Amy Weingartner Branigin Peninsula Preserve

Important information for your visit:

• The Amy Weingartner Branigin Peninsula Preserve is closed on weekends, federal holidays, and the day after Thanksgiving, due to  heavy use on these days. Closing the preserve on weekends and holidays ensures that we all tread lightly on this precious natural habitat and continue to put conservation first. The parking lot will be gated promptly at 8:00 pm on Fridays, and reopen at 8:00 am on Mondays. Click here to learn more.
• Parking is very limited and fills up quickly. No overflow parking is available and street parking is prohibited.
• The shoreline of Monroe Lake is managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources as part of the lake and DNR rules apply to the shore area. See the DNR’s Monroe Lake webpage for details.

This special nature preserve is located in the middle of Monroe Lake, which is designated an “Important Bird Area” by the National Audubon Society. It is located on a portion of the former site of the Indiana University Alumni Association’s Shawnee Bluffs camp. The preserve features a long, forested ridge that extends out into the lake, which is the source of drinking water for the area. Sycamore’s work to protect and restore habitat here benefits biodiversity, clean water, and environmental education.

Sycamore’s management efforts at the preserve include the control of invasive plants such as garlic mustard, Japanese stiltgrass, and multiflora rose. We are in the process of converting turf grass next to the parking area into a prairie planting with native wildflowers and grasses.

Thanks to the generosity of the Weingartner and Branigin families, this nature preserve was named in memory of Amy Weingartner Branigin. Amy was a lover of nature, especially bats, and explored caves as a kid while her father Larry Weingartner conducted his research on cave fauna. When Amy passed away in 2012 of a brain tumor, her family sought a way to memorialize her in nature. This is a fitting tribute to the life of a wonderful person.

The trail at the preserve is named in memory of Don and Betsy Whitehead, thanks to gifts from the Whitehead family and friends. Don and Betsy spent many hours birding at Lake Monroe, and Don was the long-time organizer of the Lake Monroe Christmas Bird Count. Don also led groundbreaking research on the effects of forest fragmentation on migrant songbirds in southern Indiana.

DIRECTIONS

• The preserve is located on Rush Ridge Road, off of State Road 446.
• From 3rd Street in Bloomington, head south on State Road 446
• Just before you get to the causeway and after you pass the entrance to Paynetown, turn left onto Rush Ridge Rd
• Be careful when turning left, as visibility from oncoming traffic isn’t great
• Drive slowly through Rush Ridge Rd, taking a left at the fork Pass the gated driveway and you will see a Sycamore sign next to our parking lot
• Turn right into the parking lot
• Do not park on the road; parking is only available in the parking lot. Please note that parking space is quite limited, with only seven spots plus one accessible spot. We encourage visitors to carpool.
• Parking on the street, driveway, or neighbors’ properties is prohibited and could result in towing.