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Outdoors: Hoosier Prairie Nature Preserve Hoosier Prairie Nature Preserve Hoosier Prairie Nature Preserve is a DNR property located in northwestern Lake County, just west of Griffith. Despite being surrounded by railroads, highways, and other development, it encompasses one of the largest prairie remnants left in the state. Much of the open area towards the south that you can see from the parking lot (pictured above) was farmed as recently as the mid-1970s. However, prairie restoration efforts in recent decades have seen the return of many native species that once lived here. Pick up a preserve brochure at the break in the fence and sign in. A gravel trail heads south from the parking area and skirts the eastern edge of the more open parts of the restored prairie. Late summer will find blazing star, blue vervain, and numerous other prairie wildflowers in this area. Towards the end of the gravel trail, a wood-chipped trail leads off to the left (east). The prairie marsh trail, and looping from it, the Savanna trail, pass through two different habitats. Passing this way takes you, despite the giant petroleum tanks looming to the south, into virgin prairie. Ground elevation varies slightly along this trail, and even small changes can result in substantially different plant communities. The Savanna trail allows you to sample a good example of another threatened ecosystem, one that has become endangered through both timber harvest and conversion to cropland, and suppression of wildfires. Periodic controlled burns help reduce undergrowth, preserve the open aspect of the understory, and perpetuate the species normally found in this habitat that are dependent on fire. Getting There: From the intersection of US 41 and Main Street west of Griffith, east on Main Street just past Kennedy Avenue to the parking lot on the right (south). DeLorme: 18:D4 GPS Coordinates: References: Hoosier Prairie, Indiana Department of Natural Resources Brochure. Indiana's Dedicated Nature Preserves 2004, Indiana Department of Natural Resources.