Visiting Hendricks County, Part III

McCloud and Sodalis nature parks are on opposite ends of Hendricks County, Ind. -- McCloud is in the northwest corner, right on the Putnam County line, Sodalis -- which just opened last month -- in the southeast corner, just outside Plainfield and not far from Indianapolis International Airport.

As nature parks, they are largely wooded and minimally developed. There isn't a lick of asphalt in McCloud; the snaky access road (pictured above) off Hughes Road is gravel, as are the parking lots. The pavilion has electricity, and the nature center has heat, air-conditioning, running water and modern plumbing. But after that, it's all rustic -- and trails provide access to the wooded interior. Sodalis is much the same, although its short access road and smaller parking lot is paved, and a very large fishing pond is near the access point on the east end of the park. A manicured grassy area sprinkled with picnic tables is adjacent to the pond, but beyond that to its western extremes, there is nothing but woods and trails.

These parks will be the start (McCloud) and finish (Sodalis) points of the inaugural Park2Park relay race, a 60-mile team running event on June 25. I visited them and Hendricks County points between on June 3. Today's pictures are from my visits to McCloud and Sodalis.

FROM McCLOUD NATURE PARK

FROM SODALIS NATURE PARK