William L. Lieber Nature Preserve

(Pipewort Pond)

 

 

Location: From Elkhart, travel east on SR 120 to Bristol, the hub of nature in Elkhart County. At The intersection with SR 15, turn north instead of following the highway, and when the road forks(about a quarter mile), take the road to the left, CR 23.  This goes past the Indiana Toll Road, and about half a mile later there is a small parking lot. Park here.  There is a trail into the preserve.

Description: Not Visited. This one sounds pretty interesting for Elkhart County. A cranberry bog, a pond (Pipewort Pond, the other name of the preserve) and wetlands; several rare or endangered plants and lots of water birds. 135 acres.
Here's a field report from Judith Nelsen:

We had a good visit at the Wm. L. Lieber preserve.  Somewhat hard to find as we were coming from the north and even when we approached from the south (the way you suggested) we ran into a detour.  Helpful to know it's on CR 23. We didn't see the trashed farm buildings but there is a small parking lot, so you don't have to park by the road.  The part of the preserve that was accessible consisted of a lovely prairie with a circle trail through it, touching at one point a large bog/pond that was somewhat accessible by a short board walk. There were quite a few prairie birds and some waterfowl. The whole trail is probably not much more than a mile. We saw somewhat low places that may contain cranberry bushes but we're not good enough with plants to know.

Nearby Points of Interest: Bonneyville Mills, Leacock Woods, Conley Wildlife Refuge, Shoup Parsons Swamp

Cautions: Wear your boots!

Ownership: Indiana DNR

 

National Forest