Mud Lake/Elbel Park

Mud Lake is the largest on the chain of kettle lakes. It is located near the top of the chain and is bordered by undeveloped uplands and the Elbel Golf Course owned by the City of South Bend. A vascular plant and natural features inventory of Elbel Park was conducted by Scott Namestnik of Orbis Environmental Consulting in 2016. 20 state endangered, threatened, and rare plants species were found. Scott reports that, “The quality and conservative nature of the plants within Mud Lake at Elbel Park indicate that it consists of a remnant plant community similar to what would have existed prior to European settlement in our area.” Mud Lake is a remnant marsh/wetland that is in the early stages of becoming a bog. It makes up part of that “less than 1%" of our high quality remnant plant communities left in the state of Indiana. Although it is unique in its own right, in the South Bend area it compares only to places like Bendix woods, Spicer Lake, Lydick Bog, Chamberlain Lake, South Clear Lake and Deer Lake, all of which include high quality natural areas - examples of what South Bend would have looked like over 200 years ago. This is “The Real Indiana”. As a part of the St. Joseph County Kettle Lakes system Mud Lake supports the native, aquatic plant, and wildlife species that continually disperse themselves throughout this region. Mud Lake is one of the few remaining native marsh/wetland communities where there is public access and a chance for people to appreciate and learn about the rich ecology, unique geography, and history of our kettle lakes region. This is a great place to see, in person, the living museums that are these lakes. Mud Lake is a great place to visit the chain and a place people can go to experience nature from within the Kettle Lakes Corridor.