By SHAWNDRA MILLER, Central Indiana Land Trust communications director
After a long winter, you’re probably eager to get outside. New trails at Betley Woods at Glacier’s End, a Johnson County nature preserve, can make your spring outing a memorable one.
The 300-acre preserve south of Trafalgar has more than 500 species of plants, a level of biodiversity that’s not just special for Indiana but unusual across the country. It’s home to rare and endangered species like cerulean warblers, Henslow’s sparrows, and Eastern box turtles – as well as endangered Northern long-eared bats and several new-to-science spider species. Early ephemeral wildflowers, like drooping trillium, harbinger of spring, and bloodroot, have begun to appear.
The landscape was formed by Ice Age glaciers, which stopped their southward march here and deposited a mix of soils. That geologic phenomenon sculpted the landscape and its special habitat.
Today, visitors can experience this stunning terrain through three new trails that traverse the property’s steep bluffs and clear shale-bottom streams. From the exposed bedrock to the chunks of granite strewn across the valley floors, evidence of that glacial melt is everywhere.
The Sparrow Trail is a gravel one-mile loop accessible to all ages and abilities. The Warbler Trail takes hikers down ravines, across a bridge and stone crossings to the bottomlands. The Tanager Trail is a longer loop offering a deep forest immersion, far from road sounds.
“The trails are designed to give nature-lovers the chance to go really deep into the woods,” said Cliff Chapman, president and CEO of the Central Indiana Land Trust, which owns and protects the preserve. “This is the first full year that the trails will be open, and we’re excited to see visitors use them to experience springtime up close.”
A $1 million donation from Leonard and Kathryn Betley and their family helped preserve the landscape and support restoration, tree planting, and land protection in the region.
The Sparrow Trail was funded through a grant from the Johnson County Community Foundation. Next Level Trails, a Department of Natural Resources grant program supporting trail development, provided additional funding for the trails as the land trust partnered with the Indiana Wildlife Federation, which secured nearly $250,000 for the project.
Betley Woods At Glacier’s End is located at 2999-2683 County Road 750 South, Trafalgar, Ind. Park in the lot on County Road 750 S. The trailhead is just off the parking lot.
Headquartered in the Old Northside, Central Indiana Land Trust partners with conservation organizations statewide to preserve the best of Indiana’s natural areas, protecting plants and animals, so Hoosiers can experience the wonder of the state’s natural heritage. Find more hiking destinations at conservingindiana.org.
