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The Lindera Loop Trail
Putnam County’s first Handicapped-Accessible Trail

Trail Description:

The Lindera Loop Trail begins behind the charming, yellow, Dorothy O'Brien house on Cobb Road in Southeast, the future Land Trust Headquarters.

The path starts from the parking lot at the left of the house.

It travels up through an opening in a stone wall then winds into the deciduous forest on the high ground. To the right is a 'pull-off' area where people can stop and rest, a spot perfect for birdwatching.

(c) 2002 Steven J. Baskauf

As one proceeds down the path, Lindera benzoin are everywhere. Commonly called Spice Bush, these trees give off a sweet, spicy scent when their bark is scratched. The trail then curves to the left and there is another resting area, from which a colony of May Apple is visible in the summertime. Many a time, deer or rabbits can also be seen at this lookout place.

A turn to the right brings the trail past a habitat tree in which countless species of animals have made their home. Maple, Oak and Birch trees stretch as far as the eye can see.

Through a rock wall that was used so very long ago when the property was a farm, the trail then bends left and back again to the right, with another resting area on the right and into a sunny section where one can see the forest's layers in all their splendor. Along the sides of the trial are native plants that attract pollinators, like hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees in addition to native forest plants like trillium and clethora. At the end of this straight section is a small cul-de-sac which surrounds a fern glen with a resting area.

At the end of the trail is another resting area, where the trail comes onto the gas pipleline property, a place where bright field meets the edge of the forest. Continuing around the cul-de-sac, a trail-goer can stop and rest or to travel back on the path that took him on this worthwhile, 700-foot journey into another world.

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