridge is the last one in Owen County.
There is an entrance fee to this park. It is $7 for in state, $9 for out of state. Price is per vehicle. If you have an annual state park pass, then the entry is free.
In order to log this geocache, you need to visit two locations in the park, the Upper Falls and the Lower Falls. You will need to take a picture of yourself at each location with a sign that you have made with your CACHING NAME AND DATE. The sign can be small or a slip of paper, but needs to be in the picture. I will accept a signature item in the picture instead of your face if you 'value your privacy' but the paper with your caching name and date must be also included. No photoshop! No arm chair logs.
The falls were donated to the state in memory of Agnes Wallace Steiner
The nearby town of Cataract is like stepping back in time. Optional: After doing this virtual, take a short drive down there and have a look at the general store. (N39 25.658 W86 49.005)
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.
History of the area, optional reading and not necessary for logging the virtual:
The first permanent settler in the area was Isaac Teal who lived near the lower falls. He erected a small mill around 1820. The wildlife was plentiful. In 1841, Theodore Jennings and his mother road horseback from Louisville to Greencastle to visit his brother. From the primitive highway, he heard the roar of the falls and liked the sound. He bought 1,000 acres, which included the falls and Teal's rotting old mill. Jennings returned to the area shortly afterward bringing his wife and four children along with other friends and relatives. They journeyed here by covered wagons through the snow and they lived in the wagons until homes were built. Jennings erected a saw mill, flour and woolen mill, a general store, and copper and blacksmith shops in what would later be called Jennings Township. Theodore Jennings was related to Jonathan Jennings, Indiana's first Governor. Jennings later moved and sold the falls and surrounding acreage to John Teal. Quarries of building stone and plentiful coal deposits are in the area, but they had no commercial value because of the transportation costs. When first settled, the countryside was covered with dense growth of deciduous timber. The settlers, not realizing the value of the hardwood, destroyed much of it in clearing farms. Some families used black walnut for fuel, little dreaming that it would some day exceed in value the land upon which it grew. Sugar Maples once grew in all parts and sugar camps were profitably worked. The soil is poorly adapted to farming, but the limestone underneath is favorable to the growth of bluegrass, which makes good stock and grazing country.
The small community of Cataract is located near the upper falls. At the peak of its growth, Cataract was a bustling town, marketing lumber in Greencastle and flour as far away as Louisville. When the saw mills played out and the use of grist mills declined, the town subsided into a sleepy hamlet. Even though summer homes now dot the countryside and the Owen-Putnam border area is gaining new residents, the little community of Cataract has not lost its homey village atmosphere. In 1883, John Steiner and David Wallace purchased Cataract Falls and much of the adjoining acreage. John Steiner was a wealthy railroad man and horse racing fan. On his 1,000 acre estate at Cataract, he maintained a half-mile track, which drew horse racing fans from all over the country. From 1883 to 1952 the falls belonged to the Steiner family. Agnes Wallace Steiner's daughter Agnes Stuckey operated a resort near the falls from 1916 until 1967. In 1952, she donated the upper falls and 37 acres on both sides of Mill Creek to the State of Indiana as a memorial to her mother, maintaining a 15 year lease with the state before closing the resort. The US Government purchased 329 acres in the lower falls area when Cagles Mill Lake was being formed as a giant flood control program in the 1950’s. When the government began buying property, it was feared that Cataract Falls was doomed. However, the constructions of Cagles Mill Dam, the Reservoir, and Lieber State Recreation Area have preserved Cataract Falls for public enjoyment.