Lonidaw Nature Preserve
Natural Areas: Lonidaw Nature Preserve
State Designated Nature Preserve [#64; 1982]
Trail. Click to enlarge
In addition to nice woods, Lonidaw protects some interesting geological features. It shelters three quarters of the shoreline of Little Whitford Lake, a five-acre kettle lake formed when an enormous block of buried ice melted after the glaciers departed. Access to the lake’s edge is limited, perhaps because the shore “quakes” in spots where thick mats of roots and vegetation partially float; this gradual encroachment will eventually fill the lake. Parts of the complex trail system (totaling about a mile long, opposite, bottom) follow an esker, a relatively narrow berm of sediments laid down long ago by a stream tunneling underneath a melting glacier. Mature woods, spring wildflowers (large-flowered trillium, shown above, are especially impressive in early May), and geology combine for an interesting visit.
Trail Map
Click to enlarge
Directions
Noble County. From Kendallville, east on US 6, then left on Kammerer Road/700 N just as U.S. 6 curves to the southeast. Continue east 0.8 miles on 700 N, then left on 1000 E for 0.3 mile to a small parking area on the left.
GPS: N 41 27.374 W 85 13.903
Facilities
None
Finder Sketch
Click to enlarge
Nearby Natural Areas (miles)
Olin Lake Nature Preserve (16)
Bender Nature Preserve (16.8)
Maplewood Nature Preserve (17.2)
Bicentennial Woods (17.4)
Chain O'Lakes State Park (17.5)
Dustin Nature Preserve (18.4)
Spurgeon Woodland Reserve (18.7)
Covell Nature Preserve (19.8)