A hiker's path: Towering trees in Donaldson's Woods at Spring Mill State Park

Spring Mill State Park was first established in 1927 and is sometimes called "a window" into Indiana's pioneer past.

An original pioneer village still stands with a working grist mill that was constructed back in 1817.  Restoration of the village was spearheaded by Richard Lieber and E.Y. Guernsey back in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The park, located in Lawrence County near Mitchell, consists of 1,358 acres.

Some things that are of special interest to me are the natural areas in the park, which include several caves and sinkholes, and three nature preserves found there: Donaldson Cave, Donaldson's Woods, and the Mitchell Sinkhole Plain nature preserves.

George Donaldson came from Scotland and purchased a tract of forest in 1865. He would not allow cutting of timber or hunting. Thanks to his efforts, there are now native trees over 300 years old in the Donaldson's Woods.

The preserve contains 145 acres, which includes 67 acres of undisturbed old growth forest. This woods is recognized by botanists as one of the most impressive stands of the original forest remaining in Indiana.

An unusual feature of the woods is the high percentage of white oaks. This region of the state is rich in karst features such as caves and sinkholes. Much of the run-off from the woods drains through sinkholes, rather than surface streams.

It was a warm day when I hiked at Spring Mill. The chosen path for the day was trail 3, which goes through Donaldson's Woods.

The loop trail is 2.5 miles in length. It’s considered rugged in ease of hiking. I found the trailhead quite easily using the park map and I parked my car in the lot adjacent to the trail.

I was really looking forward to walking through this old forest. I took off on the wooded path to enjoy my day out in nature.

I chose to walk through the big tree section first. I was not disappointed.

The landscape around me was full of green everywhere: leaves on the trees, moss growing on old logs, and dense foliage on the forest floor. A beautiful canopy of green leaves overhead provided a cover that shaded the woods.

There were a variety of birds chattering up in the trees and squirrels were scurrying around, searching for nuts for the upcoming winter months. The season was beginning to change, but summer was still making its presence known.

As I walked along the dirt path, I passed by some sizable sinkholes and large wood ferns. I soon began to see some of the big trees, the old ones, standing tall, overshadowing the smaller seedings beneath them. These trees had survived the elements and the intentions of men. They were survivors.

Old growth forests are known for their big trees and this forest was no exception. I passed by white and red oak trees, hickory trees, tulip poplar trees, and maple trees.

I took my time walking through these beautiful trees. It was very peaceful in this forest and the atmosphere lent itself to some quiet meditation on what nature can do if left alone, without our interference.

It was hard to move past the trees, but I had more ground to cover before my hike was finished.

The path eventually took me past an overlook of Donaldson Cave, by the Twin Caves and the Bronson Cave. This park has a lot to see. I was glad I had chosen to revisit both it and the preserve. It’s good to not take for granted the many state parks and nature preserves we have in our state. These natural places are true treasures.

It had been a quite a day and I left feeling refreshed and a little inspired. A day spent in the forest is never wasted.

To get to this place: Take Ind. 37 to Mitchell. Go east on Ind. 60 about 2.75 miles to the Spring Mill State Park entrance, which will be on the left. Park maps are available at the gatehouse or park office.

A quote for your week: “If you walk into a forest, you hear all kinds of subtle sounds. But underneath there is an all pervasive silence.” — Eckhart Tolle, author Until the next trail,Susan

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Old growth forest at a nature preserve in Spring Mill near Mitchell