HEMLOCK RIDGE
Hemlock Ridge's first 39 acres were acquired by Central Indiana Land Trust in 2004 with the help of the Herbert Simon Family Foundation and the Indiana Heritage Trust. It is located in northeastern Putnam County and is part of the Big
Walnut Creek Corridor, a protection priority for the Central Indiana Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy and the Department of Natural
Resources, Division of Nature Preserves. An additional 10 acres were purchased at Hemlock Ridge by the Land Trust in 2008.
Hemlock Ridge contains a rare, isolated stand of eastern hemlock, a species surviving in Indiana on just a few moist, steep, north-facing, slopes.
Hemlocks can live to be 1000 years old and provide excellent habitat for wildlife.
Restoration Work at Hemlock Ridge:
Several thousand trees have been planted in a five-acre field at Hemlock Ridge; and a highly-eroding slope has been stabilized and covered with biodegradable blankets seeded with native species to prevent siltation into Big Walnut Creek, one of the most important stream corridors in central Indiana.
Directions to Hemlock Ridge Nature Preserve from the Indianapolis Metropolitan area: Take Rockville Road (US-36) West to the Hendricks-Putnam County Line. Turn Right (North) on County Line Road. Turn Left (West) on County Road 1100 North. After a stop sign, 1100 North makes a jog south (look for an angled gravel road coming in from the right). Turn Right and follow it as it turns back into 1100 North. A gravel parking lot is ahead, just before 7201 E. 1100 N. Click here for an aerial map of the property.
Central Indiana Land Trust is a member of The Land Trust Alliance, the national organization of land trusts.