In the early 1930s the governor of Indiana pushed for the federal government to do something with the eroding lands that saw its residents leaving, with the act being accomplished on February 6, 1935.

Hemlock Cliffs Recreation Area in Crawford County contains one of the most scenic hiking trails in Indiana.

[9][10] In the Clover Lick Barrens, the southern portion of Hoosier National Forest near the Ohio River, the vegetation is more typical of that found on prairies in the Great Plains.

This was discovered by a botanist and biologist from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, who later found that in the first recorded survey of the area in 2005, the land was described not as forest, but as "a mile of poor barrens and grassy hills".

It is believed that the inability of tall oaks to grow in the area allows for this prairie vegetation to persist in such an unlikely location.

The trail is noted as access to sandstone cliffs and seasonal waterfalls as well as Hemlock trees and rare wintergreen plants.