Trevlac Bluffs Nature Preserve

Important information for your visit:

• Parking is extremely limited at this preserve and group visits are not recommended.  Each trailhead can accommodate up to three vehicles. Plan to visit on a weekday and prepare to make alternate plans if the preserve has reached capacity.  If there is no room to park at the trailhead, please return to visit at another time.
• At the Bottomland trail, park in the gravel lot only.  Do not park on State Road 46 in front of our neighbor’s property or at nearby businesses.  Parking outside of designated areas is dangerous and could result in the closure of this preserve to public hiking. 

Trevlac Bluffs Nature Preserve is named for its towering 200-foot bluff over Beanblossom Creek that features a rare stand of native eastern hemlock trees, found naturally in only about two dozen places in Indiana. Hemlocks are now a more northerly species, and the stands in Indiana are remnants from the cooler early post-glacial climate of thousands of years ago. The property is dedicated as an Indiana State Nature Preserve by the Department of Natural Resources, in recognition of the statewide significance of the natural communities preserved here.

The preserve also protects over 100 acres of forested wetlands in the floodplain of Beanblossom Creek and over a mile of the creek itself, which is the main input for Lake Lemon about a mile and a half downstream.  The preserve is part of a forest block that national research has identified as one of three in the Midwest that is critical for breeding migratory songbirds.

Sycamore works to control invasive plant species that threaten the health of this special forest. A major project to remove 50 acres of multiflora rose and Japanese honeysuckle in the bottomlands was completed by Habitat Solutions with funding from the Natural Resource Conservation Service. Garlic mustard and Japanese stiltgrass are targets for control by Sycamore staff and volunteers.

The bluff is crossed by a portion of the historic Yellowwood Trail, which was created in 1949 by Ken Tuxhorn of Outdoor Educational Activities. In 2019 the bottomland loop trail was re-routed and lengthened, and trail markings were improved.

Tecumseh Trail Reroute: The Hoosier Hikers Council worked with Sycamore and the Weddle family to route the Hoosier Hikers’ Tecumseh Trail from Indian Hill Road to State Road 45 across Sycamore’s preserve and the Weddle’s neighboring field in 2022. Indian Hill Road was closed at the railroad crossing in 2020, including to pedestrian traffic, creating the need for the new route. The Yellowwood State Forest has a small parking area nearby on Indian Hill Road. See the Hoosier Hikers Council website for more information.

Directions

• From Unionville, follow SR 45 east for 6.5 mi to Old SR 45, which is on the right just before the Beanblossom Creek bridge.
• For Yellowwood Trail, turn right onto Old SR 45 and go 0.2 mi. Park on the side of the road by the marked trailhead. The gated lane past the trailhead is private.
• For the bottomland trail, continue on SR 45 for 0.7 mi, crossing the bridge. A small gravel parking area is on the right, just before SR 45 takes a 90-degree turn to the left.