Many Indiana natural landmarks just a short drive

There are 600 National Natural Landmarks scattered across the United States, but Hoosiers don’t have to travel far to find one: Indiana is home to 30 of these special places.

“We have the second most natural landmarks in the country. But if you just think about Indianapolis, as a metropolitan area, over 2 million people, we have a bunch of these landmarks within an hour's drive,” Cliff Chapman from the Central Indiana Land Trust said.  “And I would challenge Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Miami, I challenge any of those cities to have so many special places like that within an hour's drive of the city center.”

Chapman said an Indiana natural landmark worth visiting includes Meltzer Woods near Shelbyville, which has one of Indiana’s last remaining fragments of old growth forest.

He said Shrader-Weaver Nature Preserve near Connersville and Pine Hills Nature Preserve on the edge of Shades State Park are also worth the visit.

To learn more about Indiana’s National Natural Landmarks, click here

Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Taylor Bennett at tbennett@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @TaylorB2213.