Next hike slated Saturday at Big Walnut Nature Preserve

BAINBRIDGE -- The eighth hike sponsored by the Putnam Parks and Pathways is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 12 at 9 a.m. at Fortune Woods, which is part of the Big Walnut Nature Preserve.

At Fortune Woods, the initially grassy Tall Timbers Trail leads from field to ridge top, offering aerial views of Big Walnut Creek. Immediately hikers are both in the treetops and at the base of glacial-relic sentinels of a virgin forest.

The trail’s two-mile loop gently slopes to the creek bed, and stairs lead back up on an adjacent ridge.

The trail features very scenic old growth woods. In the spring an abundance of wild flowers can be enjoyed.

Hikers are invited to come out and learn a little about Willis Blatchley, Indiana’s naturalist who grew up west of Bainbridge in the late 1800s.