Moraine Nature Preserve

Why You Should Visit
A jumbled accumulation of different-sized rocks, sand and soil carried by the Lake Michigan lobe of the Wisconsin Glacier formed this serene scene of nature just north of Valparaiso.

Location
Porter County

Ecoregion
Great Lakes

Size
809 Acres

Dedicated
State Nature Preserve, 1971 & 1995

Owned & Managed By
The Nature Conservancy & Division of Nature Preserves

Partners
DNR-Lake Michigan Coastal Program, Indiana Heritage Trust, North America Wetland Conservation Act, Indiana Natural Heritage Protection Campaign, Shirley Heinze Land Trust and University of Chicago.

How to Prepare for Your Visit
The easy to moderate terrain make for a pleasant hike through the preserve even though there are no established trails. Please take the time to read the Conservancy's Preserve Visitation Guidelines.

Directions
From Valparaiso, travel north on S.R. 49 to U.S. 6. Turn right (east) and continue approximately 0.5 mile to Calumet Avenue and turn right (south). Continue traveling to C.R. 750 N (Meska Road) and turn left. Travel roughly one mile to the end of the road and park at the bottom of the hill. Parking is extremely limited.

What to See: Plants and Animals
Old-growth remnants of oak-hickory forest, mesic beech-maple forest, old farm field converting back to its natural wilderness, ravines, rolling hills and kettle lakes are some of the ecosystems found in the Moraine Nature Preserve. Ponds and wetlands are home to various species of common and rare wildlife. Wildflowers cover the forest floor and the nesting forest interior birds with various migrating birds fill the woods with song in the spring.

What The Nature Conservancy is Doing/has Done
One of the few large, unfragmented blocks of forest left in Northwest Indiana, the Moraine Nature Preserve has offered a valuable habitat to various plant and animal species as well as benefiting the communities that surround it. Grown to more than 800 acres from its initial 160, The Nature Conservancy continues to find ways to protect this area from urban sprawl.