Howell Woods (NICHES) | Indiana Hidden Gem

[00:00:00]Hey guys, we are at Howell Woods Nature Preserve here in Tippecanoe County. It's another NICHES Land Trust Preserve that they've only been in possession for with a couple of years. We just found out about it, so we're going to go explore it.

[00:00:25]Howell Woods is located in northwest Tippecanoe County, Indiana, just north of the small community of Montmorenci.

[00:00:33]It is managed by NICHES Land Trust, which stands for Northern Indiana Citizens Helping Ecosystems Survive.

[00:00:41]NICHES mission of restoring properties to their most natural state possible fits right in with my own interest as an Indiana Master Naturalist, but somehow this property had escaped my notice until now.

[00:00:53]>> [music] >> So, we were excited to hike the Laura Hare Oak Forest Trail here at Howell Woods.

[00:00:59]Caden, there are two trails at this preserve. One that goes towards the north section, the one that stays here on this side of Little Pine Creek. Which should we do first?

[00:01:08]>> Let's go on the whites.

[00:01:23]>> So, the north section trail looks like it is a loop.

[00:01:26]We're going to be doing it counterclockwise.

[00:01:31]So, apparently Howell Woods has some of the oldest oak, hickory, and walnut trees left here in Tippecanoe County. So, we're going to be keeping an eye out for that.

[00:01:43]>> Here we have some sassafras.

[00:01:48]So.

[00:01:48]>> Caden pointed out to me that we have our first really large old tree here.

[00:01:53]He says this one here is a red Here, I believe we have a shagbark hickory.

[00:02:11]>> [music] [music] >> So, if you can see this big tree over here with the slightly more rounded leaf lobes compared to the vet oak, I believe this is a white oak.

[00:03:14]A white oak.

[00:03:18]If you just added a bunch of hanging moss on these things, I think we were back in the Pacific Northwest.

[00:03:28]So, it looks like we're at the back of the north loop right now, and it will be turning left right here.

[00:03:36]However, you can see where it would appear to me, and I'm sure if somebody's watching this from niches, they can confirm that they are in the process of adding a bridge in the back.

[00:03:51]Be awesome if they did have more of a I don't know a a do DIY type bridge like you see in the Smokies or something.

[00:03:58]That'd be awesome.

[00:04:15]>> [music] [music] [music] >> Well, that brings us to the end of the North Loop here at Hal Woods. It comes out to close to 8/10 of a mile on that little loop hike.

[00:04:58]So now it is time to do this side.

[00:05:18]>> [music] [music] >> So this large leafed thing right here in front of me almost reminds you of a giant trillium.

[00:05:46]That is the leafy part of a jack-in-the-pulpit.

[00:05:50]The most interesting thing is here you have a result, the little thing that we think of as the pulpit, the flowering part, and there it is with its seed head.

[00:06:08]We're at the back of this little loop section.

[00:06:11]Caden's standing in here in in front of what I assume is the way back, but there is still more trail here to the left.

[00:06:19]So, we're going to see where it leads before we head back.

[00:06:22]My guess is this little spur trail here in the back probably leads back to Little Pine Creek back here where we saw the uh early makings of a makeshift bridge across the backs.

[00:06:35]So, yeah, just as I expected, the back spur trail here just leads up to the little makeshift bridge that I'm hoping they're building here in the back to connect to the other side. That'll be nice when that's done.

[00:06:51]Heading back the proper way.

[00:06:58]So, a good chunk of May and early part of June, Tippecanoe County had what they call a flash drought. It was quite dry, but this past week, we've had a lot of storms. The one day we got nearly 4 in all at once.

[00:07:13]So, it's more than made up for what we were missing.

[00:07:16]You can see the effects it has on the trail here.

[00:07:36]So, that was our hike here at Howell Woods. Combined, it was about 1.7 mile hike between both trails on both sides of the creek. Really cool place that we didn't even know about until today. What do you think of it, Cayden?

[00:07:49]>> Yeah, I think it was a neat little place. Just something new to us hiking here.

[00:07:55]Quite some good wood and plant communities. A creek flowing right through the middle of it.

[00:08:02]And also some structures.

[00:08:05]>> Yeah, I really enjoyed it. And you know it is really close to Mulvey Pond, another NICHES Land Trust property.

[00:08:12]Literally right up the road here. In fact, they could just about connect the properties if it wasn't for one slice of private land between them. So, we're going to save that one for another day.

[00:08:22]Hope you enjoyed this. Make sure that you like and subscribe if you enjoy this kind of content. Till next time.

[00:08:28]>> Peace out.

[00:08:34]>> [music]