Best Hikes Near Indianapolis

Most people head to southern Indiana to enjoy the hills. But it would be a mistake to overlook the flat wetlands at Beanblossom Bottoms. A boardwalk takes you through successional fields, marsh, sedge meadows, and a woodland swamp. The nearly 600-acre property north of Bloomington is home to countless species of wildlife, including the state-endangered Kirtland’s snake and a nesting pair of bald eagles.

Start: From the trailhead on Woodall Road

Distance: 3.4-mile loop

Hiking time: 1.5 to 2 hours

Difficulty: Easy

Trail surface: Mostly boardwalk with some mowed grass paths and gravel

Best season: Spring

Other trail users: None

Canine compatibility: Leashed dogs permitted

Fees and permits: None

Schedule: Open daily from dawn to dusk, year-round

Maps: Map available online at www.in.gov/dnr/naturepreserve. DeLorme: Indiana Atlas & Gazetteer: Page 44 H3

Trail contacts: Sycamore Land Trust, P.O. Box 7801, Bloomington, IN 47407; (812) 336-5382; www.sycamorelandtrust.org. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Nature Preserves, 402 W. Washington St., Room W267, Indianapolis, IN 46204; (317) 232-4052; www.in.gov/dnr/naturepreserve

Special considerations: Bring your binoculars to get a view of the bald eagles’ nest from the Eagle Observation Deck.

Finding the trailhead: From IN 37 in Monroe County, look for the Scholars Inn Bakehouse, across from Oliver Winery, and turn west onto Williams Road. Follow Williams Road for 2 miles to Bottom Road. Turn right onto Bottom Road and follow Bottom Road north for another 2 miles to the gravel Woodall Road. Turn left onto Woodall Road, heading south. After about 1.2 miles on Woodall Road, you will see the parking lot and trailhead on your left. GPS: N39 16.617' / W86 34.700'

THE HIKE

Awalk through Beanblossom Bottoms is an open-air lesson on the restorative powers of Mother Nature. This low area was cleared and drained for agriculture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Over the years, farming was eventually abandoned and the wetland began the process of rebuilding itself. In a process known as succession, bottomland farm fields give way to wet sedge meadows and wildflower prairie, depending on the available soil moisture. The sedge meadows and prairie in turn develop into forests and sometimes, with help from beaver activity, woodland swamps. You will witness almost all phases of this metamorphosis at the nearly 600-acre Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve.

The preserve has been owned and managed by Sycamore Land Trust since 1995, and adjacent parcels are protected by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wetlands Reserve Program. The National Audubon Society has certified Beanblossom Bottoms as “An Important Bird Area.” Be sure to bring your binoculars as the property is home to a great blue heron rookery, American woodcock, Wilson’s snipe, marsh wren, sedge wren, Prothonotary warbler, barred owl, and a pair of nesting bald eagles. The state-endangered, tiny Kirtland’s snake lives here too, as does the unusual northern crawfish frog, also known—fittingly, given the property’s proximity to Indiana University—as the Hoosier frog. In addition to wildlife, the property is home to a wide variety of trees and wetlands vegetation, including the rare and beautiful fringeless purple orchid.

Because much of Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve is under water, significant parts of the trail are elevated boardwalks.

The hike starts at a parking lot on the southwest corner of the property. A gravel path takes you through an immature woodland of sycamore and beech trees. After 0.25 mile you will notice a 10-acre meadow on your right, where the Sycamore Land Trust and US Fish and Wildlife Service are working together to eradicate a reed canarygrass invasion. Reed canarygrass is an aggressive species that chokes out native grasses, rushes, and wildflowers, degrading the health of the ecosystem. The three-year eradication project started in 2010 using a wetlandsapproved herbicide.

At about 0.3 mile turn right, away from the gravel path and onto the preserve’s famous sun-bleached boardwalk. For about 0.4 mile, the boardwalk will take you through a meadow, with views of the forested hillsides that encircle the bottomlands in the far distance. You will then enter a mature bottomland hardwood forest with towering cottonwoods, green ash, shellbark hickory, swamp white oaks, and pin oaks. Very few examples of bottomlands hardwood forest remain in the Midwest, as their rich soil is valuable for agriculture and their trees are valuable for timber. Pass the Forest Observation Deck, one of four observation decks on the property, and cross several shallow meandering creeks.

At about 1.2 miles the boardwalk splits. Take a right here; the boardwalk soon gives way to a mown grass path. After hiking about 0.3 mile through successional fields you will come to the cable barricade across a culvert. The mowed trail continues on the other side, coming to a dead end just before a barn on a neighboring farm. Turn around at the barricade and retrace your steps back to the boardwalk and continue your counterclockwise path around the boardwalk loop.

Shortly after returning to the loop, the boardwalk rises to about 3 feet off the ground, giving more clearance as you enter the woodland swamp. At the Swamp Observation Deck, an educational sign tells you that the swamp is actually an oxbow lake, a remnant of Beanblossom Creek, which ran through here centuries ago. The stand of dead trees in front of the observation deck is the result of beaver activity, which has raised the water level and choked off oxygen to tree roots. After the swamp you will reenter the meadow and pass the Center Observation Deck. Take a right after the observation deck and head back toward the gravel path.

At 2.7 miles, you will come again to the gravel path where the boardwalk begins. Take a right toward the fourth observation deck, known as the Eagle Observation Deck. At the Eagle deck, look to the east, about 150 yards into the distance, and you may notice a large nest in a dead tree. If you are lucky, you just might see a tuft of white peeking over the top of the nest. This is where your binoculars will definitely come in handy. After you are done scouting for eagles, return to the trailhead.

MILES AND DIRECTIONS

0.4Stay straight past the trail junction to take a counterclockwise tour around the boardwalk loop.

1.2Turn right where the boardwalk splits. Follow the boardwalk out of the woods and into the field, where the trail becomes a mown grass path.

1.5When you reach the end of the mown grass path at the cable barricade, turn around and retrace your steps back to the boardwalk loop.

2.6At the end of the loop, just past the Center Observation Deck, turn right.

2.7When you return to the gravel path, turn right toward the Eagle Observation Deck. It’s 0.2 mile to the observation deck. When you are done there, head back south toward the trailhead.

Green Tip:

When you just have to “go,” dig a hole 6 to 8 inches deep and at least 200 feet from water, camps, and trails. Bring a ziplock bag to carry out toilet paper, or use a natural substitute such as leaves instead (but not poison ivy). Fill in the hole with soil and other natural materials when you’re done.

HIKE INFORMATION

Local information: Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2855 N. Walnut St., Bloomington, IN 46013; (800) 800-0037; www.visitbloomington.com

Local outdoor store: J. L. Waters & Co., 109 N. College Ave., Bloomington, (812) 334-1845; www.jlwaters.com. J. L. Waters stocks a respectable supply of canoes, kayaks, camping and climbing gear, and hiking footwear.

Organizations: Sycamore Land Trust, P.O. Box 7801, Bloomington, IN 47407; (812) 336-5382; www.sycamorelandtrust.org. Since its founding in 1990, the nonprofit Sycamore Land Trust has protected almost 6,000 acres in southern Indiana.

Restaurants: Janko’s Little Zagreb, 223 W. Sixth St., Bloomington; (812) 332-0694; www.littlezagreb.com. Open from 5 to 10 p.m. Mon through Thurs, and 4:30 to 10 p.m. Fri and Sat. Closed Sun. Little Zagreb bills itself as the finest steak house in Bloomington. It is also home to a variety of Yugoslavian dishes, and St. Louis–style barbecue ribs.

Robert A. Johnson, 1898–1995

This area was the boyhood home of ornithologist Robert A. Johnson. Johnson’s family moved here in 1871, built a cabin, and eventually acquired 600 acres. Robert A. Johnson held degrees in agriculture, wildlife management, and ornithology. He served as a ranger naturalist at Mount Rainier National Park and taught biology to prospective teachers in New York State before retiring to his native Monroe County. In retirement, he taught ornithology at Indiana University.