Mossy Point Nature Preserve

Overview

Temporary Closure Notice: Mossy Point is temporarily closed with a new trail and access in the works. Please check back for details.

With its dramatic high ridges and shaded ravines, Mossy Point Nature Preserve features some of the most iconic geography in the region. The preserve offers lovely views of Sugar Creek where a large number of bald eagles have been known to roost during winter months. The property’s hulking sandstone outcrops shadow a winding gorge where ferns and mosses grow in seeps in fractured bedrock.

Ice Age relic communities of Eastern hemlock thrive on north-facing upland slopes. In the shade of the hemlocks are found unusual plants like partridgeberry and witch hazel. The woodlands are blanketed with wildflowers in spring, while each summer the hillsides turn snowy with ramps (wild leeks) in bloom.

The state-dedicated nature preserve is part of the Lower Sugar Creek conservation area, which supports critical populations of several vulnerable species of breeding birds: wood thrush, cerulean warbler, worm-eating warbler, Louisiana waterthrush and Kentucky warbler. Other species finding refuge here include Eastern box turtle, spotted sandpiper and many species of salamanders.

A new addition obtained in 2018 is enabling us to install a parking lot, build trails and offer access to this gorgeous preserve. Current access to this preserve is limited, and the new addition is not yet open. Look for an announcement of the opening of this addition soon.

History of the Property

In 2005, Central Indiana Land Trust worked with many partners to protect Mossy Point, which was dedicated that year as a state nature preserve. Additions in 2006 and 2018 brought even more contiguous forest habitat under protection. The property also adjoins DNR’s Covered Bridge Retreat property and Wabash College’s state-dedicated nature preserve Allee Woods, creating an approximately 700-acre swath of contiguous protected property.

Planning your Visit

Temporary Closure Notice: Mossy Point is temporarily closed with a new trail and access in the works. Please check back for details.