 Trail Click to Enlarge  Kettle Lake Click to Enlarge |
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Introduction Ropchan Memorial Nature Preserve protects about eighty acres of classic lake country terrain. There’s a kettle lake, a large wetland, glacial ridges, and scattered boulders dropped by the last glacier as it fled northward. It’s not far from here to Michigan, and the plant life reflects that proximity. There aren’t many places like this in Indiana. Trails The trail layout is relatively simple, and consists of a loop with a long spur at its eastern end; total length is just over a mile. The path tees almost immediately after you leave the parking area; I’ll describe it as if you’re going to turn left at that first junction. You’ll descend briefly along the flank of a ridge and gradually work your way around what seems like the inner surface of a large bowl. The ground rises steeply to your left, and drops off nearly as steeply to the right, while a kettle lake (second image, left) fills the bottom of the bowl. The path rises and falls as you continue around to the east side of the lake; from here, you’ll climb a small hill and descend the other side of the mound toward another junction point. Turning left at the junction point starts you on the out-and-back bog trail. On the way out you’ll skirt the northern edges of a large wetland; it will be off to your right. Tamarack and yellow birch grow here, both near the southern limit of their natural ranges. Exuberant colonies of cinnamon fern are everywhere, and there are occasional stands of royal fern. Eventually the bog trail peters out; when it does, turn around and return to the junction point, then turn left to continue your hike. The southern, second half of the loop trail takes you right next to the kettle lake you passed earlier, and then veers left to explore a peninsula that juts into a wetland. On reaching the tip of the peninsula, the trail begins climbing back toward the parking area. Facilities None. Directions
Nearby Natural Areas Beechwood Nature Preserve Fawn River Nature Preserve Pokagon State Park References ACRES Land Trust Habeck: Wild Indiana  ; Page 43Indiana Department of Natural Resources |
