Kentuckiana Hiker’s Review

Not everyone enjoys strapping on a pack and traveling over hill and dale for many miles. If you’ve never hiked a trail before, the stories of all-day treks in the great outdoors might be a little daunting. In this edition of the Hikers Review, I’m going to introduce you to a few trails in our area that aren’t long on distance, but are chock full of interesting things to see.

Jefferson Memorial Forest, Horine Reservation Mitchell Hill Trail: 1.5 miles

The Mitchell Hill Trail in the Horine Section of Jefferson Memorial Forest (JMF) is one of my year round favorites for its variety of wildlife and habitat. The 1.5 mile trail includes pines, hardwoods and the gem of the Horine section, Mitchell Hill Lake. The trail is set up as a short spur to a 1.1 mile loop that includes one long downhill and one long uphill section. At the bottom of the hill is Mitchell Hill Lake, where you’ll find a picnic table along with serene lake view benches for romantic outings, a family picnic, or for enjoying Walden-like solitude.

Also known as the Blue trail (marked with blue flashes), Mitchell Hill is known for its tortoise population during the Spring and Summer. Lakeside, you can expect to see a wide variety amphibian, reptile, and insect life. If you’re a photography buff as well as a hiker, Mitchell Hill Lake is one of the best areas in Jefferson County for snapping literally dozens of varieties of dragonflies. (Fishing on the lake is prohibited)

Halloween Pennant on Mitchell Hill Lake

Be sure to hike this trail year round and try to take advantage when Louisville gets an occasional snowfall. (Also, don’t forget that the Horine Section of JMF requires a free pass which you must acquire from the Welcome Center. Directions to the park can be found at the JMF website).

Mitchell Hill Lake in Winter

Other short trails in Jefferson Forest:

• Horine Reservation Orange Interpretive Trail: 1.7 miles
• Tom Wallace Purple Heart Trail: 2 miles
• Tom Wallace Lake Loop: .5 miles
• Tom Wallace Tulip Tree Walk: .5 miles
• Scott’s Gap Shortcut Loop: 1.4 miles

You can checkout more photos from a recent visit to the Mitchell Hill Trail here.

Hoosier National Forest, Hemlock Cliffs Loop: 1 mile

It’s not often you find as many remarkable sights on a short trail as those you will find at Hemlock Cliffs in Hoosier National Forest. I hadn’t heard about this tiny section of the Forest until this year, and I was thrilled after my first visit.

Hemlock Cliffs is a steep box canyon that includes two remarkable waterfalls over 60 ft high, sandstone rock formations and steep rocky cliffs all within a simple 1 mile trail loop. (A note of caution should be made for family outings: watch carefully after young kids since this trail includes some sheer rocky drop offs and areas where rock falls can occur.) Both waterfalls are accessible and there is a short loop trail to one of the waterfalls that allows you to walk behind the falls on a rocky outcropping with an incredible amount of space. If huge overhanging sections of rock make you nervous, you might want to skip this section of the trail.

Waterfall at Hemlock Cliffs

For Louisville natives, Hemlock Cliffs is an easy hour drive west on I-64. You can find a map to the trailhead in the link to Hemlock Cliffs above. I look forward to returning here in winter to see the ice formations. (Check out more photos of Hemlocks Cliffs here.)

Bernheim Forest, Lake Nevin Loop: 1.3 miles

I’ve been visiting Bernheim Forest since I was about 3 years old, so this park and arboretum has a very special place in my heart. As you enter Bernheim (free on weekdays, 5 bucks per car on Saturday and Sunday), one of the first things you will see is Lake Nevin on your right. The Lake Nevin loop trail, as the name suggests, is a beautiful gravel covered trail that completely encircles the lake.

Along the trail’s 1.3 mile course, you’ll see wildlife, sculpture and a combination of habitats. On the backside of the loop, there is a section of bluegrass savanna habitat that segues into a cypress marsh complete with 2 bridge expanses across low water sections of the lake. During the warmer months, you can enjoy the sounds of a wide variety of frog songs.

Lake Nevin

Lake Nevin Loop is also a remarkable four season trail. In Spring, you can enjoy redbuds and dogwoods in bloom. In the Summer, you’ll see Canadian geese and you might spot a huge grass carp tail in the lake as it feeds in the shallows. The Autumn colors along this trail are outstanding, and the Sunrise Amphitheater at the southern end of the lake is a great place to enjoy the view. Winter offers serenity and stillness if you’re hardy enough to brave the hike during a snowfall.

Short trails in Bernheim Forest:

• Rock Run Loop: 0.5 miles
• Cull Hollow Loop: 1.5 miles
• Jackson-Yoe Loop: 1.5 miles
• Fire Tower Loop: 0.5 miles
• High Point Loop: 0.5 miles
• Iron Ore Hill Loop: 1.5 miles
• Guerrilla Hollow Loop: 1.3 mile

Look for an upcoming blog post on some of the other loop trails in Bernheim in the next week or so.

Hoosier National Forest, Buzzard Roost Trail: .8 miles

The Buzzard Roost Trail is a short and remote trail in Hoosier National Forest. The trailhead is located on a high bluff overlooking the Ohio River and it includes a small campsite area for mobile or tent camping. The trail begins next to a lily pad clogged pond that you should really walk down to just to see the rain of frogs you’ll scare back into the pond.

The upper part of the trail includes some great river overlooks while the lower section of the trail will take you through steep and rocky terrain next to a creek ravine. During wet weather, the lower section of Buzzard Roost is supposedly remarkable with outstanding water cascades over boulders in the ravine. The trail ends at the banks of the mighty Ohio.

Buzzard Roost Overlook

This trail is a little tough on the knees (if you have that issue) and has steep rocky sections that are very slippery in wet weather. Watch after children as there are several rocky drop offs of over 20 feet directly adjacent to the trail. On my first trip to this trail, my only negative experience was a run in with chiggers, which are plentiful in this area. Make sure to put on some deet or other bug repellent on your lower extremities.

Part of the adventure of the Buzzard Roost Trail is the drive (see map in link above). Take your time on some of the back roads as deer are plentiful in the area.

Deer along the road near Buzzard Roost

Blackberry Lilies

Check out the photos from my recent trip to Buzzard Roost here.

The Mogan Ridge East trail in Hoosier National Forest is an interesting mixed habitat trail closely nestled to the Ohio River. To find the trail head, take I-64 West to the Sulphur Springs exit and then head South for about 18 miles on Indiana State Highway 66. Just prior to the turnoff to reach the trailhead parking lot, you’ll pass a sign for the Mano Point Boat Ramp and then immediately afterwards, you’ll cross a short bridge. Just after the bridge is a gravel road on your right which will lead you to the Mogan Ridge East trail head.

Mogan Ridge Trailhead

Hiking in from the trailhead, you’ll find the first half mile or so to be dark, damp and rocky. During wet weather, this section can have mud and slick rocks, so watch your footing. You’ll pass what looks like a mudslide or bulldozed area on your right at the .3 mile mark. Although it may not look like a trail, this is in fact the return section of the loop. Continuing on, you’ll exit the forst into an open area filled with scrub and grasses and many types of wildflowers. This is an ideal habitat for birds and especially deer in the early morning hours.

Rose Gentian

In this area, you’ll reach a fork in the trail. To the right, you’ll find the shortcut to the loop. It descends to a lowland area adjacent to a creek. To the left, you start the longest section of the trail up to a high ridge. Taking the left, you’ll begin a climb that continues for at least a half mile or so. On this section, there are still many leftover downed trees from this year’s ice storm and the trail has gone somewhat feral. Lots of high weeds will greet you in between huge downed trees which you will have to navigate.

Ice Storm Obstacles Still Exist

This section of the trail in summer has lots of sunflowers and once I reach the ridge top, provided a great overlook into a valley where I spotted turkeys as well as a few white tails. When you start to walk downhill on this section, you’ll be getting close to the next section of the trail which is comprised mainly of an old hunting or fire road. Turning right from the southern section onto this road, you’ll notice that it’s completely clear of debris and you’ll enjoy easy hiking on this section for the next mile or so before you reach the shortcut loop again.

Continuing on the loop, you’ll enter an area with a few decent ups and downs on the trail. This area links you back up to the spur that connects the loop to the trail head. You’ll find a lot of mushrooms in this area as well and you’ll have two creek crossings. During my hike last weekend (July 18th), I also spotted some tiger lillies but the blooms were way past their prime.

Chicken Mushroom

The Mogan Ridge East trail is one I’ll return to, especially since it is a hiking only trail (though there was some evidence of horse traffic). The different habitats as well as the diversity of plants and animals make this trail a nature lover’s dream. If you don’t mind a little climbing, hike the entire loop for the full effect. I think you’ll find the trail worth the trip.

Zebra Swallowtail

Check out the other pictures from my hike in the album Mogan Ridge East

On Saturday, June 6^th, I picked the Lick Creek Trail from the list on the HNF web site mainly for being the right length. At just under 8 miles, Lick Creek is long enough for a full afternoon and offers a variety of terrain and habitat. On this particular day, it also provided me with the widest variety of butterfly species that I can ever remember spotting in one day on any trail in Kentuckiana. In particular, my all time favorite butterfly to photograph, the Great Spangled Fritillary was in abundance. In fact, this normally hard to find species in Kentucky was practically everywhere I looked on the Lick Creek trail in Indiana.

Great Spangled Fritillaries

To get to the Lick Creek trailhead, I drove I-64 over the Sherman Minton bridge to the Paoli exit on Indiana 150. I then drove to Paoli on 150 and took Indiana 37 South after proceeding through the Paoli town square. Once on 37 South, continue for just over 5 miles and look for the Lick Creek HNF trail signs. It was easy to find and took a little over an hour before I pulled into the trailhead parking lot to what has become for me, a not-so-welcome sight; hitching posts

Several hitching posts for horses are included in the parking area at Lick Creek, since it is another “multi-use” trail in HNF. Of the trails I’ve explored in HNF, all of the multi-use trails include lots of hoof print bogs. These are sections of the trail anywhere from a few feet up to 100 yard lengths that are perpetually muddy thanks to horse traffic. The Lick Creek trail is no exception.

Hoof print bog

Like several other trails in HNF, the Lick Creek trail consists of a spur trail from the main parking area to a loop that returns to the spur trail. There is also an alternate parking area with a spur at the end of Grease Gravy Rd (though I didn’t hike that section, but I had to mention the name of the road.)

Most of Lick Creek is fairly flat. There were no large hills to speak of. The only real challenge was to try and keep your feet reasonably dry through the many hoof print bogs. This will entail a lot of skirting the edge of the trail, so be aware of ticks. They are still plentiful in HNF and the Lick Creek trail is no exception.

Once I arrived at the loop section of the trail, I hiked counter clockwise taking a right and continuing along the trail. After about a half mile, you’ll run into a large area of downed trees blocking the trail at the mouth of what appears to be a stream bed. The stream bed looks enough like trail to confuse any hiker, so just look for the blue diamond trail markers. You’ll also find hoof print trails around the larger downed tree areas, so look for these as well.

The Lick Creek trail crosses a natural gas line cut twice along the loop and it is here where you will find a multitude of butterflies. At one point, I was merely standing still watching one set of butterflies near the trail when 2 Great Spangled Fritillaries landed on my leg. If butterflies are what you are looking for, I cannot recommend the Lick Creek trail enough. In my almost 4 hour hike, I spotted several species of fritillaries and swallowtails (Including the largest Tiger Swallowtail I’ve ever seen) as well as Mourning Cloaks, Question Marks and many more.

Great Spangled Fritillary

Natural gas cut

Tiger Swallowtail

In addition to butterflies, I also spotted fire pink wildflowers along the trail, which was unusual since most fire pinks disappeared in the area at about the end of April or earlier.

Fire Pinks

Overall, Lick Creek is a great trail for any type of hiker and especially good for photography. If the trail was not in regular use by horses, I would probably make it a regular stop. Thanks to few lengthy hills, the nearly 8 mile trail is a challenge only for hot weather and length. Take plenty of water and you should have a great time.

To view all of the pictures I took along my hike, check out the photo album Lick Creek .

This was my first experience with a true “multi-use” trail in Hoosier National Forest (HNF), and as many hikers might agree, I wasn’t very happy. Before I get to that, let’s break down the trails.

The Oriole twin trails in HNF include the West and East versions. The West trail is comprised of a 6.9 mile trail that includes 2 “wet feet” stream crossings, especially during rainy periods. The West trail also experiences considerably LESS horse traffic than the East trail. The East trail is a 6.5 trail that includes several stream bed crossings, but none that represent serious obstacles. The East also shares a short distance of trail along an unmapped camping road, which was a bit disorienting but not a problem. (Just look for trail markers).

Both East and West trails have lead-in spur trails of just over a mile. These spurs are along fire roads and are fairly wide open. The West trail’s lead-in has been cleared of fallen timber for the most part while the East trail’s lead-in is littered with fallen timber. Both East and West trails include loops accessible from short spur trails at alternate trailheads.

For all of the similarities and beauty, as a hiker, I can really only recommend the West trail, for a couple of reasons.

First, let me state before I go off on any rants, that I hold no ill will toward horseback riders. That being said, when a trail gets used heavily by horseback riders in the wet conditions of Spring, the trail can become much harder to hike for two-legged patrons. The East Oriole trail is good example.

There are several sections of the East Oriole trail that are what I refer to as “seeps”, sections that remain moist and muddy sometimes for a week or so after rainy weather. With the added horse traffic, these seeps become pock-marked landscapes of water filled hoof prints 6 inches deep. Combine that with say 100 yards of steady uphill walking and you’ve got a mixture that makes hiking no fun at all. In addition to the trail being torn up by horse traffic, the East Oriole trail has a lot more downed timber and some sections require you to walk into uncut forest where the tick problems multiply ten fold. Even with these problems, there are some beautiful sections along the East Oriole, including a section along the northern side off the loop that had wild columbine in bloom all around the trail. Aside from the columbine though, you might do yourself a favor and try the West trail first before hiking the East.

Wild blackberry

Wild columbine

The West Oriole trail has the one drawback of a large and sometimes deep stream crossing just as you enter the loop section (one crossing heading out, one coming back). In early May when I first hiked the trail, the stream was hip deep in several spots, and I’m 6′ 3”, so be careful with anything you want to keep dry when making that crossing. The stream bed along the West Oriole trail loop is also an amazing area for spring wildflowers and even included irises of several varieties.

Iris along Oriole West

Deep crossing on the West Oriole

Both trails are reasonably strenuous, and are just long enough to challenge you while not exhausting those with less experience. In either direction (East or West) you’ll be treated to a wide variety of habitats from pine glades to hard wood forest with stream crossings. When crossing over downed timber or walking around it, be aware of ticks as they are especially thick along both Oriole trails this year.

You can check out the photos from both Oriole trail hikes here:

Oriole East
Oriole West

It’s a rare treat when you discover something really wonderful that has been right under your nose all along. That was my first impression after finishing the 16 mile Two Lakes Loop Trail in Hoosier National Forest.

Not only is Two Lakes a first rate recreational area with camping sites and boat ramps on two good sized fishing lakes, but the loop trail within offers one of the longest single loops within an hour and a half of Louisville. And even at 16 miles, the trail is not exhausting. In fact, it is considerably easier than some of the 10+ mile trails I’ve hiked within the last few months.

That being said, the conditions were optimal, with 60 degree temperatures and light rain for the majority of the hike. Take on the same 16 miles in 85-90 degrees in the humidity of the Ohio Valley, and the length of the trail alone can make it tricky, if not dangerous.

The Two Lakes Recreation area is easy to find. Just head West on Interstate 64 and look for Indiana State Highway 37 at exit 79. At the exit, turn South (left if coming from Louisville) and head down HWY 37 for about a mile and a half and look for the entrance on the right. It is the first Hoosier National Forest entrance from I-64.

Once you enter the Recreation Area, proceed past the Lake Celina boat ramp access road for about an eighth of a mile and take a left on the gravel access road to the main Two Lakes Loop trailhead parking area (see trail map). If the trail is busy and this parking area is full, there are several small parking areas along the road to the Indian Lake boat ramp that include access trails to the main loop.

Here is the topographical map of the trail with the main trail head highlighted:

Regardless of where you begin, I highly recommend hiking toward the Lake Celina section first (clockwise on the loop) for one very good reason. The two creek crossings on the map that are North of Indian Lake are crossings that require wading in wet weather. And it’s much easier to hike 16 miles with wet boots for only the last 5 or so miles as opposed to hiking the majority of the trail with wet feet. There are a lot of creek crossings on this trail, but those were the only two that were not negotiable without wading. Stay apprised of the weather conditions on the days leading up to your hike and you might not even have to worry about wet feet.

Main Trail Head

The Lake Celina section of the hike from the trail head to the the lake dam featured rolling hills with several small creek crossings and no steep grades of any type. Along with several nice lake views, the dogwoods were still in bloom at the time of my hike. Look for loads of wild flowers near the creek crossings and keep an eye out for tortoises on the trail. During my day-long jaunt, I saw literally dozens of tortoises along the trail. I should also mention it’s tortoise mating season right now, so if you happen upon a couple in the act, try not to disturb them. I would imagine it’s hard enough to reproduce as a tortoise without human interruptions.

Creek Crossings

Dwarf Crested Iris

Lake Celina dam

Leaving the forest just before the Lake Celina dam, you’ll hike about a half mile or so in high grass. This is the first area along the trail that you will most definitely find ticks. Once you get past the dam, be mindful and check your socks and shoes. There’s even a convenient bench at the western end of the dam for a rest and a tick check.

The next 2 mile section of the trail includes two other trail intersections. The American Discovery trail shares and bit of the same trail along the way as the Two Lakes Loop. You’ll also pass an access trail that essentially cuts the loop in half if you don’t want to try all 16 miles in one trip. To stay on the loop, just keep following the white diamond trail markers.

This section of the trail also has the first major signs of downed timber from the ice storm of this past January. When possible, try to go over or under any downed trees. If you find any timber crossings impassable, look for side detours that previous hikers may have taken. Make an extra effort not to break any new trails yourself to preserve the natural environment.

Downed timber

At the Indian Lake dam, you’ll pass through another quarter mile of high grass for your second major tick alert area along the trail. Once past the dam, you’ll follow the trail for almost a mile close to the bank on Indian Lake. Here you’ll find rocky sections that will be slick in wet weather, along with lots of wet environment plants like jack in the pulpit. Once you take a turn uphill and away from the lake, you’ll hike the first serious incline of the day at approximately 9 and a half miles into the trail. Once you crest this hill, you’ll proceed along a back country route that looks like a fire road, and is loaded with burrs. This section is another tick laden area.

Indian Lake

The first wading creek crossing will signify the start of the final section of the trail. It will include your best opportunity for spotting a bald eagle as you hike the northernmost section of Indian Lake. I spotted one during my hike, but I could not get a good photo.

You’ll also be treated to the best wildflowers variety of the entire hike. Spiderwort is a dominant flower along the higher banks to the left of the trail along with loads of fire pinks and many other flowers. It was also along this section that I spotted my very first yellow lady’s slipper. It was the only specimen that I spotted all day of this fairly unusual member of the orchid family and it was the highlight of my photo opportunities for the day.

Fire Pinks

Yellow Lady’s Slipper

The second deep creek crossing will signal that you are in the home stretch of completing the trail. There are 3 access spurs in the last two miles of the loop to parking areas along Indian Lake Road. Access trails are marked with orange diamonds and all lead back to parking areas adjacent to roads.

Follow the white diamonds

I can’t say enough about the beauty and diversity of the Two Lakes Loop trail really. It was the first trail in the Ohio Valley that truly reminded me of some of the lush areas I’ve hiked in the Smoky Mountains. The only thing missing were the rhododendrons.

Get out and hike the Two Lakes Loop trail this spring and you won’t be disappointed. I’m already planning my next trip back to tackle it again.

I took LOTS of pictures along the hike and I hope you enjoy the photos in the Two Lakes Loop photo album