Hoosier Prairie Trail

Hoosier Prairie Trail is an easy, about 0.8-mile round-trip network walk from the gravel lot. It links a flat, 0.15-mile crushed-gravel entrance with the Prairie Marsh loop and a spur to the Savanna loop; allow 30 minutes to an hour. Only the entrance segment is wheelchair-accessible. Beyond it, the tread mixes loose sand, packed dirt and gravel. Go for a quick look at oak savanna, prairie and wetland packed into a short walk.

From the parking lot, take the accessible path to Prairie Marsh, then follow the mapped loop and its spur to the Savanna loop. The route crosses higher, drier prairie and lower wet ground before reaching the scattered oaks of the savanna. Follow the connecting path back through the marsh route and out to the lot. A paper map is available at the trailhead kiosk; staying on the marked tread protects fragile plants.

The preserve lies on the Glenwood Spit, whose sands accumulated about 13,000 years ago as the landscape left by glacial Lake Chicago took shape. This is the oldest relic shoreline in the park. The route crosses the rises, slopes and shallow depressions that help create its close succession of dry prairie, wet prairie and marsh.

Hoosier Prairie supports more than 350 native plant species, including at least 43 considered rare or uncommon in Indiana. Fire is part of the prairie’s ecology: after settlement interrupted natural burning, land managers used controlled burns to keep woody growth from overtaking the open habitat. Conservationist Irene Herlocker-Meyer led a decade-long campaign to protect the prairie; Indiana bought it for permanent protection in 1977.

Use the Hoosier Prairie gravel lot off E 53rd Avenue (Main Street), east of US 41 in Schererville. There are no restrooms or potable water. Leashed pets are allowed on a leash no longer than six feet. Ticks are present year-round, and poison ivy can grow along the trail edges; stay on the path and leave plants undisturbed.