[2] The park was named after the area's first settler, John McCormick, who settled on 100 acres (0.40 km2) there in 1816, along the canyon by the waterfalls.

German-born Indianapolis businessman Richard Lieber championed the idea of establishing a system of state parks for Indiana, and, after winning the property at auction with a bid of $5,250, received it from the Dr. Frederick Denkewalter estate.

[4] Much of the infrastructure of the park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal era, and many of the CCC-built structures, retaining walls, and elegant, arched limestone bridges remain in use today.

The park entrance gatehouse, former nature center, and a stone arch bridge over McCormick's Creek were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

[5] There are eight numbered hiking trails in the park, accessing features and park attractions, which include a 90-foot (27 m) fire tower, a scenic ravine and waterfall, small cave, sinkhole formations, and towering stands of second-growth Midwestern hardwoods.

The trail is 2 miles (3.2 km) long, and it loops through the Wolf Cave Nature Preserve.

The trail ends at Stoney Restroom, a short walk back to the Canyon Inn.