Valparaiso University Explores Pinhook Bog at Indiana Dunes
National Park Trust’s College Ambassador Program equips college students with the resources to lead outdoor recreation, conservation, and stewardship outings for their campus communities. Ambassadors plan each trip themselves, connecting their peers to parks, public lands, and waters, often for the first time. The story below was written by Cullen Lisowski, accompanied by Sam Pearson, National Park Trust College Ambassadors at Valparaiso University, about their recent outing to Pinhook Bog at Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana.
On Sept. 6, Sam, myself, and six other students set out for Pinhook Bog in northern Indiana. We had initially planned for 13 people, but we lost several people the morning of. We set out to our local park because we had been told that Pinhook Bog was a very unique bog, as it was one of only two bogs in the entire state of Indiana.
We met up with the rangers at noon, and they began the tour by giving us a bit of history about the bog itself. They explained that the bog formed when a piece of glacier broke off, compressed a large, loamy area, and then melted, forming the bog. We were then led down to the bog itself. We got to see the different levels that made up the bog, along with the various kinds of vegetation that made the bog unique, such as carnivorous plants like the pitcher plant and coniferous trees such as the white pine. After that, we hiked the other half of the loop to see the moraine aspect of Pinhook Bog. We saw lots of valleys from our vantage point and got to see a very unique aspect of the bog from above.
We chose Pinhook Bog because Indiana is home to only two bogs, and we were close enough to visit one of them. We felt that this was a unique experience, as not many people are familiar with bogs, and we would have a ranger who knew the workings of the bog leading us. The consensus from myself, and from everyone else, was that the hike was quite fun and rewarding. We got to take a little break from the monotony of campus life and see several different ecosystems in just a few hours. All the participants expressed their enjoyment of the outing. Perhaps the most notable moment was when we descended the trail, came to a valley between two ponds, and were able to see both sides of the valley from within.
We were able to show the participants a part of Indiana that not many of them were familiar with, and several expressed interest in potentially returning someday. One remarked that he was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable the hiking trails were. National Park Trust is dedicated to preserving the land surrounding national parks, which is exactly what enabled Pinhook Bog to exist. It was reclaimed from someone who had bought it, then restored, then opened to the public for their enjoyment. Without organizations like National Park Trust, the land would have fallen into disarray and the unique ecosystem would have been lost.
About National Park Trust
National Park Trust is an independent, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has protected national park land since 1983, acquiring missing pieces of our national parks and benefiting 58 national park sites nationwide. Our mission is to preserve parks today and create park stewards for tomorrow.
Our youth education and family initiatives — Buddy Bison School Programs, College Ambassador Program, and Military Family Programs, along with National Kids to Parks Day — connect tens of thousands of people to the outdoors each year.
We believe public parks, lands, and waters should be cared for, enjoyed, and preserved by all, for current and future generations. Learn more at parktrust.org.
