Lindenwood Nature Preserve — Attraction in Fort Wayne

I love these trails and love this place but BEWARE of creeps in the evening.

I entered around 7pm while the sun was still shining and noticed 2 men sitting at a picnic table and a third came out, said hi to them then put something is his car and stared at me as I was walking in. I nod to everyone I see and did the same to them and they didn’t respond and just stared so it made me feel a little uneasy walking in but not too bad. I had figured they were finished with their hike considering I saw one come out.

As I lost view of the parking lot on the main path I could hear their voices as if they were walking back in. Again no big deal, there are plenty of trails I assumed they’d pick a different one than me or at least fork the other way if they did pick the same trail.

I cut to the right which is the oak paradise trail and immediately heard footsteps following me past the fork that they should’ve diverged from. That’s when I started to feel very uncomfortable.

The footsteps got closer and I knew this individual or individuals were moving to catch up. I heard a stick break close behind me and turned to find just one of them very close behind and they said “sorry”. I said “no problem” and stepped to the side so they could pass considering they were moving much faster to catch up to me. Figured I’d just take it slower to put some distance between us after they passed.

As soon as this individual passed me they stopped and turned and looked in a very creepy manner. I told them they can keep going and they said “no I want to go back now”.

This was the first major red flag. We were less than 5% into this trail, and no one would turn back.

Anyways I stepped to the side again so they could go back, and they proceeded to begin walking back and stopped again about 5-10 feet from me and gave me the same creep stare.

At this point I knew something was up. And very very shortly after one of the other members of that original party appears, walks past the guy just standing still behind me staring and proceeded to walk in front of me and stopped and stared at me.

So now I’m sandwiched between two very creepy men who are not walking and are just staring.

I immediately took my backpack off and began digging for my phone while watching them.

At the same time the third creep shows up and stands behind the one blocking my way back to the front of the preserve.

I have never felt more uncomfortable than this in my life. I found my phone and pulled up the keypad with 911 dialed but didn’t hit send, just in case I needed to tap send very quickly.

I didn’t put my backpack back on, instead I carried it with one hand while having the phone in the other.

I moved quickly to get around the two blocking me and walked as fast as I could back to the parking lot. Less than 2 minutes later all 3 followed and I was waiting with my phone to snap a picture of them which is listed on this review. You will only see 2 men in the photo at first but there is a darker individual behind them and you can see the brim of his cap.

As soon as they saw my phone taking a picture they scattered and that’s what you’re seeing in the pic. One went behind the bathroom, one went behind the office and one went back into the woods.

The two that went left and right probably realized how ridiculous they looked going behind the two structures and quickly got in their cars and flew out of the parking lot. The other one who went back into the woods gave me enough time to snap his plate to give to police.

They were very coordinated in splitting up and surrounding me and everyone should feel safe when they go hiking, especially at Lindenwood. Parks and rec did reach out and assured me they’d be on the lookout for these individuals if they came back so I’m happy to give the trails a high rating.

I did see the one on the left (in green) the next day when I went back so I know he frequents the place. This time he was sitting inside the fire pit area by himself so I wasn’t as concerned.

Again these are beautiful trails, but...

Beautiful gem of nature trails just hidden right near downtown Ft.Wayne. At first, the nature was scarce because there were children screaming loud enough to be heard throughout the whole preserve. I couldn't even run my bird identifier to record any calls I may have heard. Parents, it's awesome to introduce your children to nature, but please teach them to respect the sanctity and peace that is nature. If they're going to scream and run amuck, take them to a playground instead. After the loud kids finally cleared out, nature came out of hiding. We were able to see deer, hummingbirds, lots of chipmunks and baby squirrels, cardinals, nut hatches, pewees, titmouse, Carolina wrens, woodpeckers, and I even recorded the song of a scarlet tanager but was never able to spot that guy. We will definitely be...

Fantastic walking area full of native beauty! There were port a John's and a handicap accessable one however there's a wooden fence around them which would require a person to hold open so a chair could enter bit there is a lip which could make chair wheels get stuck. There was also a large pile ofwood chips infront of this door making it impossible for a chair to access.

The trails themself are nicely managed. They are natural paths consisting of tree stumps in most areas making it difficult for wheelchairs to pass.

Each trail has something different to see the best in my opinion was the pond deck! Today there were twin fawns across from the dock making the visit...