The Secret Garden Hike In Indiana Will Make You Feel Like You’re In A Fairytale
By Courtney Johnston|Published April 13, 2018
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Courtney Johnston
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Courtney's originally from the East Coast, but has found a charming new home in Indiana. She loves checking out local music, reading, and trying new food. She's also a little too addicted to coffee and has a Maine Coon cat she answers to.
Indiana is teeming with natural beauty, from state forests and woods to parks full of gorgeous ravines, cliffs, and sandy dunes. In the springtime, especially, Indiana becomes a little more magical, with beds of wildflowers blanketing the state. You can experience some of this warm weather magic during this secret garden hike through the Hoosier state, that will have you feeling like you stepped into a fairytale.
The Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab is a 55-acre nature preserve located on the Marian University campus in Indianapolis. This outdoor environmental restoration garden is bursting with natural beauty and available for self-guided hikes.
This nature preserve is so stunning, you'll think it popped straight out of a fairytale. With a charming storybook footbridge, picturesque creeks and a lake, and a variety of rustic trails, this wetland is the perfect place for an extraordinary hike.
You can also see diverse bird species along these hikes, including great horned owls, woodpeckers, yellowthroats, song sparrow, and great blue heron. Butterflies are also common throughout this wetland environment.
The EcoLab property is part of the Riverdale grounds that were owned by James Allison, and many unique stone structures can still be found along the hiking paths.
You can view a map of the property here and visit from dawn to dusk. You'll find EcoLab at 3200 Cold Spring Road, Indianapolis, Indiana 46222.
Will you be enjoying this fairytale hike this spring in Indiana? For another stunning park to visit in the Hoosier state that’s pretty enough to be in a storybook, check out this beautiful public garden.
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