Guthrie Woods
State Designated Nature Preserve [#171; 1999]
Woodland Interior. Click to enlarge
If you think trails and wilderness are incompatible, Guthrie Woods may be your kind of place. Impediments to straightforward navigation abound: large, irregular patches of sticky white soil, ephemeral ponds, the lavish wreckage of fallen trees, vegetative riots of poison ivy. You won’t need a flashlight – at least during the day – but the majestic cathedral-like ceiling formed by the branches and leaves of these old growth trees admit very little of summer’s light. The trees are bigger to the north but getting there can be a challenge. Whichever way you try to go, obstacles seem to pop up and redirect you; my own visits invariably end as I emerge from the woods, blinking, far from my intended destination. Bring a compass.
Directions
Jennings County. From the intersection of IN 3 and IN 7 south of Vernon, go south 5.9 miles on IN 7, then left 1.3 miles on County Line Rd (500 S) to the marker at the preserve’s SE corner. Pull over as far as you dare, minding the steep ditch.
GPS: N 38 54.752 W 85 31.212
Facilities
None
Finder Sketch
Click to enlarge
Nearby Natural Areas (miles)
Pennywort Cliffs (8.1)
Calli Nature Preserve (10.9)
Clifty Falls State Park (14.7)
Tribbett's Flatwoods Nature Preserve (15.3)
Chelsea Flatwoods (18.8)
Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge (20)