Q: What’s the most unspoiled natural place in Indiana?
A: I hate to break it to you, but our state’s about as unspoiled as a sushi joint after a daylong power outage. Originally, Indiana was covered end to end with forests. But almost all were cut down during the 18th and 19th centuries. So when you go to a place like Brown County to revel in its natural splendor, you’re looking at second-growth timber that may be no more than a few decades old. According to the Department of Natural Resources, of Indiana’s original 20 million acres of forest, only about 2,000 remain. Most of that old growth is in parks, with Pine Hills Nature Preserve in Montgomery County being the closest to Indy. Its gigantic and densely packed trees look like a scene from The Lord of the Rings. An afternoon there will really drive home what was taken from us.
