A hiker's path: Marveling at Meltzer Woods old growth forest
Meltzer Woods is one of a few of Indiana’s last remaining fragments of old growth forest. “Old growth” means the land has trees more than 150 years old and has been left as forest for a century or more. This is a special place where you can walk under majestic trees, some dating back to the 1600s. Much of our state looked like this when European settlers first arrived.
Located near Shelbyville, the nature preserve contains 60 acres. A legacy of the Meltzer family, the property was first placed in the Indiana’s Classified Forest program in 1928.
Designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974, the property had many trees cited as “state champions” over the years.
In 2014, the property was acquired by the Central Indiana Land Trust and is now open to the public.
I had recently been reading about Indiana’s old growth forests. There are a few in our state. Not all of them can be accessed by trail but some are. Visiting some of these forests is one of the items on my hiking bucket list.
So I chose to visit this one to start my search and exploration of finding big trees.
Meltzer preserve has a small, loop trail that is 1.2 miles in length. It is considered easy to hike.
The trailhead was easy to find.
The trail was easy enough. The dirt path under my feet took me through a shaded forest with late summer wildflowers and beautiful trees. A few cicadas could be heard singing from the trees and I also heard more than a few tree frogs. These are pleasant sounds at the end of summer.
The big trees were scattered about. I was in awe of their towering presence. This was what Indiana looked like when the first pioneers arrived in our state.
I crossed over small wooden bridges and watched as the sunlight filtered through the trees. The canopy of leaves overhead provided an abundance of shade.
This was a peaceful place.
It did not take long to finish the loop but I was happy to have checked this preserve off my list.
As I stood just meditating after hiking in this ancient forest, the first thing that came to mind was, “If only these trees could talk, the history they could tell."
Other places to visit “old growth” forests in Indiana include: Donaldson's Woods in Spring Mill State Park; Rocky Hollow Falls Canyon at Turkey Run State Park; part of the Big Walnut NaturePpreserve in Putnam county; and several more.
These special places can be accessed by trail.
To get to this place: The preserve is located at 1522 S. 600 East, Shelbyville. From Indianapolis, take Interstate 74 east to Ind. 244 east, then turn left onto South 600 East. Park in the lot on the east side of 600 East. The trailhead is across the street from the lot.
The preserve is open seven days a week from dawn to dusk.
A quote for your week: ”From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow.” — Aeschylus, ancient Greek tragedian, c. 525 B.C.- c. 456 B.C.
Until the next trail, Susan
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: A hiker's path: Marveling at Meltzer Woods old growth forest
