Outdoors: Guthrie Woods

Plaque Click to Enlarge Woods Interior Click to Enlarge Mushroom Click to Enlarge Introduction If you think trails and wilderness are incompatible, Guthrie Woods may be your kind of place. There are all sorts of impediments to straightforward navigation – large, irregular patches of sticky white soil, ephemeral ponds, the lavish wreckage of fallen trees, and vegetative riots of poison ivy. You won’t need a flashlight – at least during daylight hours – but the majestic cathedral formed by these old growth trees admits 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. Trails None. Facilities None. Directions View Larger Map Jennings County. From the intersection of US 50 and IN 3/7 in North Vernon, go south 8.2 miles on IN 7, then left 1.3 miles on County Line Rd (500 South) to the southeast corner of the preserve, where there is a marker. Pull over as far as you dare, minding the steep ditch, and park along the road. North 38 54.752 West 85 31.212 DeLorme 52:F3 Nearby Natural Areas Calli Nature Preserve Muscatatuck County Park Pennywort Cliffs Tribbett's Flatwoods Nature Preserve References Habeck: Wild Indiana; Page 132 McPherson: Nature Walks in Southern Indiana; Page 100 Nature Conservancy: Guide to Indiana Preserves; Page 96