Outdoors: Hayes Arboretum

Trail Click to Enlarge Introduction Hayes Arboretum features several color-coded hiking trails and a pay-to-drive auto trail, all centered on the nature center. Trails The Blue Trail may be the best; it loops to the north, where it skirts a pond and passes through part of the Arboretum’s 60 acres of old growth woods (unfortunately adjacent to a busy railroad track). Some of the trees in this climax beech/maple forest are apparently up to 450 years old. The Yellow Trail loops to the east; it offers access to a spring and a fern garden that features more than 20 species of bryophytes. Facilities Nature center, bathrooms, water. Directions View Larger Map Wayne County. From the intersection of US 27 and US 40, go east 2.7 miles on US 40 to Elk Road, then north 0.5 miles to the entrance on the right. North 39 50.328 West 84 51.080 DeLorme 41:G11 Nearby Natural Areas Shrader-Weaver Nature Preserve Whitewater Memorial State Park References Habeck: Wild Indiana; Page 91 McPherson: Indiana Best Hikes; Page 218 McPherson: Nature Walks in Southern Indiana; Page 36