Cressmoor Prairie
Lake County, Indiana

What’s perhaps most remarkable about Cressmoor Prairie in Hobart, Ind., is that it exists at all. Against all odds, this once forgotten piece of land continues to offer visitors a view of northwest Indiana’s landscape much as it did when white settlers arrived in the early 1800s.

Virtually all Indiana’s black soil prairie, of which Cressmoor is a prime example, has been converted to agricultural use or, more recently, consumed or degraded by industrial and subdivision development. Had Cressmoor’s previous owners not left it alone, and had it not been “discovered” by a knowledgeable passerby, the 38-acre site likely would have fallen into the hands of commercial or residential real estate interests.

Happily, fate intervened. In 1988, a plant enthusiast and school teacher from Bremen, Ind., named Keith Board just happened to be driving by when he caught sight of a compass plant flower stalk. Knowing that the plant usually doesn’t occur far from a true prairie, he investigated and, indeed, soon found himself “in the middle of a beautiful prairie.” His findings were a revelation even to some local conservationists.

The privately-endowed Shirley Heinze Environmental Fund – a Chicago Wilderness organization that buys, protects, and restores significant natural areas in Indiana’s three lakefront counties – negotiated the purchase of the land with state backing and continues to own and manage it. Cressmoor was designated an Indiana Nature Preserve in 1996. (For more information about the Heinze Fund, call (219) 879-4725.)

The Cressmoor preserve is bordered by a golf course, an apartment complex, a railroad track, and a busy road. New houses are going up across the street, and downtown Hobart (often pronounced HO-bert) is about a mile away. Indeed, the proximity of homes, highways, and manufacturing plants typically adds to the challenges of maintaining high-quality natural areas in urbanized northwest Indiana.

But a short walk along the trail that leads from the small parking area off Lake Park Avenue allows visitors to leave most of the man-made world behind. And deep into the prairie visitors can find vistas that convey a powerful sense of the plant and animal communities that prevailed in this region centuries ago.

In a leisurely one to two-hour hike (the mowed trail is about two miles long), beginning botanists can test their skill at recognizing some of the 184 native plant species identified so far at Cressmoor. Veteran plant hunters should be on the lookout for purple milkweed, prairie lily, ragged and green-fringed orchids, prairie sundrops, and the imposing and intriguingly named rattlesnake master. Much of the preserve is typical of pure prairie habitat, with large stands of big and little bluestem, Indian and other grasses interspersed with a wide variety of flowering plants. Cressmoor also has some savanna and low-lying wet areas. Amethyst aster was recently found in the savanna, making its first known appearance in Lake County, Ind. American hazelnut is abundant in the transitional zone between Cressmoor’s savanna and prairie.

The prairie wildflowers, including six types of goldenrod and blue and white varieties of aster, reach their peak in late summer and fall. But midsummer, when coreopsis, sunflowers, blazing star, ironweed, gray-headed coneflower, and eight species of milkweed are in bloom, is nearly as rewarding. Birds, butterflies, and small mammals and reptiles abound. Five rare remnant-dependent insects – leaf hoppers, a skipper and a butterfly – have been found in areas of Cressmoor with a history of fire.

About a third of the prairie is burned each year, explains Jan Hunter, the stewardship program manager, restoring a natural cycle that was interrupted by settlers’ fire suppression efforts. The prescribed burns remove layers of dead leaves and grass, return nutrients to the soil, help with seed germination, and discourage large woody plants.

No less important is the effort to promote respect and understanding for the preserve among nearby residents, some of whom in times past may have regarded the land as a convenient dumping ground, play area, or a place to ride off-road vehicles. Vandalism remains an occasional problem. But the larger Hobart community has been supportive, and busloads of visiting students down to Kindergarten age are helping to turn the prairie into an outdoor learning laboratory. Cressmoor is becoming a community asset, a living example of one of Indiana’s rarest ecosystems, and one of a few sizable remnants left in the state.

Pets on leashes are allowed at Cressmoor, but bikes and horses are not.

Foraging
If a couple of hours on the prairie whets your appetite for lunch (or breakfast or dinner), or for exploring a different kind of landscape, the area offers a number of attractive options.

If nutrition is the first priority, head south on Lake Park Avenue, turn left at the national headquarters of the Croatian Catholic Union and you’ll find yourself at J. K. Michael’s Family Restaurant, 7 E. Ridge Road, (219) 947-7800, where the Athenian chicken, Grecian pork chops, and spinach pie come highly recommended. A local connoisseur proclaims the lemon rice soup the “best in the county” – or maybe several counties. Lunch specials average $6.50, dinner specials $10.50.

Or head up to 332 Main Street, past the Art Theater that shows current movies (showtime 7:30 p.m., no children under 17 allowed without parents, (219) 942-1670) and looks a lot like the neighborhood movie houses some of us patronized in the 1950s. There you’ll find the Bright Spot Restaurant, (219) 947-1196. The décor and ambiance live up to the establishment’s name, and the menu offers almost everything you can think of, including Greek specialties. Hungarian goulash, a special one recent afternoon, was delicious and ample. Daily specials average $6-$8. The Bright Spot does not accept credit cards.

Or you can grab sandwiches from Coney Island Express, (219) 945-0885, at the corner of Front and Center, and walk a block to the community’s expansive and attractive Festival Park on the shores of Lake George, adjoining downtown. Visitors of the Unitarian persuasion who feel a need for spiritual nourishment might look in at the First Unitarian Church, Fifth and Main, which dates to 1874.

If your taste runs to fresh fruits and vegetables – and succulent desserts – head north from Cressmoor on Lake Park and turn right on 37th Ave. After about 1.5 miles you come to a couple of produce stores on the north side. Marilyn’s Bakery (open Feb. 1 - Dec. 24), adjoining Johnson’s Farm Produce (open mid-March to Halloween), offers scrumptious fresh-baked apple, blueberry, and other fruit pies ($4-$8) and kolaches, and will pack you a box lunch ($5.25). At Remus Farms (open year-round) up the street, the counters overflow with corn, green beans, melons, zucchini – in season, of course.


Roaming Nearby
An afternoon is time enough to get at least a taste of Indiana’s famed Lake Michigan Dunes, (219) 926-1952. Head east on I-94 to the exit at State Road 49 (Chesterton), turn north, and you’ll soon enter the 2,182-acre Indiana Dunes State Park. Trail maps are available at the Gate House and the Nature Center. The shifting sands and stiff climb on Trail 9 will test your conditioning, but you get great views of the dunes and the lake. Trail 2 is flatter and leads through wooded wetlands, an important habitat and distinctive feature of the Dunes landscape.

The 15,000-acre Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, (219) 926-7561, also offers many hiking opportunities. Good trail maps are available at the Visitor Center on Kemil Road, just off U.S. 12, east of the state park entrance. Check the schedule of ranger-led activities while you’re there. On the way, sample the wares at Schoolhouse Shop and Antiques, (219) 926-1551 (closed Tuesdays), on Furnessville Road between U.S. 12 and U.S. 20. The Cowles Bog (actually a fen) Trail, accessible from Mineral Springs Rd., is not only scenic but serves as a link to scientific history – Botany Professor Henry Cowles’ celebrated discoveries about plant succession early in the last century.

Another option: Forget the hike and pick a spot along miles of lake beach for a refreshing swim.

Bedding Down
In addition to all the usual motels on major highways, several bed and breakfasts are available in the area. These are especially well known: The Gray Goose Inn, Chesterton (800) 521-5127, $80 - $165; Creekwood Inn, Michigan City (219) 872-8357, $118-$173. The Inn at Aberdeen, Valparaiso (219) 465-3753, $94-$157. Check with the Indiana Bed and Breakfast Association, (800) 814-7478, for more options.

Campers can nestle in sleeping bags at both Dunes parks; campgrounds tend to fill up early so check availability. Indiana Dunes State Park (219) 926-4520: access from State Road 49. Reservations Memorial Day to Labor Day, available in person or by mail up to 48 hours in advance. $12 per night, with electricity $15. Open year round, limited services in winter. National Lakeshore (219) 926-7561: campground on U.S. 12, four miles east of State Road 49. April 1 – October 31, $10 per night for up to two tents, eight people. No electric hookup. Reservations not accepted.

Events
Oct. 19-21, 2002: Northwest Indiana Storytelling Festival
Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center, State Road 49, north of Chesterton. Varying times over three days. (219) 926-1390.

Oct. 20-21, 2002:
Kids' Fall Funfest. Same location.

— Warren Buckler