Miller Woods Trail | MC^2 Nature Photography

Hike 141 refers to the fact that my recent hike at Miller Woods was my 141st trip to the Indiana Dunes in the last 3 years. This was also my 27th visit to this particular trail at the western end of the national park. Obviously I enjoy hiking and photographing this trail. It simply never gets old and I come away with something new each time. One of the reasons I enjoy this trail as much as I do is the diversity of ecosystems it spans in just over 1.5 miles. I illustrated some of this diversity in a series of 3 posts; Miller Woods Trail pt1, Miller Woods Trail pt2, and Miller Woods Trail pt3. While those posts focused on the nature of the land and how it changes between the trail head and lake Michigan, I also captured many of the little details which I find so fascinating when out in nature.

The reeds along the shore of the lagoon were still flowering. The low angle of the sun in Autumn means plenty of opportunity to capture backlit photos. In this case the flower appears to almost glow.

The seed of a Milkweed plant has caught on a patch of moss, next to a small clump of Lichen. The delicate snow white hairs contrast wonderfully with the earthier tones of the seed.

It is pretty late in the year for pollenating insects. This wasp was barely moving. I didn’t try, but I think I could have picked it up without it stinging or flying off.

November is a great time to mosses. Although they are around all through the spring and summer, they tend to get lost in all of the ground clutter. However with most of the surrounding foliage having retreated and turned brown, the vibrant green of the mosses really stands out. They never fail to produce fascinating up-close photographs.

Another example of back lighting turning something ordinary into something extraordinary. The detail in the structure of the leaf stands out so well in this light.

Yet another example of backlighting. With the low sun in the sky this sort of image presents itself all along the trail, as opposed to summer when the sun is higher in the sky and you would have to get down pretty close to the ground to see this.

This one last seed just does not want to let go and fly off. Leaving home can be difficult.

The patterns, textures and colors of Autumn are very satisfying to photograph.

The Miller Woods trail is one of my favorites, I have hiked it 27 times in the last two and a half years. With its mix of dunes, wetlands and Black Oak savanna it boasts a wonderful array of fall colors. It also comprises three distinct zones, which I will illustrate in this three post series.

Unfortunately access to this trail, and its accompanying nature center, has been restricted by road construction on Lake St. in Miller Beach. About a month ago the road was so bad they closed the nature center and parking lot. This was a shame because it meant that fewer people were able to experience this amazing area during the peak of the fall colors. It was accessible however, you just had to park outside the construction area and walk to the trail head, which is what I did on this day.

This is the view looking up the road from the trail head. The construction looks like maybe it is nearing completion, hopefully. A month ago it was all deeply rutted mud and probably dangerous to your car if you did not have decent ground clearance. Fortunately there was not much construction activity so it was no problem walking in.

The first half of the trail is a mixture of Black Oak forested dunes and inner dunal wetlands known as Swales. Although it may appear like a typical forest trail, the ground here has a very high sand content which drains very effectively into the adjoining wetland areas. For this reason this is a great trail to hike either during or after a period of heavy rain, as the trail itself remains largely free of standing water and never becomes muddy.

With the changing seasons the sun is now lower in the sky, which creates more interesting shadow dynamics. It can however be challenging to avoid harsh contrasts in landscapes this time of year. But this is what makes nature photography fun, you have to learn to work with whatever nature gives you on any given day.

One of the many inner dunal ponds, also known as swales, which are found in the low lying areas between sand dune ridges. From the trail head to the lake you pass by about a dozen of these small shallow wetland areas.

This particular depression is always filled with these tall reeds. Your first sight of them comes as you reach the crest of a dune ridge and the panorama of uniformly tall, tan reeds is stunning. As a photographer I am always drawn to the texture of vertical lines created by the individual reeds as seen in mass.

This bridge over a channel connecting two lagoons marks the transition from the Black Oak forest Swale and Dune complex, into an area dominated by sandier dunes and lagoons. It really is a distinct transition between the two which I find to be quite enticing.

I explore the next segment of the trail in the post Hike 141 – Miller Woods Trail pt2.

MC^2 Nature Photography

Category: Miller Woods Trail

Hike 141 – The Details

Hike 141 – Miller Woods Trail pt1.