I recently visited a beautiful preserve up north in Putnum County. Fern Cliff Nature Preserve, located near Greencastle, consists of 157 acres of deep, wooded ravines and steep, sandstone cliffs. The profusion of ferns and mosses found there characterize the popular reserve and, thus, give it its name.
The property was dedicated as state nature preserve in 1988 after being dedicated as a National Natural Landmark in 1980. It’s owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy.
The trail is in-and-out trail and is 1.5 miles in length. The terrain is considered moderate in ease of hiking. The unique vegetation found in the preserve makes it “a botanists’ floral paradise,” according to some people.
I have a certain appreciation for the woods and the plants that are found in them. I was looking forward to a day of exploration.
With picture-perfect weather, I made my way to this beautiful place. The late summer air felt more like fall with the temperatures in the 70s with a blue sky and sunshine — a great day for a walk through a forest.
I followed the directions on my GPS and eventually drove to a big gate with a small gravel parking lot. I had arrived! I quickly found the trailhead and then the trail.
Not long after starting down the path, I saw rocks and ferns. Then I suddenly came to a big sandstone cliff wall, covered in ferns.
Everywhere I looked, I could see a variety of ferns growing along the sides of the deep ravines, and even some that appeared to be growing out of the rocks. There was a lot of sphagnum moss spreading over the larger rocks.
A noteworthy feature of the property is the large diversity of mosses and liverworts growing there, in edition to the variety of ferns. I was surrounded by a sea of green. It felt like an ancient place undisturbed by the outside world. The air was permeated with the scent of fresh dirt and musty old, rotting logs — perfect material for ferns to grow.
As I walked through the preserve, I felt like I was taking a step back in time. I took many photos but I felt that my photos could not do this place justice.
While exploring the preserve, I found the ruins of an old sandstone quarry farther back along the trail. It is said the sandstone was the source for the greenish glass that made the first Coca Cola bottles so remarkable — a bit of history mixed with nature.
I soon finished my hike and headed back to my car. It had been a good hike. I would recommend a visit to this place. It’s not a long hike but it’s a beautiful one. The best times to view the ferns would be in spring or summer.
To find this place: From Greencastle at the southeast corner of the courthouse, go south on Jackson Street one block to Walnut Street. Go west (right) on Walnut (which becomes County Road 125 S and then C.R. 100 S) approximately 4 miles. Turn south on County Road 500 W (which will become 525W, 550W and 600W) approximately 3 miles to County Road 375 S. Turn west (right) to the Fern Cliff entrance (approximately 1 mile).
A quote for your week:“This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks, Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight, Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic, Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring oceanApeaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (1807-1882)
Until the next trail. Susan.
This article originally appeared on Evening World: Sandstone cliffs and moss: Reasons to explore Fern Cliff Nature Preserve
Reporting by Susan Anderson / Evening World
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