Bloomington, IN and Nashville, TN–Trek up and down the path through Bloomington’s Griffy Lake Nature Preserve, and you’ll catch glimpses of the lake and bare trees. But there’s lots of color, too, if you look closely. We found glossy green holly bushes bursting with red berries, orange mushrooms clinging to logs, as well as pretty Christmas ferns, bright moss and lichens.
In the Burch Reserve of Percy Warner Park in Nashville, TN, a 3-mile hike leads past stands of old-growth beech and oak. You’ll even see a log home that’s tumbled down. Again, take your time to look for color, and you’ll be rewarded with bright moss, stark white logs, Christmas ferns, and so much more. And as one hiker wearing gaiters said as he passed: Winter’s the best time for bushwacking because there’s no chiggers or ticks. Amen to that!